Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The latest national Monmouth University poll found former Vice President Joe Biden (D) holding onto his lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, leading Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 33 to 15%. Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) were the only other candidates to reach double digits, with support of 11% and 10%, respectively.
* After Donald Trump attacked Biden this week for moving with his family to Delaware as a fourth grader, the Democrat’s campaign turned the president’s odd rhetoric into a new fundraising appeal.
* Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) sparked a fierce intra-party backlash this week after endorsing Trump’s impeachment, including drawing a primary rival in his Michigan district. Nevertheless, Amash reiterated his assessment yesterday in a relatively detailed statement.
* Speaking of primaries, Trump’s Republican primary challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, started fleshing out his electoral plan yesterday. The longshot presidential contender said his operation is focusing on 20 nominating contests, where he hopes to win crossover votes from Democrats who can vote in GOP primaries.
* On a related note, in the latest Monmouth University poll out of New Hampshire, Weld only had 12% support among GOP voters in the Granite State. New Hampshire will hold the nation’s first primary in February. * As many McDonald’s workers go on strike, a variety of Democratic presidential candidates are scrambling to show their support. * And as hard as this may seem to believe, self-help author Marianne Williamson has apparently qualified for the Democratic presidential debates through both of the available avenues: fundraising and polling. (The Monmouth poll showed her at 1%, which pushed her over the threshold.)
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
