Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) told reporters on Capitol Hill this morning that he was briefly hospitalized because he was experiencing “muscle spasms,” but he’s returning to work. The Vermonter is up for re-election next year, and Leahy said this morning he’ll decide on his plans later this year.
* In North Carolina, state election officials announced that the Constitution Party and the Green Party failed to reach 2% support and are therefore no longer recognized as political parties. As WRAL in Raleigh reported, “As a result, North Carolina voters will no longer be able to affiliate with either party.”
* In Ohio’s open U.S. Senate race next year, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) wasted little time announcing that he is not running, but Amy Acton, former director of the Ohio Department of Health, is reportedly considering the race, to the delight of some Ohio Democrats.
* A new Politico-Morning Consult poll found 30% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters would like to join a Trump-backed “Patriot Party.”
* Arkansas’ Republican gubernatorial primary is getting crowded, with current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, current state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders all running in the same primary. Yesterday, Donald Trump threw his support behind his former spokesperson, making the endorsement through his political action committee. * In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) announced that he raised more than $1 million in two weeks for a possible U.S. Senate campaign in 2022. Fetterman has not yet officially launched his candidacy. * And in California, Rep. David Valadao was the only Republican member of his state’s congressional delegation to vote for Trump’s impeachment. Three GOP rivals are now lining up with plans to defeat him. Valadao narrowly defeated former Rep. T.J. Cox (D) last year, and the DCCC hopes to flip the district back.
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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