Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As recently as last night, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel continued to express doubts about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, despite her party’s inability to produce any evidence in support of its conspiracy theories.
* In case there were any lingering doubts, it’s now been confirmed that Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has, in fact, been kicked out of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus.
* In a closely watched case, The Detroit News reported that a Michigan judge has ruled that it’s “against state law for someone to take possession of a voting tabulator without authorization of the Secretary of State or a court order.”
* Sen. Tim Scott’s Republican presidential campaign raised $6.1 million in the second quarter, which isn’t bad, but which also trails some of his top-tier contenders. That said, the super PAC supporting the South Carolina senator’s candidacy told NBC News that it brought in nearly $19.3 million in the second quarter and has more than $15 million on hand.
* Speaking of presidential fundraising, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claimed last night that he’s received campaign contributions from more than 40,000 people, which moves the Republican one step closer to being eligible for an upcoming presidential primary debate.
* While Gov. Ron DeSantis routinely points to Florida’s crime rates as part of his Republican presidential campaign, Axios reported that nearly half of the state’s population is excluded from 2021 crime figures, and the data gap “means it’s nearly impossible to compare Florida’s crime rate to other states or current crime statistics with data from past years.”
* And while Donald Trump is headed to Iowa next for a Fox News town hall event, the former president will not participate in tomorrow’s event, hosted by a prominent evangelical group called The Family Leader. Trump apparently offered Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance as a surrogate, but Bob Vander Plaats, the organization’s leader, declined.
