Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It was Primary Day in Hawaii on Saturday, and state Sen. Kai Kahele won the Democratic primary in the state’s 2nd congressional district, and is now well positioned to succeed retiring Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D).
* It was Primary Day in Puerto Rico yesterday, though the process was derailed by a lack of ballots in voting centers across the island.
* Former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce his running mate this week, and though it’s not yet clear who’ll get the nod, we learned late last week that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) traveled to Delaware last weekend for a private meeting with the party’s presumptive nominee.
* In Wisconsin, widely seen as a key 2020 battleground, a new poll coordinated by the UW-Madison Elections Research Center in collaboration with the Wisconsin State Journal, found Biden leading Donald Trump in the state, 49% to 43%. Among those who say they’re “certain” to vote, Biden’s lead grows to 52% to 44%.
* In Arizona, Joe Arpaio’s latest comeback bid fell short, losing in a Republican primary in a bid to reclaim his old job as Maricopa County sheriff. Arpaio, who lost the office in 2016, was narrowly defeated last week by his former top aide, Jerry Sheridan. * In Massachusetts, Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse, who’s taking on incumbent Rep. Richard Neal in a Democratic primary, apologized yesterday after conceding he had romantic relationships with students during his teaching career. As of last night, Morse said he doesn’t intend to drop out of the congressional race. * The Montana Republican Party launched an organized effort to ensure Green Party candidates appear on the state’s November ballot, but a state judge Friday ruled otherwise on Friday. As a local report explained, “District Judge James Reynolds of Helena said several hundred people who signed the petition were improperly denied their request to withdraw their signatures, after discovering that the Montana Republican Party was behind the petition drive. He said the withdrawal requests must be accepted, and that with those withdrawals, the petition falls short of the minimum needed to qualify the Green Party for the 2020 ballot.” * And just when it seemed 2020 couldn’t possibly get more ridiculous, Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian Party’s 2020 candidate, was briefly derailed from the campaign trail over the weekend after being bitten by a bat.
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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