Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* At an event in New York last night, a heckler interrupted a Howard Schultz event, telling the likely independent presidential candidate, “Don’t help elect Trump, you egotistical billionaire a–hole!”
* In related news, Donald Trump taunted the Starbucks executive on Twitter yesterday, saying he doesn’t have the “guts” to launch a national campaign. The president reportedly told supporters last night this was a deliberate ploy to get Schultz to run, since Schultz’s candidacy will improve Trump’s odds of winning a second term.
* The new Washington Post/ABC News poll asked Democratic voters and Democratic-leaning independents for their preferred 2020 presidential candidate. It was an open-ended question, and respondents were not given options to choose from. Joe Biden came out on top, but no candidate reached double-digit support, suggesting there is no clear frontrunner.
* Former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) spent quite a bit of time in recent months raising the prospect of running against Trump in a Republican primary next year, but the Arizonan announced this morning that he will not be a candidate.
* Different proponents of Medicare-for-All models approach the issue in different ways, but Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a leading Democratic presidential hopeful, conceded last night that in her model, private insurers would no longer exist. That’s a politically risky proposition that many other Dems have been unwilling to take. * On a related note, Harris picked up her first congressional endorsement yesterday, with Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) announcing his support for his fellow Californian. * As Pennsylvania’s 12th district prepares for a congressional special election, failed Senate hopeful Lou Barletta, who lost badly to Sen. Bob Casey (D) last year despite Trump’s support, is interested in the race. There is, however, a problem: Barletta doesn’t live in Pennsylvania’s 12 district. * And if you’ve enjoyed Rep. Mark Meadows’ (R-N.C.) leadership of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, you’ll be pleased to learn that he was re-elected last night for a second term as its chairman.
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
