Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As Rachel noted at the end of last night’s show, Pennsylvania’s congressional special election is now officially over: Rick Saccone (R) finally conceded to Rep.-elect Conor Lamb (D).
* And speaking of Pennsylvania, state House Speaker Michael Turzai (R) confirmed yesterday that the Republican-led chamber will explore impeachment against four state Supreme Court justices who ruled against the GOP’s gerrymandered map.
* Defying the White House’s preferences, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) announced yesterday that he’s appointing Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) to replace Sen. Thad Cochran (R), who’s stepping down from the Senate for health reasons.
* In the Democratic primary in Illinois’ 3rd district, did the state’s open-primary system help Rep. Dan Lipinski fend off a progressive challenge from Marie Newman? Maybe.
* In Missouri, the Democratic-affiliated Senate Majority PAC is making a six-figure ad buy in support of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), launching a new ad tying state Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) to the state’s scandal-plagued governor, Eric Greitens (R). * On a related note, Hawley’s campaign is welcoming support from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), but Hawley still won’t commit to backing McConnell for the GOP leadership post. * In California, a new statewide poll from the Public Policy Institute of California shows Gavin Newsom (D) with a solid lead in the Golden State’s gubernatorial race. The same survey shows Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) with a 26-point lead over her Democratic rival, Kevin de Leon, in this year’s Senate race. * And while Donald Trump hasn’t commented on the Cambridge Analytica controversy, he seemed to point in that direction this morning, tweeting, “Remember when they were saying, during the campaign, that Donald Trump is giving great speeches and drawing big crowds, but he is spending much less money and not using social media as well as Crooked Hillary’s large and highly sophisticated staff. Well, not saying that anymore!”
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
