Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* While approving a gerrymandered district map, Ohio Republicans argued that because they’ve won 81 percent of statewide races in recent years, the GOP is entitled to control 81 percent of the power. That was absurd, and yesterday, the state Supreme Court rejected the partisan plan.
* The list of 2022 congressional retirements grew a little longer yesterday, with Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth of Indiana announcing his decision not to seek re-election this fall. The incumbent congressman had vowed to serve no more than four terms, but he’s now stepping down after three.
* As bizarre as this may sound, The New York Times reported this morning that the Republican National Committee intends to require the party’s presidential candidates “to sign a pledge to not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.”
* Pennsylvania’s crowded Republican Senate primary got a little more crowded yesterday with David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive aligned with members of Donald Trump’s team, filed the paperwork for a 2022 candidacy. This will be McCormick’s first bid for elected office, though he served in George W. Bush’s administration. * In November, a national Quinnipiac poll found Republicans leading Democrats on the congressional generic ballot by eight points. Yesterday, Quinnipiac released new results showing the GOP’s advantage slipping to one point. * Why did Republican Michele Fiore, a gubernatorial candidate in Nevada, air campaign ads on the Fox News affiliate in West Palm Beach, which is roughly 2,500 miles away from her home state? Because she was trying to get Donald Trump’s attention.
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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