Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* There are only 13 women in the House Republican conference, and two of them are retiring, including Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.), who announced her plans on Friday afternoon. Three GOP House members announced their retirements just last week.
* Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s off-again, on-again interest in Kansas’ open U.S. Senate seat is apparently off again. He said this morning, in reference to the 2020 Senate race, “It’s off the table.”
* Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) unveiled some fresh details this morning about her Medicare-for-All plan. Among other things, it would be phased in over 10 years — Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) plan features a four-year window — and Harris would allow private insurers to sell plans by way of Medicare Advantage.
* On a related note, Sanders traveled by bus from Michigan to Canada yesterday, joining a group of American consumers who bought insulin at a pharmacy in Windsor — where it’s cheaper than in the U.S.
* After this week’s Democratic presidential primary debates, it will be more difficult for candidates to qualify for the next round of events, but it looks like Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) campaign has met the threshold. * California’s state legislature recently approved a bill to require presidential candidates to release their tax returns in order to qualify for the state ballot. Former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoed a related bill a few years ago, and current Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is reportedly conflicted about how to proceed. * A striking Politico report about the operatives behind a conservative political action committee: “The Conservative Majority Fund has raised nearly $10 million since mid-2012, but has made just $48,400 in political contributions.”
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
