Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Republican Party leaders in New York’s 27th congressional district, where indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R) has suspended his campaign, met this week to plan what to do next. GOP officials are reportedly preparing to meet with prospective replacement candidates, but how they intend to get around state laws is unclear.
* On the heels of his failed U.S. Senate bid in West Virginia, Rep. Evan Jenkins (R) has a new plan: he’s running for one of the vacant seats on the state Supreme Court.
* Though the real 2018 advertising onslaught isn’t expected to begin until after Labor Day, the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is closely aligned with the House Republican leadership, is reportedly investing $10 million in anti-Democratic attack ads this month, not next.
* I try not to focus too much on the 2020 cycle, but Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is poised to endorse Deidre DeJear in Iowa’s secretary of state race, and this might very well have something to do with the presidential race.
* Election-watchers will be interested to know that FiveThirtyEight yesterday launched its big U.S. House forecast, which will be updated regularly, and which currently shows Democrats winning a net gain of 35 seats, which would give them a majority in the next Congress. * John Cox, California’s Republican gubernatorial candidate, expressed some regret yesterday after comparing DMV wait times to the plight of a Holocaust survivor. * And in Mississippi, Senate hopeful Chris McDaniel published a Facebook item this week praising Robert E. Lee. In the process, McDaniel made clear that his grasp of historical details needs some work.
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
