Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The latest Monmouth poll found former Vice President Joe Biden as Democratic voters’ top choice, at least for now, in the 2020 presidential race, with 29% support. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was second with 16%, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) with 16%.
* The same Monmouth poll found that, at a national level, only 38% of American voters believe Donald Trump should get a second term. A 57% majority want someone new.
* As former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz moves closer to an independent presidential campaign, he’s starting to share his preferences about how he should be perceived. For example, last night, Schultz, a billionaire, said he thinks those of vast wealth should be called “people of means,” instead of “billionaires.”
* After Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) helped elevate Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Republican senator had “the best fundraising quarter of her career.” Collins will ignore her previous term-limit commitments and seek another term next year.
* In the wake of his failed U.S. Senate campaign, former Rep. Lou Barletta (R) weighed a possible comeback bid by running in the special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district. Barletta said he received encouragement, but he’s decided not to run. * Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) were both in New Hampshire over the weekend. Schiff made clear he’s not going to run for president, though Moulton was less clear about his future plans. * Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), currently promoting his new book, said yesterday that he isn’t ruling out a presidential campaign in 2024. Christie ran in 2016, but did not win any contests or delegates.
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
