Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Conservative billionaire David Koch is stepping away from his work with Americans for Prosperity for health reasons, but the far-right political group will reportedly continue with its efforts.
* Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) jolted Minnesota politics yesterday, announcing plans to give up his seat in Congress and run for state attorney general in the fall.
* It didn’t take long for candidates to announce plans to succeed Ellison on Capitol Hill. The Pioneer Press reported that the “deluge” of hopefuls includes “former House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher; state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion; state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray; state Rep. Ilhan Omar; Minneapolis Board of Education Member Kim Ellison, who was married to Keith Ellison until 2012; and former state Sen. Julie Sabo, daughter of Martin Sabo, who held the seat before Ellison.”
* In New York’s 11th district, incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan (R) may have Donald Trump’s endorsement, but a new Siena poll shows his primary rival, former Rep. Michael Grimm (R), ahead by 10 points. Their primary is slated for June 26, which is just three weeks away.
* On a related note, Grimm launched his first television ad buy this week. His 30-second commercial “will run exclusively on Fox News.” * Bernie Sanders acolytes haven’t had much success at the ballot box this year, and that continued yesterday: Pete D’Alessandro, who ran the senator’s Iowa operation in 2016, finished a distant third in a Democratic congressional primary yesterday. * And Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente (R), an eccentric San Diego businessman, came up far short in yesterday’s Senate primary in California — which wouldn’t be especially notable except it means it’s narrowed his options. It turns out he’s also running for the Senate in Florida; Washington; Minnesota; and Wyoming. De La Fuente is trying to qualify for the ballot in Delaware and Vermont, too, but it’s not yet clear if he’s made it.
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
