Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Arizona’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, new NBC News/Marist poll shows Kyrsten Sinema (D) with a small lead over Martha McSally (R), 48% to 45%. among likely voters. The odds of a Democratic-led Senate aren’t great, but a win in Arizona would be critical to such an outcome.
* In Florida’s 17th congressional district, the Democratic nominee, April Freeman, has died unexpectedly. Local Democratic officials will now scramble to choose a new nominee, though this is a heavily Republican district, where state Sen. Steube (R) is widely expected to replace retiring Rep. Tom Rooney (R).
* Now that Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is actually trying to win re-election in his Buffalo-area district, despite being under federal criminal indictment, the Republican incumbent has launched a new attack ad targeting his Democratic rival, Nate McMurray.
* In the wake of Pennsylvania’s court-imposed redistricting, voters in the 17th congressional district will have to choose between two incumbent congressmen: Keith Rothfus (R) and Conor Lamb (D). The bad news for Rothfus: despite support from Donald Trump, the National Republican Congressional Committee appears to be giving up on his re-election chances.
* On a related note, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is reportedly canceling its ad buys in Iowa’s 1st congressional district, not because Democratic officials think incumbent Rep. Rod Blum (R) is likely to prevail, but because they’re fairly certain he’s going to lose to state Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D). * In Texas’ U.S. Senate race, Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D) fundraising continues to impress: the congressman reportedly raised “nearly $9.1 million online for his Senate bid in August,” which will only heighten Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R) anxiety. * And on a related note, Ted Cruz and his wife apparently left a D.C. restaurant last night after facing heckling from protesters opposed to Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination.
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
