Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Asked a week ago about rumors he might not run again, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said, “Well, if I weren’t planning to run, I think I wouldn’t be having all of these fundraisers and making calls…. Doesn’t sound like a campaign winding down.” OK, so what changed over the last week?
* Donald Trump met with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill yesterday, and soon after bragged about receiving “multiple standing ovations.” This morning, the president again mentioned “standing ovations,” and an hour later, he said it once more.
* An Associated Press report added yesterday that Trump “boasted to staff members that he’d played a role” in the retirement announcements from Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker.
* Despite his over-the-top radicalism, Alabama’s Roy Moore has signed “a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Alabama Republican Party.” The U.S. Senate special election in Alabama is Dec. 12.
* Moore’s opponent, former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones (D), launched a new television ad this week touting his role in prosecuting KKK members who bombed a Birmingham church. * On a related note, Alabama’s John Archibald wrote a column the other day in which he “climbed out on a limb” and said Doug Jones “can win” this race. * Though he may yet face a primary challenger from the right, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) officially kicked off his re-election campaign this week. * And Jeff Flake was asked this morning about whether he might run against Trump in a presidential primary in three years. Instead of saying no, the Arizonan said, “That’s a long way away.” A little something to file away for future reference.
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
