Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* There are only a handful of primaries remaining, and they’re all scheduled for this week. First up are contests in New Hampshire tomorrow, followed Rhode Island on Wednesday, and New York on Thursday.
* On a related note, arguably this week’s most high-profile contest is New York’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. If a new Siena poll is correct, it won’t be close: the survey shows incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo leading Cynthia Nixon by 41 points, 63% to 22%.
* CNBC reports that the conservative Koch political network is launching a new super PAC, Americans for Prosperity Action, just in time for this year’s midterm elections. CNBC added that the entity will serve as “a sister organization” to the Koch-backed non-profit Americans for Prosperity.
* Six years after Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D) successful campaign in West Virginia featured him literally shooting a cap-and-trade bill, the incumbent senator has a new ad in which he shoots the Republicans’ anti-health-care lawsuit. “Patrick Morrisey’s lawsuit would take away health care from people with pre-existing conditions,” Manchin says in the spot, referring to his GOP challenger. “That’s just dead wrong, and that ain’t gonna happen.”
* In the closely watched U.S. House race in Kentucky’s 6th congressional district, the latest poll from the New York Times and Siena College shows incumbent Rep. Andy Barr (R) with the narrowest of leads over Amy McGrath (D), 47% to 46%. * Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) concluded on Friday that the legislative redistricting process “has reached an impasse,” with the parties unable to reach an agreement. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, “The governor and House Democratic leaders said it is now time to let the three judges who ruled that 11 House districts were unconstitutional redraw the boundaries in time for the 2019 elections.” * And in Florida, a federal judge has ordered state officials to make sample ballots available in Spanish. The issue is of particular interest this year in light of the number of Puerto Ricans who came to Florida after Hurricane Maria.
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
