Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* With less than a week remaining before Mississippi’s gubernatorial race, incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley engaged in a “raucous“ debate last night.
* Would home-state loyalties lead Florida Sen. Rick Scott to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign? Evidently not: The senator is reportedly throwing his support to Donald Trump.
* Speaking of endorsements, the former president has released a series of new videos announcing his support for Reeves, Republican Sen. Mike Braun’s gubernatorial candidacy in Indiana, and Republican Rep. Mike Rogers’ re-election bid in Alabama.
* The latest national poll from Quinnipiac University poll found Trump crushing his rivals in the race for the GOP’s presidential nomination, leading the field with 64% support. DeSantis was second with 15%, followed by former Ambassador Nikki Haley with 8%. No other Republican candidate topped 3% in the survey.
* On a related note, the same Quinnipiac poll found President Joe Biden with the narrowest of leads over Trump in a hypothetical general-election match-up, 47% to 46%. When conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is added to the mix, the incumbent Democrat’s lead grows from one point to three. * With Republican Rep. Mike Johnson moving from House Republican Conference vice chair to House speaker, there’s a race underway on Capitol Hill to fill the vacancy in the GOP leadership. Rep. Stephanie Bice was seen as a top contender, but the Oklahoman withdrew from consideration yesterday. * And with less than a week remaining before state legislative elections in Virginia, Republican Rep. Tara Durant, who is now running for the state Senate, has built her political career on a story in which she was “assaulted” by an “angry mob” of Black Lives Matter “rioters.” HuffPost reported, “[N]ewly obtained documents relating to Durant’s 911 call, in addition to an interview with a protester who was present during Durant’s supposed assault, tell a different story of what happened that day ― one that suggests Durant has been significantly exaggerating.”
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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