Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The Des Moines Register and CNN released a new poll of Iowa Democrats over the weekend, and found former Vice President Joe Biden leading the 2020 field with 27%, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at 25%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is third with 9%, followed by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) at 7% and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) at 5%. Every other candidate was at 3% or lower.
* The same poll, by the way, asked respondents for their second choice. The Register reported, “Among those who say Sanders is their first choice, 40 percent say Biden is their second choice.” At least at this point in the process, it would suggest ideology isn’t foremost on many voters’ minds. It also suggests name-ID is helping drive the results.
* And before we move on, the Washington Post’s Dave Weigel noted for context that at this point four years ago, Hillary Clinton had a 51-point lead in Iowa, and she ended up winning the 2016 caucuses by less than a percentage point. Among Republicans, Scott Walker narrowly led the crowded GOP field, and by the time of the caucuses, he’d already dropped out of the race.
* The Democratic National Committee has chosen Milwaukee as the host city for its 2020 national convention, despite an aggressive 11th-hour lobbying push from Miami. The event, slated for mid-July, will be the first time Milwaukee has hosted a nominating convention for either national party.
* Democratic leaders lobbied North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D) to take on Sen. Thom Tillis (R) next year, but Stein has reportedly decided to seek re-election to his state office instead. * Apparently concerned about Beto O’Rourke’s 2020 prospects, the far-right Club for Growth is poised to begin airing attack ads against the Texas Democrat in Iowa this week. (The group is going after O’Rourke from the left, not the right.) * Despite his embarrassing special-election defeat in 2017, disgraced former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (R) conceded on Friday that he’s “seriously considering” another U.S. Senate campaign next year. * And after House Democrats passed their election-reform package on Friday (H.R. 1), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a round of digital advertising in 44 House districts praising the legislation and the members who voted for it.
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." Recommended
