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Off to the races: What can (Jerry) Brown do for you in '16?

Mark Z. Barabak on Jerry Brown and that he’s not ruling out a 2016 bid.

Hillary Clinton tweeted against cuts to jobless benefits and food stamps, just ahead of yesterday’s cloture vote on the budget. “What happens to kids in families cut from unemployment insurance & food stamps? They’re #2SmallToFail, & deserve an equal chance to succeed.”

The Hill: “The liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) this year promised corporate donors a chance to meet Hillary Rodham Clinton in return for a $250,000 donation, documents obtained by The Hill show. The meeting never happened, though Clinton spoke at the anniversary gala at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium that was cited on the solicitation.”

Paul Ryan looks like he’s out for a 2016 presidential run, instead eyeing the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee. In fact, Ryan told the Wall Street Journal, per Politico: “That is my plan.”

That committee is currently chaired by Michigan Rep. Dave Camp (R), who, based on GOP rules will be term-limited out of that job in 2015.

ALABAMA: Welcome, Congressman Bradley Byrne. The Mobile Press-Register: “Returning from the nadir of his political career after a stinging loss in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary, Bradley Byrne on Tuesday won a landslide victory over Democrat Burton LeFlore in a special election for Congress. Byrne, 58, won about two-thirds of the vote, according to incomplete and unofficial returns. The Associated Press declared him the winner at about 9 p.m. He carried every county in the district.” He will be sworn in next month.

This wasn’t HUGE news in Alabama… stories about “How to smoke a ham,” Alabama football coach Nick Saban, and a columnist trying to convince Auburn’s coach Gus Malzahn to say no to Texas were higher.

ALASKA: The conservative Judicial Crisis Network hits Sen. Mark Begich (D) in an ad for voting for Obama’s “liberal activist judges, every single one.” It ends with, “Tell Mark Begich he works for Alaska, not Obama.”

FLORIDA: An internal Rick Scott (R) poll shows him trailing former Gov. Charlie Crist (D), 49%-45%, per Politico.

IOWA: Candidates are seemingly coming out of the corn fields now that Tom Latham has announced his retirement in this competitive seat. Roll Call: “A Democratic source familiar with Iowa said additional candidates will take a look at the seat in lieu of Latham’s departure: Earlham Mayor Dusky Terry, Dr. Andrea McGuire, a former candidate for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Janet Peterson, and state Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. A GOP operative close to Secretary of State Matt Schultz said he would give it serious consideration, noting the Republican lives in the district and is well liked by the state’s conservative base.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Scott Brown may be moving to New Hampshire, but some are growing a little annoyed with his toying with the idea of a Senate bid. “Honestly, it’s baffling what he’s doing. I don’t know what his end game is. I think if he wants to run for the US Senate he should get in the race,” Republican strategist Dave Carney, who lives in New Hampshire, told the Boston Globe. “New Hampshire voters are not interested in begging candidates to run for office.”