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Thursday's Campaign Round-Up, 12.8.16

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.* Rep. Keith Ellison's (D-Minn.) bid to become the next DNC chairman received a big boost this morning with an endorsement from the AFL-CIO.* And speaking of the national party committees, the RNC has chosen the venue for its holiday party this year. That wouldn't ordinarily be notable, except Republican officials have decided to rent space in the newly renovated Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.* On the 75th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, Newt Gingrich thought it'd be a good idea to praise the Japanese for having "displayed professional brilliance and technological power launching surprises from Hawaii to the Philippines."* Following up on a heated dispute during a post-election forum last week, Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post today. Among other things, Palmieri argued, "I don't know whether the Trump campaign needed to give a platform to white supremacists to win. But the campaign clearly did, and it had the effect of empowering the white-nationalist movement."* It looks like the recount in Michigan is ending: "After two days of ballot counting, conflicting court decisions and legal wranglings between frustrated lawyers, a federal judge on Wednesday halted the hand recount of 4.8 million ballots cast for president in Michigan, concluding there's no real evidence of foul play and there's no valid reason to continue the recount."* Glenn R. Davis Jr., a Republican delegate in Virginia, kicked off his campaign for lieutenant governor the other day, saying in a written statement, "Donald Trump isn't a lawyer and he isn't an insurance salesman. He's a job creator, and so am I." Trump lost Virginia this year by four percentage points.* And with Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) likely to become the next HHS Secretary, there's a scramble underway in his competitive Georgia district. Republican Karen Handel, a former Secretary of State and failed gubernatorial candidate, is apparently the early frontrunner for the seat.