Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* After his arraignment at a federal courthouse in New York, Republican Rep. George Santos told reporters that he’ll still run for a second term next year. He did not appear to be kidding.
* On a related note, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who tends to support his own members’ electoral plans, told CNN in reference to Santos’ 2024 bid, “No, I’m not going to support him. Santos has a lot going on. I think he has other things to focus on in his life other than running for re-election.”
* Democratic officials watched Donald Trump’s town hall event last night with great interest and found a “gold mine” for future advertising.
* While most Senate Republicans, especially those from red states, resist the urge to completely reject the idea of Trump’s 2024 candidacy, Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said this morning that he will not support the former president’s comeback bid. Asked why not, the GOP senator, who used to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee and who won’t be on the ballot again until 2028, replied, “Where do I begin?”
* With just days remaining in Kentucky’s Republican gubernatorial primary, former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft declared this week that if she’s elected, “we will not have transgenders in our school system.” She didn’t clarify how she intended to pursue such an offensive goal. * On a related note, Craft’s principal GOP rival, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, was asked this week about a jury finding Trump liable for sexual assault. Just hours after the verdict was announced, Cameron said he’s “honored to have President Trump’s endorsement.” * And while it’s not yet clear what Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin intends to do next year, the conservative West Virginian spoke to a group of business and community leaders from Iowa yesterday, boasting about being “fiscally responsible and socially compassionate.” It sparked another round of conversation about the senator’s possible interest in some kind of national campaign.
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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