Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Ohio’s 12th congressional district, Danny O’Connor (D) picked up a net gain of 190 votes yesterday, but he still trails Troy Balderson (R) by 1,564 votes.
* Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) told the Tampa Bay Times yesterday that Russian operatives have “already penetrated” the voter-registration systems in “certain counties” in Florida. State officials discounted the claims.
* Soon after, the Senate Leadership Fund, a prominent Republican super PAC led by Mitch McConnell’s former chief of staff, seemed to attack the Florida senator’s age. “It’s time for Bill Nelson’s caretakers to keep better tabs on the senator’s whereabouts,” the super PAC said. For the record, Bill Nelson is younger than Mitch McConnell.
* As recently as last year, Corey Stewart, the Republican Party’s U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia, delivered public remarks in which he praised Virginia’s decision to secede in 1861.
* On a related note, a new statewide poll from Virginia Commonwealth University shows Sen. Tim Kaine (D) leading Stewart (R) by 23 points.
* Voter turnout in Michigan’s primaries this week was the highest seen in the state since 1978. * On a related note, as the Associated Press noted, Michigan’s Democrats are currently set to field an all-female ticket for statewide offices this year. That said, the party’s gubernatorial nominee, Gretchen Whitmer, still has to choose a running mate. * Despite what Donald Trump has said about his wife and father, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has asked the president to campaign for him in the Lone Star State this year. * And the president claimed yesterday that Republicans “have now won 8 out of 9” in House special elections. It’s actually 8 out of 10 — for some reason, the president refuses to acknowledge the race last year in California’s 34th — and that tally excludes the Senate special election in Alabama, which Republicans also lost.
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
