Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* When Graham Platner exited Maine’s Senate race earlier this month, it was widely assumed that Democrats would face a complex challenge of choosing a new nominee among many credible contenders. In the end, however, the nominating process proved to be simple and straightforward.
On Sunday, Maine Democrats formally selected former state Senate President Troy Jackson as the party’s Senate nominee. Jackson, who ran for governor earlier this year before coming up short in a Democratic primary, is now on a 99-day sprint in a race against the Republican five-term incumbent, Sen. Susan Collins.
While one poll released last week showed Jackson in a very competitive position, the longtime GOP incumbent has an enormous financial advantage: The New York Times reported that Collins, her allies and other groups aligned with Senate Republican leadership “have already reserved about $60 million in airtime through the fall.”
* In Michigan’s closely watched Democratic Senate primary, Rep. Haley Stevens had already picked up support from many party leaders, but she still hoped for an endorsement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. On Friday, she got it: The popular two-term governor threw her support behind the congresswoman, ahead of her Aug. 4 primary against former public health official Abdul El-Sayed.
* Democratic Party officials unveiled a new 2028 presidential nominating calendar late last week, which positions South Carolina as the first primary contest, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and then Virginia. The full Democratic National Committee still has to formally approve the calendar next month.
* We’re one day away from a handful of interesting primary contests in South Dakota, including a GOP gubernatorial primary runoff. There will also be a congressional special election in Georgia to fill the vacancy left by the late Rep. David Scott. The winner will hold the seat until the end of the year.
* The Washington Post reported that Republican insiders are increasingly “raising the alarm that their party faces a listless and demotivated base ahead of November’s midterm elections.” The concerns are the result of “a raft of discouraging data from polling, door knocking and focus groups.”
* Chandler, Arizona, the state’s fourth largest city, has been known as a Republican stronghold. But last week, local voters elected Matt Orlando as the city’s new mayor. Though the race was technically nonpartisan, Orlando will be Chandler’s first Democratic mayor in nearly four decades.
* And in Texas, Bo French, the Republican nominee for the Railroad Commission of Texas, is drawing attention for peddling fascist conspiracy theories, which the state GOP has so far been willing to ignore.
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