Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Texas, Donald Trump and his allies went all out in the hopes of defeating state House Speaker Dade Phelan in a Republican primary. It didn’t work: Phelan narrowly prevailed yesterday.
* Speaking of the Lone Star State, Rep. Tony Gonzales was widely seen as one of the Republican members of Congress most vulnerable to a primary challenge, but the incumbent narrowly prevailed against pro-gun YouTube personality Brandon Herrera yesterday in a primary runoff.
* In case there were any doubts about the Democratic campaign’s focus on Black voters, the Associated Press reported that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are launching a new outreach effort today at Girard College, an independent boarding school in Philadelphia with a predominantly Black student body, and visiting a small business to speak to members of the Black Chamber of Commerce.
* The House Majority PAC, aligned with House Democratic leaders, is reportedly launching a $100 million fund focused on abortion rights. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Reproductive Freedom Accountability Fund “will be spent in swing districts across the country for advertising and voter mobilization. The fund will also focus on voter outreach in House districts where there aren’t competitive presidential or Senate races, such as in New York, California, Oregon, Washington and Virginia.”
* In Georgia, a member of the Fulton County elections board is reportedly refusing to certify primary election results unless she’s given access to detailed voting data. The matter appears to be headed to court.
* After weeks in which Republican Sen. Tim Scott refused to say whether he’d vote to certify the 2024 election results, the South Carolina Republican told CNN yesterday, “We expect a fair and honest election, and as a result of that expectation, we will certify the election — and certify President Donald Trump as our 47th president.”
* In the 2022 elections, Republicans nominated several right-wing secretary of state candidates who’d earned reputations as ardent election deniers. In 2024, it’s happening again, as evidenced by the new GOP nominee for secretary of state in Oregon.
