Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Alabama’s Republican Senate primary runoff, Donald Trump reportedly told appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R) he’d headline an in-state rally on Strange’s behalf. With just two weeks remaining, the senator is still waiting.
* Voters in Maine will soon have the opportunity to vote on Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act, and Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) has fought to make sure the benefit is described as “welfare” on the ballot. The Maine Secretary of State’s office has rejected the governor’s request.
* In Virginia on Friday, the State Board of Elections “directed counties to ditch touchscreen voting machines before November’s elections, saying the devices posed unacceptable digital risks.” As Politico‘s report noted, the decision applies to this year’s elections, which are just two months away.
* Speaking of Virginia, the Washington Post reports that the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former Attorney General Eric Holder and backed by former President Barack Obama, “recently made its first campaign donation: $500,000 to the Democratic Party of Virginia to help elect Ralph Northam as the state’s next governor.”
* And in still more news out of the commonwealth, former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina, who’s already failed twice in her bids for public office, announced Friday she won’t run for the Senate in Virginia next year. * To no one’s surprise, Hillary Clinton will not seek public office again, telling CBS News in an interview that aired yesterday, “I am done with being a candidate. But I am not done with politics because I literally believe that our country’s future is at stake.” * And in Tennessee, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (D) told CNN he’s still “contemplating” whether to run for re-election, and retirement remains a possibility. Last week, former state Rep. Joe Carr (R) suggested he’s gearing up to take on Corker in a Republican primary, if the incumbent runs again.
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
