Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In a bit of a surprise, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) yesterday filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for re-election next year. The Iowa Republican will be 89 years old on Election Day 2022.
* With Gina Raimondo joining the White House cabinet this week, Dan McKee (D) was sworn in as Rhode Island’s new governor. He will serve the remainder of Raimondo’s second term, which ends next year, and it’s not yet clear whether McKee will seek a term of his own or whether he’d face Democratic primary rivals.
* In Wyoming, state Rep. Chuck Gray became the latest Republican to launch a primary campaign against House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). For the record, I’d find it ironic if the congresswoman won re-election because her intra-party rivals diluted the anti-Cheney vote.
* Though Donald Trump has gone after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) with a vengeance, and the former president is reportedly intent on destroying the governor’s career, the Georgia Republican told Fox News yesterday that he would “absolutely” support Trump’s candidacy if he wins the GOP nomination in 2024.
* In Florida, a new Mason-Dixon poll found incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) leading state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) by nine points and Rep. Charlie Crist (D) by 11 points in hypothetical general-election match-ups. * In the state of Washington, local GOP officials are reportedly pushing Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) to resign from Congress because she voted to impeach Donald Trump in January. * And in Missouri, former Gov. Eric Greitens (R) hinted last month that he might take on incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt (R) in a primary next year. This week, Greitens, who was forced to resign in disgrace in 2018, escalated his criticisms of Blunt — he complained that the senator isn’t pro-Trump enough — and said he’s “evaluating” the 2022 U.S. Senate race.
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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