Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) kicked off his presidential campaign this morning. He’s the 12th candidate to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination, but only the second governor.
* Former Attorney General Eric Holder, whom I expected to run for president, explained in a new Washington Post op-ed that he’s skipping the race, but he said he’ll remain focused on the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and its affiliates.
* Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) held a formal launch for his 2020 campaign in Brooklyn, not far from his childhood home. For his first presidential campaign, the senator held a similar event in his home state of Vermont.
* The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Donald Trump trailing a generic Democratic rival, 41% to 48%, as the president looks ahead to his re-election fight.
* The same poll found the two least popular characteristics in a presidential candidate is someone over the age of 75 and a socialist. On Election Day 2020, Bernie Sanders, who’s long been comfortable with the “socialist” label, will by 79 years old. * Facing criticism, former Vice President Joe Biden backpedaled late last week after describing his successor, Mike Pence as “a decent guy.” * And in case 2020 wasn’t going to be complex enough, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) yesterday whether he’d consider running for president as a Libertarian. Though the congressman said such a campaign isn’t on his radar, Amash added, “I would never rule anything out.”
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
