Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Democratic leaders hoped to convince Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) to take on Sen. Jeff Flake (R) in Arizona next year, and the NBC affiliate in Phoenix reports today that she is now planning to do exactly that.
* On a related note, the same report said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton (D), who’s been rumored as a possible Senate candidate, has signaled an interest in running for Sinema’s U.S. House seat.
* In the latest national CNN poll, Democrats now lead Republicans on the generic congressional ballot, 51% to 40%. The midterms are over a year away, but that’s a pretty significant advantage.
* Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who also served as Obama’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has reportedly formed a new PAC “as he steps up his political activity and considers a possible run for president in 2020.”
* Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to show an interest in electoral matters, throwing his support behind former U.S. attorney Doug Jones in his Senate primary in Alabama. * RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel had an interesting quote this week about her party’s messaging: “It is hard to go and make the case, ‘give us the majority again,’ when we haven’t accomplished the things that we ran on.” * Every once in a while, Democratic officials show renewed interest in competing in Texas, but a year out from next year’s gubernatorial race in the Lone Star State, the party has no major candidates lined up.
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
