So what’s the lesson to be learned from the Republican loss in Pennsylvania’s 18th District special election? Jack Pitney of Claremont McKenna College suggests that while it’s clearly bad news for the GOP, there’s no certainty that Republican voters, or Republican politicians, show any sign of creating distance between themselves and President Trump.
Tuesday was the Illinois primary, and A.D. Quig of The Daily Line sums up the two most widely followed contests of the day: the Democratic primary in the Third Congressional District, where centrist Rep. Dan Lipinski narrowly turned aside the challenge from progressive Marie Newman, and the Republican primary for governor, where incumbent Bruce Rauner spent tens of millions of dollars and still barely escaped with a victory over conservative challenger Jeanne Ives.
Congressman Paul Tonko of New York talks about the life and career of his good friend and colleague, Louise Slaughter, the three-decade congresswoman who died unexpectedly last week.
And Dave Mendell, author of the definitive book about Barack Obama’s rise to power, brings us back to the year 2000 when Obama miscalculated and made an ill-advised primary challenge to Rep. Bobby Rush in Chicago. Obama had endorsements and money, but didn’t get the votes; he lost to Rush by a 2-to-1 margin.
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