Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The lineups are now set for the Democratic presidential primary debates on July 30 and 31. Among the notable details: former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will again share a stage, and unlike last month’s debates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will appear alongside top-tier contenders, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D).
* Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) didn’t qualify for the next debate, but he did pick up a notable endorsement yesterday: retired four-star Army General Stanley McChrystal told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he’s backing the Massachusetts congressman.
* Bernie Sanders’ campaign is facing some criticism from its unionized staffers, some of whom have complained that they’re falling short of the $15-an-hour wage the senator supports at the federal level.
* Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign before anyone else in the field — he announced in July 2017, believe it or not — but he’s reportedly now being advised by his senior aides to quit. Axios’ article on this added that the Maryland Democrat has “loaned over $11 million of his own money to his campaign this year.”
* In Iowa, Bob Vander Plaats, the head of a prominent evangelical group called The Family Leader, yesterday announced his support for Rep. Steve King’s (R) primary rival, state Sen. Randy Feenstra (R). * Retired Air Force helicopter pilot MJ Hegar (D) was recruited to take on Sen. John Cornyn (R) in Texas next year, but she won’t run unopposed: Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards (D) announced her U.S. Senate campaign yesterday. * On a related note, retired Marine pilot Amy McGrath (D) was recruited to take on Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) in Kentucky next year, but she won’t run unopposed, either: retired Marine Lt. Col. Mike Broihier (D) also kicked off his U.S. Senate campaign yesterday.
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
