Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Minnesota yesterday, Democrat Karla Bigham won her state Senate special election by three points, keeping the seat “blue.” It was, however, a competitive district: Donald Trump narrowly won here in the last presidential election.
* In related news, Minnesota was also home yesterday to a state House special election, where Republican Jeremy Munson prevailed in a district that Trump won by 26 points. Munson won by about 18 points.
* In a quote Nevada Democrats will be only too pleased to share with voters in the fall, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said yesterday about his plans for immigration policy, “I have a tendency to support what the president’s trying to do, and that’s probably the position that’s closest to where I am.”
* The Republican National Committee now intends to keep the donations it received from Steve Wynn, the RNC’s former finance chair, “until state regulators in two states complete their investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct made against him.”
* The Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity is reportedly launching new attack ads targeting Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) for voting against the regressive Republican tax plan.
* In Alabama, state Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) has been caught in an exceedingly awkward spot: his office is subpoenaing state lawmakers while his political operation seeks campaign contributions from those same lawmakers. (Thanks to my colleague Laura Conaway for the heads-up.) * In Arizona, Senate hopeful Kelli Ward (R) told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt yesterday that she still wants Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to resign. Ward is currently running to replace Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who’s retiring. * In Missouri, where state Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) hopes to get his struggling Senate campaign back on track, the Republican publicly urged Donald Trump yesterday to hold his planned military parade in the Show-Me State. * And in Wisconsin, where Republican Kevin Nicholson hopes to unseat incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) this year, Nicholson’s parents responded to their son’s candidacy by contributing the legal maximum — to Baldwin.
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
