Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* No one seemed to know for sure what would happen in Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, but former CFPB Director Richard Cordray easily dispatched former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, winning by 40 points. Cordray will face state Attorney General Mike DeWine, who easily won a bitter Republican primary against Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor.
* And speaking of the Buckeye State, Ohio voters yesterday also easily approved a ballot measure intended to address the state’s gerrymandering problem.
* In West Virginia, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey won the Republicans’ Senate primary, earning the right to take on incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D). Despite all the hype surrounding Don Blankenship, he finished a rather distant third.
* In Indiana, Greg Pence, Vice President Mike Pence’s brother, easily won his congressional primary, despite running “a largely hermetic race, declining to debate his opponents and refusing most requests for interviews.”
* An interesting tidbit from Politico: “There were 20 open Democratic House primaries with women on the ballot Tuesday night, and voters selected a female nominee in 17 of them.” * A related observation from USA Today: “The number of women donating to political campaigns is climbing to new heights ahead of this year’s midterm elections, as women swarm to politics and run in record numbers for Congress and other elected posts around the country.” * And in Florida’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, a new statewide poll from Florida Atlantic University found Gov. Rick Scott (R) leading incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D), 44% to 40%. In February, this same poll showed Nelson ahead.
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
