Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* When Donald Trump travels to Phoenix today, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) will greet him on the tarmac, but the Republican governor will not join the president at his campaign rally this evening.
* In Wisconsin, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R) Democratic challenger, Randy Price, released a new ad yesterday connecting the Republican incumbent to Trump, who isn’t too popular in the Badger State right now.
* Speaking of Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is getting ready to run for a third term, and this morning, state schools chief Tony Evers (D) kicked off his campaign against him. Though Evers is likely to be part of a crowded primary, WISN in Milwaukee noted he’ll probably be Walker’s only rival “who has won a statewide election.”
* To no one’s surprise, incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) made it official yesterday, launching his re-election bid in Indiana. He’s widely seen as one of the top GOP targets of the 2018 cycle.
* In Arizona, the Senate Republican leadership’s super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, has already unveiled a new attack video targeting Kelli Ward, Sen. Jeff Flake’s (R-Ariz.) primary rival. * On MSNBC yesterday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was asked whether she believes Trump will be her party’s presidential nominee in 2020. “It’s too difficult to say,” Collins replied. * The Republican National Committee launched an online poll this week, asking people to rate Trump’s job performance. The options are “great, “good,” “okay,” or “other.” (Stephen Colbert used to play a similar game, but he was kidding.)
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
