Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In a surprise announcement, Texas’ Colin Allred is giving up his Democratic U.S. Senate candidacy and running instead for a Dallas-area U.S. House seat. Allred previously served three terms in the House before giving up his seat to run an ill-fated race against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz last year.
* In less than 24 hours, voters in Miami will head to the polls to elect their new mayor. Though the race is technically nonpartisan, Democrats are backing Eileen Higgins, a former county commissioner, while Republicans are supporting Emilio González, a former city manager.
* In Texas, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett reversed course on his retirement plans after a federal judge struck down the state GOP’s redistricting scheme. Now that Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices have revived the gerrymandered map, Doggett’s retirement plans are back on.
* Speaking of the Lone Star State, with Republican Rep. Troy Nehls retiring next year, Donald Trump has thrown his support behind the GOP congressman’s identical twin brother, Trever Nehls.
* House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ reelection plans just got a little easier: The New York Democrat was facing a primary challenge from Chi Ossé, a New York City Council member, but the rival abandoned his bid late last week. * As Virginia Democrats weigh a new congressional district map, just how ambitious will the party be? State House Speaker Don Scott said last week that gaining four new Democratic seats “is not out of the realm” of possibility. The commonwealth’s current map has six Democrats and five Republicans. If the goal is to give Democrats four additional seats, that would create a map in which the GOP holds just one of Virginia’s 11 seats. * On a related note, Florida Republicans also hope to advance a newly gerrymandered district map in the coming months, though it’s unclear how state GOP officials will overcome a voter-approved a constitutional amendment intended to block partisan gerrymandering.
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."
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