Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Virginia late yesterday afternoon, a federal judge rejected the commonwealth’s gerrymandered state-legislative district lines, and ordered policymakers to draw a new map by Oct. 30. Republicans have already announced plans to appeal.
* Though some recent online polls show Gov. Rick Scott (R) ahead in Florida’s U.S. Senate, the new NBC News/Marist poll shows Sen. Bill Nelson (D) leading his Republican rival, 49% to 45%.
* In Arizona, where Sen. Jeff Flake (R) is retiring, the new NBC News/Marist poll shows Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) with double-digit leads over each of the Republican candidates in hypothetical general-election match-ups.
* In Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, don’t be too surprised if national Republicans direct their resources elsewhere: the NBC News/Marist poll finds Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) leading Rep. Jim Renacci (R), 51% to 38%.
* In Virginia’s 10th congressional district, which is a key district if Democrats have any chance of taking back the House, the latest Monmouth poll has state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D) leading incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock (R), 49% to 39%. * With Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) moving to the right to win his primary yesterday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a new ad this morning, highlighting some of his far-right rhetoric in this competitive New York district. * In southeastern Texas, Politico reported yesterday that local officials are unhappy with Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to push forward on a special election to fill former Rep. Blake Farenthold’s (R) vacancy. With the November elections coming up anyway, locals apparently don’t want to spend scarce resources. * And a few days after White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia, the Trump campaign is using the incident as part of a new fundraising pitch.
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
