Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It’s Primary Day in Alaska and Wyoming, and the race to watch is Wyoming’s Republican gubernatorial primary, where GOP megadonor Foster Friess is the highest-profile member of a large field of candidates.
* On a related note, Donald Trump this morning endorsed Friess, using rhetoric that will sound very familiar for a reason.
* In Nevada, where term limits prevent Gov Brian Sandoval (R) from seeking a third term, the Republican governor announced yesterday that he will not endorse anyone in the race to succeed him. That’s quite a snub for his party’s nominee, state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R).
* Can Democrats re-take the Senate in this year’s midterms? Not if casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has his say: the billionaire has given $25 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC focused on Republican control of the upper chamber.
* In Pennsylvania, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Scott Wagner joked at an event that Russians will “help” him in his race against incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf (D). At the November 2017 gathering, Wagner added, “If I have to use Paul Manafort, I will.” * In response to a federal court ruling against the commonwealth’s current state legislative districts, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is calling the General Assembly into special session on Aug. 30 to draw a new map that will be less gerrymandered to benefit Republicans. * Health care advocates in Nebraska cleared another hurdle last week in trying to get Medicaid expansion onto the statewide ballot in the fall, but there are additional hurdles in the process. * And with a week to go before Arizona’s primaries, former far-right state Sen. Kelly Ward, a Republican U.S. Senate hopeful, is on a bus tour with Mike Cernovich, a prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist. Despite the partnership, Ward has said she doesn’t want to be associated with Cernovich’s most incendiary views.
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
