Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In the congressional special election in California’s 25th district, Christy Smith (D) conceded yesterday to Rep.-elect Mike Garcia (R), though the two are slated to face off again in November. Donald Trump repeatedly said the special election, in which his ally won, was “rigged.”
* The latest national CNN poll found Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by five points, 51% to 46%. The same results, however, showed the incumbent president faring better in battleground states.
* The Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump super PAC created by disaffected Republicans, generated a fair amount of attention of late with ads targeting the president and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). The Lincoln Project’s newest video takes aim at Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) over his support for Trump.
* Speaking of Tillis, the North Carolina Republican, facing a tough re-election fight this year, took fresh steps this morning to distance himself from Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who’s reportedly facing FBI scrutiny. “Senator Burr does owe all of us an explanation,” Tillis told a local radio station this morning.
* The Biden campaign this week announced the formation of joint “unity” task forces, featuring several prominent supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders’s former campaign manager Faiz Shakir told Vox that Biden’s team has been very “amenable and open” to working with progressives. * In Alaska, the state Supreme Court has ruled a recall effort targeting Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) can proceed, though recall proponents still haven’t met the signature threshold that would trigger a referendum. * And in Kansas, where Republicans are feeling a bit antsy about the open U.S. Senate race, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is reportedly still trying to nudge Secretary of State Mike Pompeo into the race, despite his earlier announcements. The filing deadline, for what it’s worth, is June 1.
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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