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Friday's Campaign Round-Up, 1.15.21

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

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Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* After coming up short in his Senate campaign in South Carolina, Jaime Harrison will now serve as the new chair of the Democratic National Committee. Vice chairs will include Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Rep. Filemon Vela Jr. of Texas.

* It's taken too long, but Republican majority leaders in Pennsylvania's state Senate have agreed to seat state Sen. Jim Brewster (D) following his court victories.

* Just days before he was supposed to be sworn in as a new congressman, then-Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R) died from COVID-19. With a special election in Louisiana's 5th congressional district scheduled for March, his widow, Julia Letlow, announced yesterday that she's running to fill the vacancy.

* Speaking of Louisiana, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) officially resigned his congressional seat today in preparation for joining Joe Biden's White House team. His departure shrinks the House Democratic conference from 222 members to 221.

* Though some far-right House Republicans are eager to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her position in the GOP leadership, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced his opposition to the idea yesterday.

* A new Pew Research poll, released this morning, found Trump's approval rating collapsing to 29%. That's the lowest point of his term in this survey.

* The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week launched a digital ad buy intended to connect Republicans to last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol. The ads are reportedly targeting GOP incumbents in districts Biden won.

* Ahead of her widely expected presidential campaign, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is launching a new political action committee called the Stand for America PAC. Its website features no images of Haley's former boss, Donald Trump.

* And in case there were any doubts, Sen.-designate Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) confirmed on MSNBC this week that he intends to run for a full term of his own in 2022. Padilla is filling the Senate vacancy left by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.