Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In the first special elections of the year, Democrat Mike Jones cruised to a landslide victory in a Virginia Senate race; and in South Carolina, unofficial vote tallies suggest Democrats almost pulled an upset in a state House special election.
* With Democratic Gov. Tim Walz bowing out of Minnesota’s gubernatorial race, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is reportedly eyeing the contest. If elected, Klobuchar would then be in a position to appoint her own successor to the Senate.
* In Ohio’s closely watched gubernatorial race, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy chose state Senate President Rob McColley as his running mate, while former state health chief Amy Acton chose former state Democratic Chair David Pepper for the Democratic ticket.
* On a related note, Ramaswamy, the likely GOP nominee in Ohio, announced this week that he’s ditching his personal social media accounts, arguing, “Modern social media is increasingly disconnected from the electorate. The messages you’re most likely to see are the most negative and bombastic.”
* In Georgia, voters in former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s district will choose her successor on March 10. Republicans will almost certainly hold on to the seat.
* In Arizona, Donald Trump struggled to decide between Jay Feely and Gina Swoboda in their congressional primary, so the president ended up endorsing both of them.
* While January won’t be too busy for election watchers, there will be some notable contests, and Bolts’ Daniel Nichanian put together a helpful list.
