Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As of late last week, Mark Harris, the Republican nominee in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district said he’d endorse calls for a new election “if this investigation finds proof of illegal activity.” I’m pretty sure we’ve passed this point already.
* On a related note, North Carolina’s board of elections has named political consultant Leslie McCrae Dowless as “a person of interest” as part of its investigation into election fraud.
* There’s a growing controversy in Pennsylvania’s state Senate, where Republican leaders are prepared to block a newly elected Democrat, Lindsey Williams, over questions about whether she meets the residency requirements necessary for state lawmakers.
* Rep.-elect Ross Spano (R-Fla.) has already admitted to accepting illegal campaign loans ahead of his election last month, and the Florida Republican is now struggling to put together a staff — in part because of his reliance on one of the people who gave him an illegal loan. Politico quoted election-law experts who said Spano’s missteps “could constitute a criminal violation.”
* With California and Texas holding their presidential nominating contests in 2020 much earlier than usual, the impact on the race for the Democratic nomination is likely to be significant.
* It’s not at all uncommon for members of Congress to go into lobbying after leaving Capitol Hill, but Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), who still has a few weeks remaining in her term, has reportedly already created a new lobbying firm before stepping down.
* And in Arizona, the New York Times reports that state Rep. David Stringer (R) is under pressure to resign following revelations that he recently told a group of university students that black people “don’t blend in” to society like European immigrants and “always look different.”
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."