Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Donald Trump set out to destroy Republican Rep. Thomas Massie in a Kentucky primary, and the president secured the results he wanted: Ed Gallrein defeated the incumbent by roughly 10 points.
* On a related note, another intraparty Trump foe, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, fell short in his Republican primary in Georgia’s gubernatorial race. Trump-endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and billionaire CEO Rick Jackson advanced to a primary runoff, and the winner will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who easily won a Democratic primary.
* In Georgia’s Republican Senate primary, Rep. Mike Collins will face former football coach Derek Dooley in a runoff election, and the winner will take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
* As for the Georgia Supreme Court election I’ve been keeping an eye on, the conservative justices beat back challenges from two progressive rivals, despite the fact that Democratic turnout topped GOP turnout in the state. A New York Times analysis noted, “The difference suggests that Georgia Democrats did not have a turnout problem as much as they did a voter education problem.”
* As expected, South Carolina’s Republican-led state House again approved a newly gerrymandered map on Wednesday morning, intended to erase the state’s only majority-Black district. The map now heads to the GOP-led state Senate, where it faces an uncertain fate.
* In Colorado, where Democratic Gov. Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters’ sentence late last week, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet confirmed this week that if he’s elected governor, he will not appoint Polis to fill his Senate vacancy. Bennett called Polis’ decision on Peters “disqualifying.”
* And in Texas’ closely watched Republican Senate primary, Rep. Wesley Hunt, who came in third in the first round of balloting, has thrown his support behind state Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. The move came a day after Trump also endorsed Paxton. The runoff primary is now just six days away.
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