Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Barack Obama will “formally reenter the political fray” this week, headlining a fundraiser in support of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. The closed-door event will be held in D.C.
* In New Mexico, Rep. Steve Pearce (R) is kicking off his gubernatorial campaign today, hoping to succeed Gov. Susana Martinez (R), who’s prevented by term limits from seeking a third term. This will be Pearce’s second attempt at statewide office, following an unsuccessful Senate race in 2008.
* On a related note, with Pearce running for governor, Democrats see New Mexico’s 2nd district as a key pick-up opportunity, despite its overall conservative leanings.
* At an event in Poland last week, Donald Trump continued to focus on last year’s U.S. election, declaring alongside the Polish president, “Polish Americans came out in droves. They voted in the last election, and I was very happy with that result.” There is little evidence to suggest Polish-American voters preferred Trump in 2016.
* Wasting little time, the DSCC has already endorsed Rep. Jacky Rosen’s (D) Senate campaign in Nevada, hoping to discourage potential primary rivals. * After winning yet another term in 2012, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he wouldn’t seek another term. Now, however, the 83-year-old Utah Republican says he intends to run for re-election again, though his wife “is not real enthusiastic about it,” which gives him “pause.” * And in Alabama, where appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R) is facing a tough special-election primary, the Republican senator apparently hopes Fox will help him prevail: “In the last two months, Strange has appeared on Fox News and Fox Business almost 20 times, sometimes twice in the same day.” AL.com’s Kyle Whitmire described the dynamic this way: “The media arm of the national Republican Party is trying to rig the game for Strange.”
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
