Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* There’s still some uncertainty about the future of the initiative, but The Associated Press reported overnight that the Arkansas Supreme Court “ordered the state to begin counting signatures submitted in favor of putting an abortion-rights measure on the ballot — but only ones collected by volunteers for the proposal’s campaign.”
* A group of voters who supported Nikki Haley’s 2024 presidential bid this week created a political action committee called Haley Voters for Harris, which will back Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic candidacy. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has now sent the PAC a cease and desist letter, demanding that they stop using Haley’s name.
* President Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver a speech Wednesday night in which he will discuss his decision not to seek a second term. Donald Trump and his political operation have demanded equal time, though as best as I can tell, no network has agreed to the request.
* Speaking of the Republican nominee, the Trump campaign also filed a complaint this week with the Federal Election Commission, complaining about Vice President Kamala Harris taking over Biden’s campaign accounts. This complaint isn’t likely to amount to much, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
* As Sen. Bob Menendez prepares to resign, who’ll replace the New Jersey Democrat? The Garden State’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, has vowed to appoint a temporary successor quickly, and a short list is coming together. * Harris continues to pick up 2024 support from some of the nation’s largest and politically powerful labor unions, including AFSCME and the AFL-CIO. * In related news, Teamsters Vice President at large John Palmer announced late last week that he’s moving forward with a challenge to incumbent President Sean O’Brien, following O’Brien’s controversial decision to speak at the Republican National Convention. * And an interesting observation about recent political history: “This will be the first Presidential election since 1976 to not have a Biden, Bush, or Clinton on the ticket.”
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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