Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the Democratic advantage over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot is seven points, 47% to 40%, down from 10 points in March. That said, among high-interest voters, the Democratic lead swells to 21 points.
* The same poll showed Donald Trump’s approval rating slipping to 39% from 43% in March.
* In the new Washington Post/ABC News poll, Dems are up by 10 on the generic congressional ballot among all U.S. adults, 50% to 40%. But among registered voters who say they’re certain to vote, the Democratic lead is 49% to 44%.
* The same poll found the president’s approval rating inching a little higher to 40%.
* In the race to replace him, outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has now officially thrown his support behind House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
* Increasingly worried about coal baron Don Blankenship’s possible victory in a Republican Senate primary in West Virginia, Republican insiders have created a new super PAC, the “Mountain Families PAC,” to help undermine his candidacy. * The pro-Trump America First Action Super PAC accepted $500,000 from disgraced former RNC Finance Chairman Steve Wynn. The group is now refusing to give back the money, despite Wynn’s scandals. * Boston hedge fund billionaire Seth Klarman was New England’s most generous Republican donor. Klarman, however, is now so dismayed by Trump’s rise and the GOP acquiescence that he’s begun contributing to Democrats. * And in California, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) welcomed an endorsement the other day from outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
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
