Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though the details are still coming together, former Gov. Phil Bredesen’s (D) Senate campaign in Tennessee contacted the FBI yesterday, concerned that the campaign had been hacked.
* I’ve seen multiple reports this week with Republicans trashing Rick Saccone (R), the party’s candidate in next week’s congressional special election in Pennsylvania. My advice: take the chatter with a grain of salt. It sounds to me like an elaborate exercise in setting expectations, so that if Saccone wins by three points, in a race GOP officials hoped to win by 23 points, it’ll look impressive.
* What’s weirder than the Republican National Committee paying rent in Trump Tower for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign? The apparent fact that Trump’s re-election campaign offices are largely empty.
* Sen. Dean Heller (R), worried about his re-election prospects in November, said the other day that he thinks Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire this summer. The Republican senator believes the news will excite his party’s base and boost his candidacy.
* And speaking of Nevada, Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) announced last year that he would not seek a second term, following sexual misconduct allegations. This week, however, local reports said Kihuen is “reconsidering” his decision to give up his seat. * Billionaire Tom Steyer, a prominent Democratic donor, announced this week he’s investing $7 million in Florida and California as part of a voter-outreach program, specifically targeting young voters. * And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke at a Democratic National Committee event this week and said, among other things, that she’s “donated to all 50 state Democratic parties — and $15,000 to the DNC.” Warren is up for re-election in Massachusetts this year, but is generally seen as a likely 2020 presidential candidate.
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
