Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The deadline to replace Republican Rep. Max Miller of Ohio on the November ballot has come and gone, and the congressman is moving forward with his re-election candidacy despite bipartisan calls for his ouster. It led the nonpartisan Cook Political Report to shift Miller’s district from “likely Republican” to “toss up” on Monday afternoon.
With this in mind, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the political arm for House Democrats, announced one day later that it’s adding Miller’s challenger, Brian Poindexter, to its priority “Red to Blue” program. The Washington Post reported: “The designation, which has been given to 30 other candidates seeking to flip GOP-held districts in November, opens up additional party resources, strategic guidance and fundraising support for Poindexter, a union ironworker and city council member in a Cleveland suburb.”
* It’s primary day in six states — Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carlina, Vermont and Wisconsin — in one of the last big primary days of the year.
Among the marquee contests are the Democratic Senate primary in Minnesota, Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary and South Carolina Republicans’ Senate special election primary to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on this year’s ballot. If no candidate tops 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to an Aug. 25 runoff.
* In Arizona’s competitive gubernatorial race, incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has picked John Giles, a former Republican mayor of Mesa, as her 2026 running mate. Such bipartisan tickets are extremely rare in contemporary politics.
* With Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards abruptly ending his re-election campaign in the wake of a brutal House Ethics Committee report, a North Carolina Republican committee this week selected state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom to replace him. She’ll face Democrat Jamie Ager in November.
* In Montana’s Senate race, the deadline has also passed for Democratic nominee Alani Bankhead to exit the race and clear the way for a possible one-on-one contest between independent Seth Bodnar and Republican Kurt Alme. She refused to stand down, however, to the relief and delight of GOP officials.
* A week after narrowly coming up short in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, Rep. Haley Stevens confirmed this morning that she intends to hit the trail campaigning for her fellow Democrats — including former state health official Abdul El Sayed.
* And while there were rumors about former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gearing up for a 2028 Senate campaign in South Dakota, the former Republican governor said this week that she won’t run for the seat.
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