Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* A Washington Post/ABC News poll released over the weekend found former Vice President Joe Biden leading the Democratic 2020 presidential field nationally with 29%, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders with 19%, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren with 18%. Sen. Kamala Harris, at 7%, was the only other candidate above 5%. It’s also worth noting that Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was at 2%, which may help her qualify for the party’s debate in October.
* On a related note, Tom Steyer reached 2% in Nevada in a CBS News poll, which means he will be the 11th candidate to qualify for the October debates. It also means we’re likely to see back-to-back debates on successive nights again, unlike this week, when 10 candidates share a single stage.
* It’s Election Day in two North Carolina congressional districts tomorrow, and Donald Trump will be in the Tar Heel State tonight, hoping to rally support for the GOP candidate, Dan Bishop, in the competitive do-over race in the 9th district. The president has also published a few related tweets on the race in recent days.
* Mark Sanford, a former South Carolina governor and former three-term congressman, announced on Fox News yesterday that he’s running against Trump in a GOP presidential primary.
* In related news, Sanford will not have the ability to vote for himself: South Carolina Republicans agreed over the weekend to cancel the state’s 2020 Republican presidential primary in order to protect Trump. * At a campaign event in New Hampshire, Kamala Harris became the latest Democratic presidential hopeful to endorse mandatory buybacks of military-style assault weapons, though she conceded officials would have to “work out the details.” * For those keeping score, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was open to running for the U.S. Senate in Kansas next year, then he ruled out the possibility, then he left the door open again, then he closed it again, and yesterday he went back to dodging questions about his 2020 plans. * In the meantime, a growing number of GOP Kansans aren’t waiting for Pompeo to make up his mind: U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall (R) launched his Senate bid on Saturday. It’s an open-seat contest thanks to incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts’ (R) retirement. Kansas hasn’t elected a Democratic U.S. Senator since 1932.
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
