Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Ahead of tomorrow’s Republican primary runoff in Alabama, appointed Sen. Luther Strange (R) is trying to distance himself from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose political operation has gone to great lengths to help Strange win.
* On a related note, in case the Alabama race couldn’t get any weirder, Nigel Farage, the former head of the UK’s Independence Party, will reportedly join Steve Bannon and reality-show star Phil Robertson at a rally tonight in support of Roy Moore.
* Donald Trump, meanwhile, called into an Alabama radio show this morning to emphasize his support for Strange, and twice referred to Roy Moore as “Ray.” Reminded of the candidate’s actual name, Trump replied that his confusion is “not a good sign” for Moore.
* With seven weeks remaining in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, a new pol from the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University shows Ralph Northam (D) with a modest lead over Ed Gillespie (R), 47% to 41%.
* A group called America First Policies, which has close ties to Trump’s operation, is reportedly launching an ad campaign encouraging the public to “turn off the NFL” because of players’ civil rights protests. * Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to maintain a busy political schedule, appearing over the weekend at an NAACP event in South Carolina. Biden also recently weighed in on a state Senate special election in Miami. * Despite having lost three statewide elections in six years, Dino Rossi (R) is taking yet another shot at elected office, running to succeed retiring Rep. Dave Reichert (R) in the state of Washington’s 8th district.
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
