Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) launched his 2020 presidential campaign this morning, with a special emphasis on combatting the climate crisis. Inslee is the 11th Democrat to get into the race, but he is, at least for now, the only governor.
* In New Hampshire, which will host the nation’s first Democratic presidential primary next year, a new poll from the University of New Hampshire shows Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) out in front with 26%, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden (D) with 22%. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who’s third with 10%, was the only other candidate to reach double-digits.
* On a related note, the University of New Hampshire also polled Republicans in the Granite State, and found Donald Trump with 68% support in a hypothetical three-way match-up with John Kasich and Bill Weld.
* Former Obama cabinet secretary Julian Castro (D) is already on the presidential campaign trail, and yesterday, he said his twin brother, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) might run against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) next year.
* Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who’s also on the presidential campaign trail, is now reintroducing a bill “that would legalize marijuana and expunge convictions for possessing the drug.” His proposal is being endorsed by several other Democratic senators who are either already running for president or are eyeing the race. * In Hawaii this week, two former Democratic governors, Neil Abercrombie and John Waihee, announced their support for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D) primary rival, state Sen. Kai Kahele (D). * As a matter of modern history, the presidential candidate with the most endorsements usually wins his or her party’s nomination. With this in mind, I was glad to see FiveThirtyEight launch its new endorsement tracker this week.
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
