Monday's Campaign Round-Up, 2.13.17

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.* In yesterday's Gallup daily tracking poll, Donald Trump's standing reached new depths: 40% approval, 55% disapproval. Note, President Obama briefly reached 55% disapproval in his sixth year, but Trump has reached this level after three weeks in office.* In Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, tens of thousands of progressive activists attended the 11th annual "Moral March on Raleigh," led by the state NAACP.* On a related note, those activists did not receive good news later in the day: "The N.C. Court of Appeals has lifted a lower court's block on state lawmakers' overhaul of election oversight, allowing the changes to take effect until there's further action in Gov. Roy Cooper's lawsuit challenging the changes."* The League of Women Voters requested that Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) appear at an upcoming public forum in his district. The Republican declined, arguing, "My experience is that, and we see this around the country, where these large meetings tend to devolve in shouting matches."* Who's to blame for the White House's ineptitude? Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of conservative Newsmax Media and a Trump friend, is pointing the finger at the president's chief of staff. "I think Reince Priebus -- good guy, well-intentioned -- but he clearly doesn't know how the federal agencies work," Ruddy told CNN yesterday.* Despite rumors about her national ambitions, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said during a radio interview yesterday, "I am running for Senate. I'm running for Senate in 2018."* In Mexico, former Mexico City Mayor Andrés Manuel López Obrador appears to be making gains in his country's presidential race by running on an anti-Trump platform.* In Hawaii, state Rep. Beth Fukumoto, considered one of the GOP's rising stars, conceded last week she's considering leaving the Republican Party.* The Washington Post spoke to a Trump voter in Utah last week, who explained his support for the president. "I think he's doing great," the man said. "His decisions -- whether they're right or wrong -- are decisions and they're difficult. At least he's making them."* The official RNC Twitter feed yesterday celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday by publishing a fake quote that Lincoln never said, prompting a series of amusing responses from the party's critics. A day earlier, the U.S. Department of Education tried to celebrate NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Du Bois, but spelled his name wrong.