Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The exodus continues: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a combative partisan and former Oversight Committee chairman, announced this morning that he’s retiring this year and won’t seek another term.
* A federal court yesterday struck down North Carolina’s congressional district lines, concluding that Republican gerrymandering went too far. The underlying issue is already a subject being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
* J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, said in September that he’d considered a Republican Senate campaign in Ohio, but decided against it. Now, however, Vance is reportedly reconsidering.
* In the unlikely event you haven’t heard, Steve Bannon is out at Breitbart News. He’s also lost his radio show at SiriusXM.
* Former Sherriff Joe Arpaio (R) said yesterday he’s running for Arizona’s open U.S. Senate seat for “one unwavering reason“: to support Donald Trump’s agenda. * Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), meanwhile, whose seat Arpaio is seeking, said yesterday, “I won’t be supporting Joe Arpaio. You can report that.” * And a month after the Republican tax plan became law, the progressive Not One Penny coalition is showing how progressives intend to use the plan against GOP members who voted for it. This new commercial, targeting Rep. Rod Blum (R-Iowa), is part of a six-figure ad buy in the Hawkeye State.
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
