Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) this morning became the latest House Republican to announce his retirement. There are now 26 GOP lawmakers giving up their seats this cycle, roughly triple the number of House Democratic retirements.
* Presidential hopefuls continue to release their fundraising totals from the last three months of 2019, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised a little over $21 million. That’s a strong total, though it’s down from the Massachusetts Democrat’s third-quarter haul, and it’s just shy of Joe Biden’s fourth-quarter tally of $22.7 million.
* Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) reported this morning that her campaign raised $11.4 million in the fourth quarter, which is less than some of her top-tier rivals, though it more than doubles the amount she raised in the third quarter.
* Yesterday afternoon, we also learned that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) raised $3.4 million in the fourth quarter for her presidential campaign, which is up from her third-quarter haul, but far short of the totals from the top-tier candidates.
* In a bit of a surprise, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not compete in the Nevada caucuses next month, after failing to meet the Nevada State Democratic Party’s Jan. 1 filing deadline. * Secretary of State Mike Pompeo still hasn’t yet said whether he’ll run for the Senate in Kansas in the fall, telling Fox News this week that it’s his “intention” to remain in Donald Trump’s cabinet. The Republican added that a Senate campaign is “not something I want to do.” * As best as I can tell, self-help guru Marianne Williamson is still seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, but as of this week, she’s laid off her entire campaign staff, which generally isn’t a good sign.
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
