Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The latest big 2018 surprise came in Massachusetts’ 7th congressional district, where Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley upset 10-term incumbent Rep. Mike Capuano in a Democratic primary. Pressley will soon become the first African American to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.
* There are now only four states with primaries remaining, including Delaware, which will host its contests tomorrow. The race to watch is incumbent Sen. Tom Carper’s Democratic primary against Kerri Evelyn Harris, an Air Force veteran and community activist.
* Federal judges agreed yesterday that, for logistical reasons, this year’s midterm elections in North Carolina will use its current gerrymandered district map.
* A Quinnipiac poll released yesterday found Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum (D) with a small lead over Rep. Ron DeSantis (R) in Florida’s gubernatorial race, 50% to 47%.
* Former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves (R) has never before endorsed a Democrat for any public office, but yesterday, he threw his support to state Sen. Laura Kelly, the Democratic nominee in Kansas’ gubernatorial race. * In a bit of a surprise, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) announced yesterday that he will not seek a third term. * Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), embroiled in a messy campaign controversy, has been subpoenaed to appear in a court hearing today “to determine his role” in the mess. * In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, Matt Rosendale’s Republican campaign launched a television ad yesterday in which the candidate stands in front of a billboard that read, “Article II: The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The ad was later taken down when someone reminded the Rosendale campaign that the Second Amendment and Article II of the Constitution are not the same thing.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
