Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* California Republicans hoping to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) may want to lower their expectations. A new poll conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times for support for recalling the governor at just 36%. Newsom’s approval rating, meanwhile, is 52% in the statewide survey.
* As House Republicans prepare to purge Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership post, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) responded on Twitter, “Expelling Liz Cheney from leadership won’t gain the GOP one additional voter, but it will cost us quite a few.”
* On a related note, Denton Knapp, a retired U.S. Army colonel, announced plans to run against Cheney in a Wyoming primary. If my count is right, he’s the fifth Republican to file the paperwork to take on Cheney in 2022, and the larger the field, the more likely it is that Cheney will prevail.
* Though modern history suggests otherwise, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) predicted the other day that his party will gain seats in the 2022 midterms. Since Reconstruction, the president’s party has gained House seats in midterm cycles only three times: 1934, 1998, and 2002.
* Donald Trump wasted no time offering Virginia’s Glen Youngkin his “complete and total endorsement” this morning. Youngkin secured the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination last night. The Democratic statewide primary is next month. * Though it seems like a longshot, former state Sen. Don Huffines (R) launched a primary challenge against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) this week. Among other things, Huffines has criticized the governor for not moving even faster to end pandemic restrictions. * And in New York, Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Executive, kicked off a Republican gubernatorial race this morning. It will be his second bid for the office: Astorino was the GOP nominee for governor in 2014, but he lost by 14 points to Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D).
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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