Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* With only a few weeks remaining before party officials choose the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, who leads the state party in Minnesota, now has the backing of five state delegations. Meanwhile, his top rival, Wisconsin state party chair Ben Wikler, just picked up an endorsement from Georgia’s Stacey Abrams.
* The first in-person candidate forum for DNC candidates will be held this week in Detroit.
* Assuming Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is confirmed as the nation’s next secretary of state, whom will Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis choose to fill the vacancy? The Republican governor hasn’t said what he’ll do, though he told reporters last week that he would “absolutely not” appoint himself.
* In related news, Republican Rep. Cory Mills announced that he will run for Rubio’s Senate seat in 2026, no matter whom DeSantis chooses. It suggests that the governor’s pick shouldn’t expect smooth sailing when facing voters next year.
* The week after Election Day 2024, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said he’ll run for a second term in the 2026 elections. Last week, however, the far-right incumbent didn’t rule out the possibility of giving up his seat and running for governor instead. * Donald Trump’s track record of hiring failed Republican candidates for his incoming administration continues: The president-elect announced that Nevada’s Sam Brown, on the heels of his failed Senate bid, is his choice to serve as the next undersecretary for memorial affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. * And in case you missed it, the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, announced last week that it’s re-joining the AFL-CIO.
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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