“It strikes me as unlikely – I’ll take a Paul Ryan position, it’s it’s not on my current list.”

— Newt Gingrich, interviewed on ABC News, on whether he’ll run for president again.

Illinois state Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D) is expected to drop out of the 2nd congressional district special Democratic primary and back former state Rep. Robin Kelly (D) in the contest to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The move shakes up
the Democratic field just nine days before the Feb. 26 primary election.

Capitol Fax: “The reasons are many, including Mayor Bloomberg’s decision to point his massive super PAC right at Hutchinson while backing rival Robin Kelly.”

Bloomberg has attacked Hutchinson for her support for the National Rifle Association.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) “is laying the groundwork for a likely presidential run — and using his state as a testing ground for policies that play well with national conservatives,” Politico reports.

“He’s passed a sweeping school voucher plan, rejected the Medicaid expansion in Obamacare and proposed scrapping the state income tax.”

“But political observers who’ve watched Jindal up close for years say it’s become increasingly fuzzy where his governing ends and his presidential ambitions begin — whether the 41-year-old policy wonk’s plans are aimed at Louisiana’s problems or future GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.”