Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* After Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel moved forward with plans to form the first-ever “RNC Pride Coalition,” the chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party called for her resignation over her outreach to the LGBTQ community. The RNC said McDaniel is not stepping down.
* As Texas’ gubernatorial race gets underway in earnest, former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is focusing much of his early attention on the state’s troubled energy grid.
* Speaking of the Lone Star State, former Florida Rep. Allen West formally launched his Republican gubernatorial campaign in Texas yesterday. West, who also led the Texas GOP, is taking aim at Covid-19 restrictions now that he’s no longer hospitalized from a Covid-19 infection.
* In Illinois, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker yesterday signed his state’s new, gerrymandered congressional district map. The map is designed to give Democrats a 14-3 advantage over Republicans in the state’s 17-member U.S. House delegation.
* Kevin Rinke, a former owner of Detroit-area car dealerships, kicked off a Republican gubernatorial campaign this week, vowing to spend at least $10 million of his own money on his 2022 candidacy. That’s not great news for former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who’s generally seen as the top GOP contender. * Roughly 30 election officials in Pennsylvania have quit this year. Philadelphia Commissioner Al Schmidt, who serves as vice chairman of the city’s election board, recently explained, “What was once a fairly obscure administrative job is now one where lunatics are threatening to murder your children.” * Remember when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in the 2020 presidential election and then-Vice President Al Gore conceded the race? Donald Trump has reportedly told people he believes Gore made the wrong choice.
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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