Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As a result of a residency dispute over a Democratic state legislator, Republicans will start the new year with a 67-66 majority in the Minnesota House. It might not last too long: There will be a Jan. 28 special election to elect a new legislator in an area where Democrats tend to fare well.
* Following two failed statewide campaigns in successive election cycles, Kari Lake announced last week that she does not intend to run for elected office again. The Arizona Republican, however, is Donald Trump’s choice to lead Voice of America in his second term.
* As House Speaker Mike Johnson prepares for Friday’s vote on his political future, he’s picked up a fresh endorsement from the president-elect.
* Speaking of Trump, the Republican has, in recent days, begun claiming that Democrats “illegally” paid celebrities to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy. There’s literally no evidence to support such an allegation, which the president-elect appears to have made up out of whole cloth.
* As Gov. Roy Cooper prepares to leave office after two successful terms, the North Carolina Democrat has made unsubtle comments about running for office again in the near future. He has not yet said, however, which office he intends to seek.
* In case Florida wasn’t already a red state, yet another state legislator has joined the GOP, just one month after running successfully as a Democrat with the backing of the Democratic Party.
* And in West Virginia, Republican Gov. Jim Justice easily won his U.S. Senate race last month, but he’s delaying his swearing-in on Capitol Hill until his gubernatorial successor is inaugurated on Jan. 13.








