Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and former Democratic National Committee chair, has a new role with the party. Dean told the Associated Press he’s “signed on to lead a planned data exchange hammered out by DNC officials, state party leaders and Democratic consultants.”
* Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) isn’t necessarily known as a prolific fundraiser, but her presidential campaign is off to a strong financial start: the AP reported that the Minnesotan “raised more than $1 million in the 48 hours after launching” her bid for national office.
* If you missed Rachel’s interview with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) last night, toward the end of his appearance, the Democratic senator said that when looking for a running mate, he would “be looking to women first.”
* Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is up for re-election again next year, and Democratic leaders have already reached out to retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath (D) about the race. McGrath ran an unsuccessful U.S. House race last year, but impressed many with her strengths as a candidate.
* The Democratic field of presidential candidates is already large, but it doesn’t yet have any current or former governors. That may soon change: Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) will be in Iowa later this week. * That same 2020 field already has a couple of U.S. House members, and it may soon have more: Rep. Tim Ryan (R-Ohio), perhaps best known for having launched an unsuccessful challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has scheduled trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. * Whether former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg runs for the Democratic presidential nomination or not, he’s reportedly prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to prevent Trump from winning a second term. * Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz headlined a CNN town-hall forum last night, in advance of a possible independent presidential campaign, and was asked about playing the role of spoiler. “How can you spoil a system that is already broken?” Schultz replied. It’s worth noting that this is (a) wildly misguided; and (b) a poor message for a national candidate. As a rule, presidential contenders generally don’t effectively say, “Consider voting for me, because things can’t get much worse.”
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
