Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Following an odd debate over the propriety of the word “racism,” Republican legislators in the Texas House yesterday advanced their new voter-suppression legislation. The measure now heads to the GOP-led state Senate.
* Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to campaign today in California alongside Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor facing a recall campaign. In light of yesterday’s terrorist attack in Afghanistan, the event was canceled. The Democratic incumbent’s recall election is in 19 days.
* Axios reported yesterday that Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is “threatening to withhold millions in state funds from Maricopa County if it doesn’t comply with the state Senate’s partisan audit of the 2020 election.” It’s worth noting for context that Brnovich is also a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, eager to impress his party’s far-right base.
* With early voting in Virginia’s gubernatorial race poised to begin in a few weeks, the Virginia Republican Party is filing a new lawsuit, claiming that there was a problem with former Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s candidacy declaration paperwork, and asking a state judge to remove the Democratic nominee from the ballot. This seems like a longshot. * In Florida, the latest Quinnipiac poll found that 51% of the state’s voters disapprove of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of the COVID-19 crisis, while 46% approve of the Republican’s efforts. Overall, the poll found the governor, who’s up for re-election next year, with a 47% approval rating, while 48% believe he deserves a second term. * On a related note, the same Quinnipiac poll found Sen. Marco Rubio, who is also seeking another term next year, with a 49% approval rating. The survey also showed 47% of Floridians saying the Republican incumbent deserves a third term.
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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