Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* With only a few months remaining in Mississippi’s gubernatorial race, will incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ welfare fraud scandal undermine his re-election bid? Democrat Brandon Presley’s campaign has launched a tough new ad focusing on the controversy.
* In Wisconsin, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany announced this morning that he plans to run for re-election, passing on a statewide race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The news comes on the heels of GOP Reps. Mike Gallagher and Bryan Steil also passing on the Senate race.
* Hoping to get his struggling GOP presidential campaign back on track, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled some ideas related to economic policy yesterday, though much of his vision was in line with Donald Trump’s plans.
* Speaking of the Republican governor, Semafor obtained some internal campaign communications that showed senior members of DeSantis’ team overseeing “the campaign’s high-risk strategy of laundering incendiary videos produced by their staff through allied anonymous Twitter accounts.”
* The Financial Times reported that “conservative cash keeps flowing” to Robert F. Kennedy’s longshot presidential campaign. For example, Timothy Mellon, who has generously supported Donald Trump’s earlier campaigns, reportedly gave $5 million to a political action committee supporting the conspiracy theorist’s White House bid.
* The California Republican Party on Saturday changed its delegate allocation rules to help Trump in the state’s 2024 primary. The process was contentious enough that local police had to be called to the state GOP’s gathering.
* Though Rep. Abigail Spanberger hasn’t officially announced her electoral plans, the Virginia Democrat has reportedly told party insiders she intends to give up her congressional seat to run for governor in 2025.
* And while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent health difficulties have generated considerable attention, the Kentucky Republican’s spokesperson confirmed that he “plans to serve his full term.” McConnell was re-elected in 2020, which means his current term won’t end until 2026.
