Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Given a chance to weigh in on partisan gerrymandering, the Supreme Court punted this morning, leaving the broader questions unanswered.
* In case politics in New York weren’t quite messy enough, Stephanie Miner, the former mayor of Syracuse and a former top official in the state Democratic Party, is launching a gubernatorial campaign in which she’ll run as an independent against incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), her former ally. It raises the prospect of a four-way gubernatorial contest in the Empire State this fall.
* In a literal sense, Cambridge Analytica may be no more, but at least four of the firm’s former officials have created a new company, Data Propria, which has been quietly working for Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, according to an Associated Press report.
* Rep. Kevin Cramer (R), who’s complained bitterly about the White House not doing enough to support his Senate bid in North Dakota, will welcome Trump to his home state next week. Cramer is taking on Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D) in one of this year’s marquee match-ups.
* On a related note, Trump is also traveling this week to Nevada, where the president will headline a fundraiser for Sen. Dean Heller (R). According to CNN, Trump will also address the Nevada State Republican Convention. * The Democratic National Committee agreed late last week to hold its 2020 convention from July 13 to 16 — before the Summer Olympics — though party officials have not yet chosen a host city. It will be the earliest the DNC has held its convention since 1992. * On a related note, the Republican National Committee has not chosen the dates for its nominating convention, but it has narrowed the list of possible host cities to Charlotte and Las Vegas. * And in Montana yesterday, the Montana Broadcasters Association scheduled a debate between Sen. Jon Tester (D) and Matt Rosendale (R), but the Republican declined to participate. The event sort of happened anyway, with Tester hosting a Q&A.
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
