Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Alabama yesterday, former Vice President Joe Biden headlined a rally in support of Senate hopeful Doug Jones, and turnout was pretty good. The special election is still two months away.
* On a related note, in the days following Roy Moore’s primary victory, Jones reportedly raised $820,000 from donors in all 50 states.
* Though candidates backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have a mixed electoral track record so far this year, one pulled off a big upset yesterday: in Birmingham’s mayoral race, Randall Woodfin prevailed over incumbent William Bell. Sanders personally recorded a robocall on Woodfin’s behalf.
* A group called Citizens for Trump appears to be raising money in the president’s name, but BuzzFeed found that it’s “spending it to boost Republican candidates the president has not endorsed.”
* In related news, the Daily Beast reports that a group called America First Policies, a leading pro-Trump dark money organization, is reportedly on track to spend $12 million this calendar year, which is quite a lot of spending in a non-election year. * In the wake of Roy Moore’s primary victory, the Washington Examiner reports that senior Republican strategists are warning Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) to “prepare early for a primary that could be a lot more formidable now that the activists and donors who fund conservative challengers believe that their investments might pay off.” * And in Nevada, Rep. Dina Titus (D), whom you probably saw on last night’s show, has decided to run for re-election to the House, skipping next year’s Senate race. That leaves Rep. Jacky Rosen (D) in the driver’s seat to win the Democratic 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
