Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It took a while, but in Texas’s 23rd congressional district, the state’s most competitive, incumbent Rep. Will Hurd (R) has fended off a very tough challenge from Gina Ortiz Jones (D).
* Speaking of the handful of remaining U.S. House races, the results in Utah’s 4th congressional district aren’t yet official, but Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams (D) last night declared victory over Rep. Mia Love (R). The incumbent, however, hasn’t conceded and there are still some uncounted votes.
* In the wake of her racially provocative rhetoric, Walmart has asked Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) to return its campaign contribution. CNBC reported that Union Pacific and Boston Scientific also asked the Mississippi Republican to give back their contributions.
* The U.S. House races in California are done, right? Well, we thought so, but in the state’s 21st congressional district, where votes are still being tallied, David Valadao’s (R) lead over T.J. Cox (D) is now smaller than 1%. Major news organizations called the race for the Republican last week, but the outcome is suddenly in doubt.
* As Rachel noted on last night’s show, there was a bit of a surprise in Georgia’s secretary of state race, where Libertarian J. Smythe DuVal threw his support behind Democrat John Barrow. The race is two weeks from today. * The race for House Majority Whip has apparently ended, with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) bowing out, clearing the way for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) to claim the position. * Not that it matters in any practical sense, but the final numbers are available from Arizona’s U.S. Senate race, and Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema (D) ended up defeating Martha McSally (R) by 2.3%. Sure, that’s close, but it’s not that close. * And for those keeping track, as of this morning, the Democratic lead in the U.S. House popular vote now stands at 7.8%, up from 7.7% yesterday, and it may yet inch higher. For comparison purposes, note that in 2010 — which was widely seen as a GOP “wave” cycle — Republicans won the U.S. House popular vote by 6.6%. In 1994, which was seen as a Republican “revolution,” the GOP won the U.S. House popular vote by 7.1%.
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
