Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Democrats desperately hoped to recruit former Rep. Mary Peltola to run against Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska in the fall. On Monday morning, she kicked off her candidacy, instantly creating a more competitive contest.
* While GOP officials hoped Rep. Byron Donalds would run unopposed in Florida’s gubernatorial primary, those hopes have been dashed: Lt. Gov. Jay Collins joined an increasingly crowded Republican field this week, launching his first statewide campaign after being appointed to state office in 2022.
* Speaking of the Sunshine State, Republican Rep. Neal Dunn has joined the retirement parade, announcing he won’t seek a sixth term in the fall.
* And speaking of retirements, Dunn’s news comes just a few days after Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley of California announced that she also isn’t running for re-election this year.
* In Chicago, Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley is moving forward with his congressional re-election plans, but the longtime congressman has also decided to run for mayor in the city’s 2027 race.
* In Michigan, the Democratic gubernatorial field is a little thinner now that Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist has ended his bid and will run instead for secretary of state. His decision positions incumbent Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
* Late last week, Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-financed advocacy group, said it would no longer offer financial support to the House Republicans who voted in favor of reviving Affordable Care Act subsidies. A day earlier, 17 House GOP members voted with the Democratic minority on a discharge petition.
* And on Friday, President Donald Trump declared at a White House event, “I feel I won Minnesota. I think I won it all three times.” While the reality is that the president lost the state in each of his three campaigns, he tried to bolster his point by referring to unnamed Minnesotans who “cried” after the results came in.
