Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Ohio’s closely watched Senate race, a new Cincinnati Enquirer/Suffolk University poll shows Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) leading Rep. Jim Renacci (R) by 16 points, 53% to 37%. A new Quinnipiac poll points in a similar direction, showing Brown ahead 51% to 34%.
* On a related note, in Ohio’s gubernatorial race, the Enquirer/Suffolk poll found former CFPB Director Richard Cordray (D) leading state Attorney General Mike DeWine (R), 43% to 36%. Quinnipiac, meanwhile showed a tighter race, with Cordray up 42% to 40%.
* Facing heated complaints from Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) that the White House isn’t engaged enough in North Dakota’s Senate race, Donald Trump took a few shots yesterday at Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) on Twitter.
* Following Corey Stewart’s win this week in Virginia’s Republican Senate primary, the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity have decided not to invest in this contest this year.
* Slate noted this week that in Michigan, state Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R), a Republican gubernatorial candidate, has taken steps to remove the word “democratic” from the phrase “core democratic values” in the state’s proposed social studies standards. Colbeck complained that the phrase is “not politically neutral,” apparently confusing “democratic” with “Democratic.” * In New York, the latest Siena poll shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) with a 35-point lead over his Democratic primary rival, Cynthia Nixon, and a 19-point lead over his likely Republican opponent in the general election, Marc Molinaro. * Speaking of the Empire State, Rudy Giuliani is apparently not too busy serving as one of the president’s defense attorneys: he’s hitting the campaign trail in New York in support of Rep. Dan Donovan’s (R) campaign ahead of his tough primary race. * And just in case 2018 weren’t quite weird enough already, I thought I’d note that a literal pimp won a state legislative Republican primary in Nevada this week.
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
