Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In addition to the congressional special election in Ohio’s 12th district, it’s Primary Day in four states: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and the state of Washington. Among the contests I’ll be watching is the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Michigan, the Republican gubernatorial primary in Kansas, the GOP Senate primary in Michigan, and the Democratic primaries in Washington’s 8th and Kansas’ 3rd, where there are vulnerable GOP incumbents.
* There’s likely to be less drama in Missouri, but keep an eye on today’s vote on “Proposition A,” which seeks to overturn a so-called “right-to-work” law passed last year by the state’s Republican-dominated legislature.
* In his latest fundraising appeal, Sen. Dean Heller (R) of Nevada blasted the “Obama-Clinton-Reid Democrats,” referring to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Harry Reid. It’s worth noting for context that all three of those Dems won their elections in Nevada — and there’s a real chance Heller will not.
* The latest Gallup poll found Donald Trump’s approval rating at 41%, but CNBC’s John Harwood made an interesting observation: among whites without college degrees, the president enjoys a 58% approval rating. Among everyone else, it’s 29%. * Though Donald Trump Jr. is ostensibly steering clear of politics and focusing on running his father’s business, he nevertheless wrote an op-ed over the weekend endorsing Foster Friess’ gubernatorial campaign in Wyoming. * And election officials in Michigan announced the other day that John Conyers III, hoping to fill the congressional vacancy left by his father, is ineligible to appear on the ballot as an independent. The decision comes a month after the younger Conyers also failed to qualify for the ballot as a Democrat due to problems with his petition signatures.
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
