Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* A new MoveOn.org straw poll found 38% of the group’s progressive members listed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as their first choice. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who received MoveOn.org’s endorsement in 2016, was second in the straw poll with 17% support.
* Speaking of surveys, a new Emerson poll found former Vice President Joe Biden (D) leading the Democrats’ 2020 field with 34% support, followed by Sanders with 27%. Warren was third with 14%, and like nearly every other recent poll, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) rounded out the top five.
* On a related note, the same Emerson poll found each of the top Democratic contenders leading Donald Trump in hypothetical general-election match-ups.
* Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Mo.) officially endorsed Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign this morning. A week ago, the Californian didn’t have any congressional endorsements outside of her home state, but over the last five days, Harris has picked up three — and all are members of the Congressional Black Caucus. As Nate Silver noted this morning, “A gradual shift in support among black leaders from Biden/undecided to Harris would be one of the most significant events of the primary.”
* Warren, Sanders, and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) may be 2020 rivals, but this week, they’re partnering up in opposition to Sinclair Broadcast Group’s acquisition of 21 regional sports networks. The progressive senators are pressing the FEC and the Justice Department to conduct a review. * In an effort to duplicate the success Democrats have had in small-donor fundraising through ActBlue, Republicans this week launched their rival online mechanism, which they’re calling WinRed. * In Virginia, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) is still “thinking very seriously” about a gubernatorial run in 2021, despite the sexual-assault allegations he faced earlier this year. * And Gallup found that 23% of Americans now consider immigration the nation’s most important problem — a record high in Gallup surveys going back more than 25 years. That said, the same pollster also found that 75% of Americans consider immigration a good thing for the country — which is also a record high.
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
