Tuesday's Campaign Round-Up, 1.31.17

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.* If Democrats intend to take back the House majority in next year's midterms, they'll need a net gain of 25 seats -- which is a lot in a gerrymandered nation, but not a lot by historical standards for a president's party to lose two years after an inauguration. Yesterday, the DCCC unveiled its initial list of 59 targeted districts.* In case Betsy DeVos' nomination to be the next education secretary weren't controversial enough, the Washington Post reports that the GOP megadonor apparently used "several sentences and phrases from other sources without attribution -- including from a top Obama administration civil rights official" -- in her written responses to senators' questions.* At Donald Trump's urging, it looks like Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is likely to take on Sen. Bill Nelson (D) next year.* Is the progressive pressure campaign in support of the Affordable Care Act having an effect on congressional Republicans? According to Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), the answer is a resounding yes.* In an amusing turn of events, Gregg Phillips, whom Trump touted as an authority on voting irregularities, was registered to vote in three different states last year. (For the record, this is not a problem, so long as someone doesn't vote in more than one state in one cycle, but the president insisted just last week that it is a problem.)* There's no official word yet, but Rep. Paul Gosar (R) appears to be gearing up to take on Sen. Jeff Flake (R) in a Republican Senate primary in Arizona next year.* Former President Obama, in his first overtly political act since leaving office, threw his support yesterday to Sophia King, who's running in a local alderman's race in Chicago.* And former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin (R) officially shut down her political action committee last month. Despite raising over $1 million, the Alaska Republican's PAC spent just $82,500 in support of like-minded candidates -- which is supposed to be the point of having a PAC. The bulk of the remaining funds went to travel expenses and paying consultants' salaries.