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From The Rachel Maddow Show

Former President Barack Obama, and Sen. Raphael Warnock at a rally yesterday in Atlanta.
Former President Barack Obama, and Sen. Raphael Warnock at a rally yesterday in Atlanta. Brynn Anderson / AP

Midterm Elections Round-Up, 12.2.22

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

By Steve Benen

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

* It took longer than it should have, but facing an unambiguous court order, the board of supervisors in Arizona’s Cochise County have finally certified the results of this year’s elections.

* There’s been a flurry of polling data in Georgia’s Senate runoff election, with a CNN survey showing Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock leading Republican Herschel Walker by four points (52% to 48%), a SurveyUSA poll showing the incumbent ahead by three points (50% to 47%), and an Emerson poll showing the senator ahead by two points (51% to 49%).

* On a related note, today is the last day for early voting in Georgia, and last night, Warnock was joined by Barack Obama for one last rally. The former Democratic president is also the star of Warnock’s final minute-long campaign commercial.

* Speaking of Georgia’s contest, with just days remaining before Election Day on Tuesday, another one of Walker’s former girlfriends has come forward with an on-the-record account about a violent episode with the Republican. The woman, Dallas resident Cheryl Parsa, raised concerns to The Daily Beast about the GOP candidate’s mental stability.

* House Democrats completed their leadership elections yesterday, choosing incumbent House Majority Whip James Clyburn as the next assistant Democratic leader, one day after electing Rep. Ted Lieu as the next caucus vice chair. Reps. Dean Phillips, Veronica Escobar, and Lauren Underwood prevailed in competitive races for conference co-chair positions.

* Democrats are also weighing changes to their presidential nominating calendar, and President Joe Biden has a recommended schedule in mind: South Carolina would go first in Biden’s model, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day, and Georgia and then Michigan would soon follow. Iowa would lose its vaunted first-in-the-nation position under such a plan.

* In related news, Iowa officials are so intent on maintaining their position that they’re threatening to move their presidential caucuses to Halloween.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."