Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Just two weeks after his first debate performance, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) ended his presidential candidacy yesterday, vowing instead to run for re-election to Congress. His national campaign only lasted three months.
* On a related note, those who were pleased to see the Democratic presidential field shrink yesterday from 25 candidates to 24 didn’t have much time to celebrate: billionaire activist Tom Steyer kicked off his White House campaign this morning. Six months ago, Steyer announced he wouldn’t run for president, though he appears to have changed his mind.
* Republican voters in North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district today will choose their nominee for the upcoming special election. State Rep. Greg Murphy is facing pediatrician Joan Perry in today’s runoff primary. The general election is Sept. 10.
* In Kentucky, retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath (D), who ran a strong-but-unsuccessful congressional campaign last year, announced this morning that she’s running to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) in 2020.
* On a related note, former Rep. Scott Taylor (R), who lost his re-election bid in Virginia last year after his campaign was rocked by a fraud scandal, kicked off his U.S. Senate campaign on Fox News yesterday. * In an Emerson poll released this morning, former Vice President Joe Biden (D) leads the Democratic presidential field with 30%, while Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) were tied for second with 15% each. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) was the only other candidate to reach 5%. * And the AP reported yesterday that Democratic voters in Iowa and Nevada will be able to vote in their respective presidential caucuses by voting over the phone. In case this isn’t obvious, tele-caucus systems like these are likely to wreak havoc on pollsters trying to put together likely-voter models.
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
