Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* How much did the pointless California recall election cost? The New York Times reported that the process cost taxpayers $276 million to administer the election, but that doesn’t account for the nearly $200 million in campaign investments across both parties. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated the recall effort easily this week.
* In related news, now that California’s recall election is over, legislative leaders in the Golden State are already making plans to reform the state’s unfortunate recall laws.
* With time running out in Virginia’s gubernatorial election, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin are scheduled to face off tonight in their first debate of the year. There have been previous attempts to schedule one-on-one faceoffs between the contenders, but the GOP nominee declined other invitations.
* In Nevada, former Republican Sen. Dean Heller is reportedly eyeing a comeback and is poised to launch a 2022 gubernatorial campaign. In 2018, Heller lost a Senate re-election bid, and though he was reportedly considered for a role in the Trump administration, that didn’t work out.
* In Wyoming, now that Donald Trump has endorsed Harriet Hageman in the Republican primary against Rep. Liz Cheney, other GOP contenders are quickly exiting the race. Yesterday, state Rep. Chuck Gray was the latest Republican to withdraw from the congressional contest. * In Cleveland, former Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s comeback bid fell short: In the city’s mayoral race this week, nonprofit executive Justin Bibb and Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley advanced to the general election, while Kucinich, who was first elected to the mayor’s office in 1977, finished third. * And in Colorado, University of Colorado Regent Heidi Ganahl, the last Republican to hold statewide office in the Rocky Mountain State, kicked off a 2022 gubernatorial campaign this week. On her first day, she wouldn’t answer questions about whether she believes there was fraud in the 2020 presidential election, calling the questions “divisive.”
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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