Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It seems hard to believe, but Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) presidential campaign raised $10 million in less than a week. And before anyone assumes these donations are fueled by his base of supporters from a few years ago, it appears that more than a third of this year’s contributors are new.
* In related news, the independent senator held a town-hall forum on CNN last night and said, among other things, that he’ll release 10 years of his tax returns “sooner than later.” During his 2016 bid, the Vermonter faced some criticisms after being slow to disclose the tax materials.
* Stacey Abrams sat down with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes this week to record an episode of his podcast, and when asked about a possible U.S. Senate campaign next year, the Georgia Democrat acknowledged that she’s thinking about it.
* In an apparent bid to drive me batty, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this morning blamed the Republicans’ North Carolina election fraud on Democrats for their opposition to voter-ID laws. (This really doesn’t make any sense.)
* Hoping to defend Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) against allegations that she mistreated aides, more than 60 former staffers to the Minnesota Democrat issued a joint statement yesterday praising her role as a mentor. * Donald Trump claimed the other day that his legally dubious tactics in pursuit of a border wall have driven suburban women to support Republicans again. He apparently made that up. * And in Colorado, where former state House Speaker Crisanta Duran (D) was expected to run for the U.S. Senate, the Democratic state lawmaker has instead decided to launch a primary campaign against U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D). That’s likely to be an uphill challenge: DeGette appears to be quite popular in Colorado’s 1st district, winning re-election last year with more than 68% support.
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
