Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Despite already having lost his re-election bid, Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine) is now asking the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent state officials from certifying the results from Maine’s 2nd congressional district.
* There will be gubernatorial campaigns in Louisiana and Kentucky in 2019, and in the latter, there are signs of trouble for the incumbent Republican. A new Mason-Dixon poll found Gov. Matt Bevin (R) trailing state Attorney General Andy Beshear (D) and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) in hypothetical match-ups.
* A landmark moment: “Nevada will become the first state in the country to have a majority female Legislature after members of the Clark County Commission appointed two women to a pair of open seats in the Assembly.”
* On a related note, now that both of Arizona’s U.S. senators are poised to be women, there will be six states represented by two women in the chamber — the highest in American history.
* And speaking of Arizona’s delegation, Kyrsten Sinema (D) and Martha McSally (R) will both be sworn in as senators next month, but Sinema, who defeated McSally in November, will technically be the senior senator from the state.
* As Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) confirms his interest in a possible 2020 presidential campaign, we’re approaching the point at which the number of Senate Dems eyeing the White House may outnumber those who aren’t.
* And in South Carolina, the state Republican Party is weighing the possibility of canceling its presidential primary in 2020, in a move “to protect President Trump from any primary challengers,” according to the Washington Examiner.
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."