Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Remember when Republicans in the Tennessee legislature expelled two of their Democratic colleagues in April? Both are headed back to the state capitol: NBC News reported, “Justin Jones won his election for his state House seat in Nashville, and Justin J. Pearson won his race in Memphis, according to AP projections.”
* Speaking of the “Tennessee Three,” the other member of the trio — Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson — is moving forward with plans to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn next year.
* The first New York Times/Siena College poll of the cycle in Iowa found Donald Trump leading the GOP pack, but by slightly smaller margins than we’ve seen in national surveys. According to the newly released data, the former president is ahead among Iowa Republicans with 44%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 20%, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott with 9%.
* The latest indictment against Trump featured a memorable exchange in which he told then-Vice President Mike Pence that the Republican Hoosier is “too honest.” With this in mind, Pence’s struggling presidential campaign is now selling merchandise featuring the two-word phrase.
* After DeSantis told a group of New Hampshire voters that he intends to start “slitting” the throats of federal workers, the two largest federal employee unions noticed — and they’re not pleased. * In a bit of a surprise Republican Rep. Dan Bishop announced this week that he won’t seek another term on Capitol Hill next year, choosing instead to run for state attorney general in his home state of North Carolina. * Amidst chatter about Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s possible national ambitions, billionaire megadonor Thomas Peterffy has sent $1 million to the Virginia Republican’s political action committee. Earlier this year, Peterffy was a DeSantis backer, though the donor paused his financial support for the Floridian in April. * And there’s an interesting controversy brewing in Mississippi’s race for lieutenant governor, where incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is accusing his GOP primary rival, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, of voter fraud.
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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