Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Primary Day proved to be quite interesting in Illinois, where Rep. Dan Lapinski (D-Ill.) apparently won a very competitive race; Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) narrowly survived his primary; J.B. Pritzker (D) earned the opportunity to take Rauner on; and a neo-Nazi won an uncontested Republican congressional primary.
* Still upset that their gerrymandering plan was rejected, a dozen Pennsylvania Republicans yesterday introduced a measure yesterday to impeach four members of the state Supreme Court.
* What may be today’s most notable campaign-related tidbit is the Public Policy Polling survey in Tennessee, where former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) leads Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) in their U.S. Senate race, 46% to 41%, at least in this poll. The seat is currently held by Sen. Bob Corker (R), who’s retiring.
* Speaking of competitive Senate races, Public Policy Polling also found Sen. Dean Heller (R) trailing Rep. Jacky Rosen (D), 44% to 39%. Heller, of course, is the only GOP incumbent senator running in a state Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
* The Koch-backed Americans For Prosperity (AFP) is making another six-figure ad buy, this time targeting Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a moderate North Dakota Democrat, who’s up for re-election this year. * As Cambridge Analytica is embroiled in scandal, its former clients are starting to face new scrutiny. In North Carolina, the News & Observer reports today on the state GOP and Sen. Thom Tillis paying the controversial data firm $345,000 in the 2014 election cycle. * We now know for certain that Gov. Paul LePage (R) won’t take on Sen. Angus King (I) this year — the filing deadline just passed — despite Donald Trump urging the governor to run. * And in Kentucky, after Rep. John Yarmuth (D) bragged about his F rating from the National Rifle Association, the congressman’s Republican rival, Carl Nett, joked about shooting him. Nett later apologized.
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
