Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In state legislative special elections yesterday, Democrats held onto seats in the California state Assembly, the Rhode Island state Senate, and the Massachusetts state House.
* In Indiana’s Republican Senate primary — which I think can fairly be described as the most contentious primary in the country this year — Rep. Todd Rokita (R) literally puts on a red “Make America Great Again” cap in his new television ad and vows to “proudly stand with” Donald Trump more than his primary rivals.
* The Texas Tribune reported late yesterday that a federal judge “sided with a civil rights group that claimed Texas violated federal law by failing to register residents to vote when they updated their drivers’ license information online.”
* Already facing a tough re-election challenge, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) responded to the shooting at YouTube headquarters yesterday by suggesting the gun violence might have been connected to illegal immigration. (It wasn’t.)
* In Arizona’s congressional special election, Republicans are still taking steps to boost their candidate, Debbie Lesko, in a race that wasn’t supposed to be competitive. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will travel to the district to headline a fundraiser for the GOP candidate two weeks from today. The election is April 24. * In Missouri’s closely watched U.S. Senate election, Josh Hawley (R) launched a new ad this week criticizing Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) for opposing Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s nomination. I have no idea if this is an issue voters actually care about. * On a related note, McCaskill has launched her first television ad of his re-election bid, focusing on her work on behalf of veterans. * And despite the fact that the 2016 presidential election was 17 months ago, Trump took a shot at “Crooked Hillary” during a White House meeting with the leaders of Baltic States yesterday. Soon after, at a press conference, Trump referred to Clinton as his “opponent” and criticized her energy policies.
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
