Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) caused a bit of a stir this week, hiring two fierce Hillary Clinton critics for his presidential campaign team, it turns out he also hired someone from Clinton’s 2016 team: Tyson Brody, Clinton’s deputy research director, will now oversee the Vermonter’s research operation.
* We recently learned that former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) raised $6.1 million on his first day as a presidential candidate, and yesterday, his team released some additional details: there were more than 128,000 unique donors, with an average donation of $47. In contrast, Bernie Sanders had 223,000 donors, with a $27 average contribution, on his first day.
* On a related note, Mark Gallogly, a prominent Democratic bundler who helped support Barack Obama’s campaigns, is reportedly prepared to back O’Rourke’s 2020 candidacy.
* Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is on record saying he doesn’t support changes to the Senate’s filibuster rules, but this week, he hedged on the issue and said he’s open to an institutional change.
* The latest Emerson poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders tied at 26% each among Democrats nationwide. The only other candidates to reach double digits were Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) at 12% and Beto O’Rourke at 11%. * The same poll showed some hypothetical general election match-ups against Donald Trump, and Biden easily fared the best, leading the president by 10 points, 55% to 45%. * Finally, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), hoping to advance his own presidential campaign, participated in a CNN town-hall forum yesterday, and was asked whether he’d choose a woman as his running mate. Hickenlooper said he would, though he added, “How come we’re not asking, more often, the women, ‘Would you be willing to put a man on the ticket?’” I’m not sure if he was trying to be funny, but this was probably not a smart thing to say.
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
