Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Facing a tough re-election fight, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) released a two-minute video yesterday explaining her “no” vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. “Honestly, I don’t think he told the truth,” she says in the video. “And even if he did, he showed himself to be too biased to be impartial.”
* In Arizona’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, nearly all recent polling has shown Kyrsten Sinema (D) with narrow leads, but a new survey from an ABC affiliate in the state found Martha McSally (R) with a six-point lead, 47% to 41%.
* In Georgia’s closely watched gubernatorial race, a SurveyUSA poll released yesterday showed Brian Kemp (R) leading Stacey Abrahms (D), 47% to 45%.
* In Ohio, a new Suffolk poll offered some good news for Democrats: Richard Cordray (D) leads Mike DeWine in the state’s gubernatorial race, 46% to 40%, while incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) has an 18-point lead over his Republican rival, Jim Renacci, 54% to 36%.
* The news was a little better for Republicans in Nevada, where the latest NBC News/Marist poll found Sen. Dean Heller (D) leading Jacky Rosen (D) by two points, and Adam Laxalt (R) narrowly leading Steve Sisolak (D) in the state’s gubernatorial race by one point.
* At a campaign rally in Iowa last night, Donald Trump said he hopes Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) runs for president in 2020 because he wants to “finally get down to the fact as to whether or not she has Indian blood.” At the same event, Iowa Republicans chanted “lock her up” — though they directed it at Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), not Hillary Clinton.
* Less than a week after Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) decried groups on the left buying ads in the Supreme Court fight, a conservative dark-money group has launched a “six-figure” ad campaign thanking the Maine Republican for supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. * Dems have several pick-up opportunities in gubernatorial races this year, but Maryland apparently won’t be one of them: the latest Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found Gov. Larry Hogan (R) with a big lead over Ben Jealous (D), 58% to 38%. * In Texas, Sen. Ted Cruz (R) had agreed to debate Beto O’Rourke (D) next week, but the senator has since changed his mind. * And on a related note, a progressive super PAC called “Fire Ted Cruz PAC” released a new 30-second ad the other day mocking Cruz for describing himself as “tough as Texas.” The ad, directed by Oscar-nominated Richard Linklater and featuring actor Sonny Carl Davis, is one of the more entertaining spots of the season.
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
