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Friday's campaign round-up

Today's installment of campaign-related news items that won't necessarily generate a post of their own, but may be of interest to political observers:

* The Republican National Committee and Mitt Romney's campaign are pushing the line this morning that President Obama said he "forgot about the recession." That's not what he said.

* Democratic party leaders said yesterday that their party platform will, in fact, include language in support of marriage equality (thanks to reader R.P. for the tip).

* In the wake of a sex scandal that broke in February, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu announced overnight that he's giving up on his Republican congressional campaign and will instead seek re-election as sheriff.

* The final tally for George Clooney's fundraiser for President Obama? Just about $15 million -- half from the donors who were on hand at the actor's home, half from an online sweepstakes. It's the most lucrative presidential election fundraiser on record.

* The field of Republican U.S. Senate candidates in Florida is apparently not yet set, and former Rep. Dave Weldon (R) is thinking about jumping into the race. The primary is August 14, just three months away, and the GOP field is already pretty crowded.

* With just a month to go before the Arizona special election to fill Gabrielle Giffords' (D) vacant seat, House Republicans have doubled their investment in trying to win.

* And on a related note, former Giffords aide Ron Barber, the Democratic candidate in the special election, unveiled this new ad this week, going after Republican Jesse Kelly for having expressed support for privatizing Social Security and phasing out Medicare. The special election is June 12.