Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Last night’s debate clearly wasn’t great for former Vice President Joe Biden, but he nevertheless received some good news this morning: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) has decided to endorse him.
* Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro saw a dramatic increase in his presidential campaign’s fundraising following Wednesday night’s debate. This will help him, among other things, possibly qualify for future debates.
* Rachel asked South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg about a recent officer-involved shooting in his city and why the local police force has so few black officers. He was candid in taking responsibility: “Because I couldn’t get it done. My community is in anguish right now because of an officer-involved shooting, a black man, Eric Logan, killed by a white officer. And I’m not allowed to take sides until the investigation comes back. The officer said he was attacked with a knife, but he didn’t have his body camera on. It’s a mess. And we’re hurting. And I could walk you through all of the things that we have done as a community, all of the steps that we took, from bias training to de-escalation, but it didn’t save the life of Eric Logan. And when I look into his mother’s eyes, I have to face the fact that nothing that I say will bring him back.”
* Last night, during his trip to the G-20 summit in Japan, Donald Trump turned to Twitter to talk about Democratic support for health-care benefits for undocumented immigrants. The president suggested he just won re-election: “That’s the end of that race!”
* The Atlantic this week asked the Democratic presidential campaigns whether they support the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Trump derailed in 2017. Though Joe Biden backed the agreement after the Obama administration helped negotiate it, his 2020 campaign wouldn’t say whether the Delaware Democrat still supports it. * In Miami yesterday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) tried to show support for striking workers at Miami International Airport, but he ended up inadvertently repeating a revolutionary rallying cry from Che Guevara. The presidential hopeful apologized soon after. * In Wyoming, all eyes are on Rep. Liz Cheney (R) to see if she intends to run for retiring Sen. Mike Enzi’s (R) seat, but in the meantime, former Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R) isn’t waiting: Lummis has filed the paperwork with the FEC to run for the Senate. * And in Missouri, state Auditor Nicole Galloway (D) — the only Democrat elected to statewide office in Missouri — has signaled to local party officials that she intends to take on Gov. Mike Parson (R) next year.
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
