Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is organizing a series of public and private appearances across the first-in-the-South primary state in June, CNN reports.

The trip is “an effort to get to know Republicans across the state.”

He’s also set to endorse former Gov, Mark Mark Sanford (R) in the special election in South Carolina’s 1st congressional district.

Vice President Joe Biden offered Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) his backhanded support for re-election, Roll Call reports.

Said Biden: “I told him I’ll come to South Carolina and campaign for him or against him, whichever will help the most — I know which it’ll be. I’m going down there to to the JJ next weekend, Lindsey, and I assure you I will rip your skin off for you, and I expect a thank-you note.”

“The offhand comment points to the possibility that Graham could face a 2014 primary challenge.”

“No. I think it would have been a much closer race, but
I’ll tell you President Obama ran a great race and that campaigns
matter.”

— Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), quoted by the Huffington Post, on Vice President Joe Biden’s claim McCain would have won the 2008 presidential election if not for the economic crisis.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) appeared to suggest that Rep. Steve King (R-IA) “either is not running or should not run for the U.S. Senate,” Radio Iowa reports.

Said Branstad: “I really believe that Iowans want somebody that will serve in the Senate that will be an Iowa problem solver, not another congressman. You know congress is a mess. We’ve seen them spend a trillion dollars more than they take in every year and so the Democrats have decided, ‘Well, we’re going to send up another congressman.’ That’s the last thing we need is another congressman in the United States Senate.”

Jeb Bush: “The conventional wisdom coming from the 2012 election was the Republican Party is in decline. We lost on messaging, tone and policies that alienated growing minority communities. What that narrative misses is that conservative principles and Republican leadership are thriving in the states, providing the way forward for the GOP.”

“There now are 30 Republican governors, the highest number in 13 years. In 26 states, Republicans hold a majority of the seats in both the House and Senate chambers.”

Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) will announce his campaign for Senate later this week, giving Democrats a top candidate to run for the open seat in Michigan, Roll Call reports. He is not expected to face a primary.

The Cloakroom: Republicans struggle to find decent candidates.

A new Suffolk Poll finds Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) is crushing Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) in three key Democratic bellwethers.
 
Said pollster David Paleologos: “Despite recent polling showing this race close and perceptions that the momentum has moved to Lynch following the last two debates, these findings point out the opposite – that Ed Markey has a distinct advantage as the primary approaches. Voter turnout ultimately will determine the outcome. However, given what we know now, Lynch would have to carry his home district by an unprecedented margin and also compete aggressively in Markey’s home district to offset Markey’s distinct advantage.”

Most South Carolina political observers still see former Gov. Mark Sanford (R) as the special election favorite over Elizabeth Colbert Busch, despite a poll showing the former governor trailing by nine points, The State reports.

Harry Enten: “Over the past ten years, there have been 30 non-candidate/party sponsored polls conducted in the final two weeks before 18 off-cycle special congressional elections… 27 out of 30 times, the candidate leading in the poll won most of the votes in the special election. In 26 of the 30 special election surveys, the polling error was less than 9pt – Colbert Busch’s lead. The polls’ average error was only 4pt, and the median even lower, at 3pt. These margins leave little room for Sanford. He would need an error of at least 9pt, which has happened only 13% of the time. He would also need that error to be in his favor, which means he’s looking at a 7% likelihood. That’s not outside the realm of possibility, but it’s a long shot.”