Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In North Carolina’s 9th, Democrat Dan McCready, who appeared on the show last night, withdrew his concession yesterday, and pressed Republican Mark Harris to come clean on his role in the election-fraud scheme.
* Nancy Pelosi took another step toward the House Speaker’s gavel this morning when Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) announced his support for her. Lynch recently put his name on a letter, signed by 16 House Dems, opposing Pelosi’s bid.
* I hope to flesh this out in more detail later today, but Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) officially conceded to Rep.-elect T.J. Cox (D) yesterday, marking the 40th House Democratic pickup of the 2018 elections.
* Mother Jones reported yesterday that in the 2016 cycle, the NRA and Donald Trump’s campaign allegedly violated campaign-finance law by coordinating their advertising campaigns. The article quoted Larry Noble, a former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, saying, “This is very strong evidence, if not proof, of illegal coordination.”
* Missouri’s state legislature is suddenly dealing with a flurry of resignations, as lawmakers scramble to become lobbyists before a new constitutional amendment takes effect. * A new campaign-finance filing found Florida’s Rick Scott (R) spent nearly $64 million of his own money on his successful U.S. Senate campaign, including $12.5 million in the race’s three final weeks. The Sun Sentinel added, “On a per vote basis, Scott spent $15.50 of his own money for each of the 4,099,505 votes he received.” * And the Texas Observer reported this week that Ray Myers, who helped co-author the Texas Republican Party’s official platform, described himself as “a white nationalist,” adding that he’s “very proud of it.”
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
