Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Donald Trump announced this morning that he will not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. It will be the first time an incumbent president refused to attend his successor’s inaugural event since Andrew Johnson in 1869. Trump’s declaration came about a half-day after he seemingly committed to “a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power.”
* Despite the party’s many recent failures, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was unanimously re-elected this morning.
* Appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) conceded defeat yesterday, two days after Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock (D) was declared the winner of their runoff contest in Georgia.
* Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (D), the state’s top elections official, said this morning he expects to certify the results of this week’s U.S. Senate races by Jan. 20. It’s at that point that senators can change the institution’s leadership structure from a Republican majority to a Democratic majority.
* Speaking of Georgia, voter turnout in the state was pretty amazing in the 2020 election cycle, in part because it’s never been easier for Georgians to participate in their own democracy. Ahead of the 2022 cycle, Georgia’s Republican-led state government is now eyeing a series of new restrictions, including sweeping limits on absentee balloting. * In 2022, Pennsylvania will be home to two wide-open statewide contests for governor and U.S. Senate, leading many to wonder which office Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) might seek. As of this morning, he’s apparently eyeing the Senate race. (Fetterman also ran for the Senate in 2016, but lost in a Democratic primary.) * Similarly, Florida will also hold gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in 2022, and many are wondering whether Rep. Val Demmings (D) will run in one of these statewide races. As of this week, the high-profile congresswoman said she’s still “weighing options.“ * On Wednesday morning, before the Trump-inspired riot at the U.S. Capitol, former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones announced his switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party. Last summer, Jones was a “Democrat” who endorsed Trump at the Republican National Convention. Explaining his decision hours before the Capitol violence, Jones wrote, “Now more than ever, the Republican Party is in desperate need of leaders that know how to fight. I know how to fight.”
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."
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