Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Wisconsin election officials completed a final canvassing of vote totals yesterday, and found that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the state by 20,608 votes. As the AP noted, the margin of victory is roughly six-tenths of a percentage point.
* On a related note, the president’s political operation has until 5 p.m. this afternoon to submit plans for a recount. A statewide recount in Wisconsin would cost $7.9 million, which Team Trump would have to pay up front, but late this morning, Republican officials indicated that they’ll only seek recounts in a couple of counties, at a cost of $3 million.
* In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced yesterday that election officials had completed an official audit of voting machines, and the review produced no evidence of fraud or foul play.
* In Nevada, the Trump campaign has filed a new lawsuit asking a judge to either declare the Republican president the winner — Joe Biden won Nevada by 2.4% — or to annul the election results Trump doesn’t like.
* Incumbent Sen. David Perdue (R) is refusing to debate Jon Ossoff (D) ahead of their runoff election in January, but appointed incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) has agreed to debate Raphael Warnock (D) in a televised event scheduled for Dec. 6. * Before Election Day, the Trump campaign relied on a cellphone app that allowed campaign staffers to “monitor the movements” of the president’s supporters, “and offered intimate access to their social networks.” What happens to all of that information now? The AP reported that the collected data “can be put to multiple other uses — to fundraise for the president’s future political ventures, stoke Trump’s base, or even build an audience for a new media empire.” * And in Virginia, which is one of only two states that will hold gubernatorial elections next year, former state House Speaker Kirk Cox (R) kicked off his campaign this week. In four of the last five elections, Virginians have elected Democratic governors. The exception, Republican Bob McDonnell, left office facing an ugly corruption scandal.
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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