Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Barack Obama has made a few candidate endorsements since leaving office, but next week, the former president will make his first public appearance in support of a candidate. Obama will headline a rally in Richmond a week from today in support of Ralph Northam’s Democratic gubernatorial campaign in Virginia.
* The latest Quinnipiac poll, released yesterday, showed Donald Trump with a 38% approval rating. Perhaps more importantly, the same survey found 55% of Americans do not believe Trump is fit to serve as president.
* Billionaire Tom Steyer, a prominent Democratic donor, is reportedly “demanding that lawmakers and candidates on the left support removing President Trump from office.” Expect to hear more about this as the 2018 midterms, especially if other leading donors have similar expectations.
* Earlier this year, Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont) was elected to Congress the day after he was recorded assaulting a journalist and lying about it. Yesterday, a judge ordered that his mugshot be released to the public.
* Great America Alliance, a pro-Trump advocacy group, announced its first three Senate endorsements yesterday: Matt Rosendale (R) in Montana, Patrick Morrisey (R) in West Virginia, and Marsha Blackburn (R) in Tennessee. As Roll Call noted, the Alliance’s political arm is the Great America PAC. * With Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) facing a GOP primary challenge from former congressman and convicted felon Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are making it clear they support Donovan. * Remember Archie Parnell, who nearly pulled off an upset in a South Carolina congressional special election in June? The Democrat announced this week that he’s running again in 2018 and he unveiled a surprisingly funny kick-off ad. (Note the cameo from South Carolina’s James Clyburn, a member of the House Democratic leadership.)
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
