Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* To the surprise of no one, Sen. Marsha Blackburn launched a Republican gubernatorial campaign in Tennessee. Despite the senator’s thin legislative record and history of weird conspiracy theories, she’s generally seen as the new front-runner in the race.
* With Blackburn willing to give up her Senate seat, a couple of GOP congressmen in the Volunteer State — Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and Tim Burchett — have already expressed an interest in succeeding Blackburn in the upper chamber.
* There are only 13 weeks remaining before Election Day in New Jersey, and recent polling suggests Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill is leading Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker, but not by overwhelming margins. With this in mind, the Democratic National Committee has announced plans to invest more than $1.5 million into the race.
* In Georgia, the field of Democratic gubernatorial candidates continues to grow, with Michael Thurmond, the former chief executive officer of DeKalb County, kicking off his candidacy this week. He joins a field that already includes former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
* In related news, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan this week officially announced that he has left the Republican Party and become a Democrat. * How serious is Donald Trump’s political operation about taking down Republican Rep. Thomas Massie in a Kentucky primary next year? The MAGA super PAC aligned with the president continues to target the incumbent congressman with attack ads, despite the fact the GOP primary is still roughly a year away. * And in Illinois, Rep. Darin LaHood made no secret of his interest in a statewide race, but the Republican congressman saw the prevailing winds and decided to run for re-election in his safe GOP district.
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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