Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Lara Trump expressed an interest in Florida’s Senate seat late last year, and now she’s eyeing North Carolina’s Senate seat in the wake of Sen. Thom Tillis’ retirement announcement. A source close to the Trump family told NBC News the president’s daughter-in-law — a Fox News host and former Republican National Committee co-chair — is “strongly considering” jumping into the contest. Asked about the odds she will run, the source said, “I’d put it as high as one could be considering it.”
* In Virginia, there were primary special elections over the weekend in the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s district, and the former Democratic congressman’s chief of staff, James Walkinshaw, prevailed in a crowded Democratic primary with roughly 59% of the vote.
* In Nebraska, Republican Rep. Don Bacon announced he’ll retire at the end of his current term, creating a key pick-up opportunity for Democrats in a competitive district.
* In Maine, the latest poll from the University of Maine Survey Center found Democratic Gov. Janet Mills with a 51% favorability rating. Republican Sen. Susan Collins, however, has seen her favorability rating drop to just 14% — that’s not a typo — ahead of her 2026 re-election bid.
* Primary Day in Kentucky is still a year away, but a pro-Trump super PAC is nevertheless already running attack ads targeting Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who has drawn the president’s ire for opposing the GOP’s domestic policy megabill, among other things.
* Speaking of the Bluegrass State, Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is retiring, and businessman Nate Morris, an ally of Vice President JD Vance, last week launched a GOP Senate campaign to succeed the longtime incumbent. He indicated early on that he’s running in part on an anti-McConnell platform and said he’ll target his primary foes over their McConnell ties.
* And in Pennsylvania, the latest Susquehanna Polling survey found Democratic Sen. John Fetterman more popular with Republican voters in his state than with Democratic voters. The incumbent senator will not face voters again, however, until the 2028 election cycle.
