Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though it seemed improbable in the recent past, Brandon Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, won Chicago’s mayoral election yesterday, narrowly defeating Paul Vallas, a former CEO of the Chicago public school system.
* In Denver’s mayoral race, the Associated Press reported that Kelly Brough, the former president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Mike Johnston, a former state senator, appear to be headed for a runoff election. Both are considered two of the more moderate candidates in the multi-candidate race.
* In Wisconsin, Republican state Rep. Dan Knodl appears to have narrowly won a state Senate special election, securing the GOP’s gerrymandered supermajority in the chamber.
* In North Carolina, state Rep. Tricia Cotham, who was elected as a Democrat six months ago from a heavily Democratic district, became a Republican this morning, handing the GOP a veto-proof majority in the chamber. Cotham, who was also an ardent supporter of reproductive rights, is now also suddenly open to new abortion restrictions.
* Though the timing was curious, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi announced her endorsement of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign yesterday, just hours before he surrendered to authorities at a New York courthouse. The former president has now received the support of six of Senate’s 49 GOP members. * On a related note, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — another one of the six senators backing Trump — appeared on Fox News again last night and again begged viewers to send money to the former president. * Speaking of Trump, the former president did not have to pose for a mugshot yesterday, so his political operation created a fake one for fundraising purposes. * And in case there were any doubts about Sen. Jacky Rosen’s 2024 plans, the Nevada Democrat officially announced this morning that she’s running for re-election.
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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