Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Michigan, Republican Bill Schuette, the state’s conservative attorney general, launched his 2018 gubernatorial campaign yesterday. Schuette’s name may be familiar with those who kept up on Rachel’s coverage of the water crisis in Flint last year.
* Politico reported yesterday that a state judge in New Hampshire “has blocked recent changes to the state’s voting laws that would have exposed some first-time voters to a fine or jail time if they failed to submit residence paperwork within 10 days of registering.”
* House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) continues to be a central figure in his party’s fundraising apparatus, transferring an additional $2 million to the NRCC in August, on top of the $28 million haul for the House campaign committee from earlier in the year. Politico reports that the House Speaker’s fundraising “accounted for more than half of what the NRCC raised” last month.
* Democratic efforts to recruit military veterans to run for Congress continues apace, with Chris Kennedy, a Grand Junction City Councilor and a retired Marine, kicking off his campaign against Rep. Scott Tipton (R) in Colorado.
* In New Jersey, the Associated Press reported that Rep. Leonard Lance (R) is eyeing retirement in 2018, prompting the Republican lawmaker to insist he intends to run for re-election next year. * In Detroit last night, Kid Rock, who’s apparently considering a Republican U.S. Senate campaign, apparently delivered “an R-rated political speech … chastising everyone from Nazis and professional athletes to single moms and deadbeat dads.” The Washington Post published a transcript. * And speaking of Michigan, remember Kerry Bentivolio, the reindeer herder who made it to Congress? He’s apparently eyeing a comeback.
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
