Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Donald Trump yesterday alleged that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team “will be MEDDLING with the mid-term elections.” He offered no evidence, because none exists.
* Some corners of the political world freaked out a little last week when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Republicans up by five on the generic congressional ballot, but the same poll now shows Democrats with a seven-point advantage. (My advice: pay attention to averages.)
* With Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) announcing his retirement well after Virginia’s filing deadline, local Republican officials will be responsible for choosing the party’s nominee, and several contenders have already asked to be considered.
* At a campaign rally in Tennessee last night, Trump attacked Hillary Clinton; his audience chanted, “Lock her up!”; and the president complained about an event Jay Z held in support of Clinton’s candidacy. Trump added that he enjoyed bigger crowds than the entertainer. The 2016 election, in case anyone’s curious, was 567 days ago.
* House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is taking in a considerable amount of money ahead of his re-election fight, but the Fresno Bee reports that when it comes to contributions from individual donors, only about 2% of the money came from his own district. * Speaking of the Golden State, the Sacramento Bee reports that voters with no party preference now outnumber Republicans in California. * Former Sen. Lincoln Chafee has backed off his previous comments and announced yesterday he will not challenge incumbent Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in a Democratic primary in Rhode Island. * And in Illinois’ 17th congressional district, Republicans have nominated Bill Fawell, a conspiracy theorist who believes 9/11 was an inside job and that Beyonce has ties to the Illuminati. Fawell should not be confused with neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier Arthur Jones, who won the Republican nomination in Illinois’ 3rd congressional district.
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
