Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Primary voters in Alabama will head to the polls today in the state’s U.S. Senate special election. Donald Trump continues to scramble in support of Sen. Luther Strange (R), tweeting twice about him this morning, and recording robocalls on the appointed senator’s behalf.
* In Nevada, the Democratic National Committee announced yesterday it’s putting Sen. Dean Heller (R) on a couple of billboards, highlighting his vote for the Republicans’ unpopular health care bill. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, meanwhile, is creating billboards targeting Heller’s likely Democratic opponent, Rep. Jacky Rosen, trying to tie her to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
* On a related note, Heller told reporters in October 2016 that he was 99% certain he wouldn’t vote for Donald Trump. It took a while for the GOP senator to come clean, but Heller finally admitted yesterday that he did, in fact, vote for his party’s presidential ticket.
* Some odd people end up running for Congress: “House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Republican challenger says he believes an unfounded right-wing online conspiracy theory dubbed ‘pizzagate.’ Paul Nehlen voiced his opinion during an online question-and-answer session with voters earlier this month on Reddit. He was asked, ‘What are your thoughts on Pizzagate?’ In response, Nehlen wrote, ‘I believe it is real.’” * Because contemporary politics continues to get even weirder, the head of the Senate Republican leadership’s super PAC said on Friday’s he’s “very interested” in having Kid Rock run for the U.S. Senate in Michigan next year. * On a related note, if the Trump-supporting entertainer decides to run, it looks like he’d have to appear on the ballot under his given name, Robert Ritchie, instead of his pseudonym.
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
