“Stan Grot (R) was in the race for an open Michigan House seat — until the Republican suddenly wasn’t. In the meantime, his wife, Sylvia Grot (R), joined the contest,” the Detroit News reports.

“The situation in Macomb County’s 36th state House District, which will have a special primary election on March 1, appears to be an example of political strategy at play.”

“Stan Grot, a former secretary of state candidate who’s well-known within the Michigan GOP, filed to run for the seat in late December, which could have scared other potential contenders out of the race. Then Sylvia Grot filed her campaign paperwork before the Jan. 7 deadline. And Stan Grot withdrew this past Monday after the filing deadline.”

“Gay rights icon Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark 2015 case that legalized same-sex marriage across the country, is running for a seat in the Ohio House,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

A new Siena poll in New York finds Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is – five months before the primary – the clear favorite among New York Democrats, leading potential primary opponents by more than 30 points.

First Read: “Over the last 30 years, the NBC News poll has given us a good idea if the president’s party is headed for an exceptionally good midterm election, a shellacking or somewhere in-between.”

“And right now, the arrows are pretty much pointing in the ‘shellacking’ territory for President Biden and the Democrats as we debut our Midterm Meter, which will use our poll to gauge the overall political environment for the president’s party.”

Gerald Seib: “For Mr. Biden and his party, the key question is whether his rapid slide in popularity in the second half of 2021 was the temporary result of the messy process of getting things done in a closely divided Washington, or a descent to levels of popularity that will remain a drag on his party.”

“In any case, there is a long way to go before the election, and ample time in today’s sped-up political environment for the landscape to change. In the end, Democrats will want the election to be about the things they have done to help the country get through the pandemic, and to help working Americans pull ahead on daily challenges. Republicans will want to focus voters’ minds on immigration, crime and a messy withdrawal from Afghanistan that they will portray as a kind of metaphor for disappointing Democratic leadership.”

Walter Shapiro: “In sharp contrast to everyone else doom scrolling about the pandemic, political handicappers seem determined to treat 2022 as an ordinary election year. As a result, we are awash in glib forecasts about how the inflation rate, Biden’s approval numbers, or the Democratic stalemate on Capitol Hill will determine the congressional elections.”

“But that’s like ignoring the Depression in making political predictions about 1932. So much depends on whether we will be fighting over remote learning and mask mandates this fall. All the experts bloviating on cable TV have no idea whether the pandemic will be raging or waning as Americans vote.”

“House Democrats running for reelection in competitive districts, facing increasingly long odds of surviving a potential Republican wave, have confronted party leaders in recent days with demands for a new midterm strategy,” the Washington Post reports.

“Among the requests of these so-called ‘front-liner’ Democrats is to break up President Biden’s sprawling Build Back Better spending bill that has stalled in the Senate amid opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and hold votes on a series of politically popular provisions that would appeal to centrist voters and core Democrats alike.”

“These members have argued to top House leaders in recent days — so far, to no avail — that holding votes on narrow measures such as curbing prescription drug costs and extending the child tax credit would help Democrats make a case that they can improve voters’ lives economically despite soaring inflation and other issues that have dragged down Biden’s approval ratings.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) would not say if he plans to file to run for U.S. Senate by next month’s deadline, The Hill reports.

However, earlier in the interview, the governor reiterated that serving in the Senate is “not something I aspire to.”