Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes has officially resigned as a member of Congress. As of this morning, the House has two vacancies, and Democrats narrowly lead Republicans in the chamber, 221 to 212. This subtle shift means that House Democratic leaders can lose no more than four members on a given vote, up from three.
* In Illinois, the stage is set for another member-vs.-member primary this year, with Republican Rep. Mary Miller announcing plans to run in Republican Rep. Rodney Davis’ district. This will be one of five member-vs.-member primaries in the 2022 cycle.
* On a related note, while House GOP leaders are backing Davis in Illinois’ redrawn 15th congressional district, Donald Trump is backing Miller, who co-chaired his re-election campaign in Illinois in 2020.
* Speaking of interesting House races, Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger will now run in Virginia’s newly redrawn 7th congressional district, parts of which she currently represents.
* Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. are helping raise money in Wyoming for congressional hopeful Harriet Hageman, perhaps best known as Rep. Liz Cheney’s 2022 primary rival.
* On the other hand, Larry Hogan, Maryland Republican governor, is helping raise money for Republican congressional incumbents who voted for Trump’s impeachment early last year. * Though Oprah Winfrey played an important role in helping raise Mehmet Oz’s national profile, she apparently won’t endorse his Republican U.S. Senate candidacy in Pennsylvania. “One of the great things about our democracy is that every citizen can decide to run for public office,” Winfrey said in a statement. “Mehmet Oz has made that decision. And now it’s up to the residents of Pennsylvania to decide who will represent them.” * After gaining some national attention by uttering “Let’s Go, Brandon” during a Christmas Eve call with President Joe Biden, Oregon’s Jared Schmeck told conservative Christian broadcaster Todd Starnes last week that he’s considering a run for elected office. * And finally, Twitter permanently suspended Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s account over the weekend, citing her repeated violations of the company’s terms of service. That said, the Georgia Republican’s official congressional Twitter account remains intact, at least for now.
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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