Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In New Hampshire’s primaries, candidates backed by the party establishments fared very well: Rep. Chris Pappas easily defeated democratic socialist Karishma Manzur in a Democratic U.S. Senate primary, and he’ll now face former Sen. John Sununu, who easily defeated former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in a Republican primary.
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Pappas, Democrats nominated biotech entrepreneur and former Portsmouth city councilor Stefany Shaheen, who’s perhaps best known for being retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s daughter. She’ll face Anthony DiLorenzo, an automotive executive who received an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
* It’s primary day in Rhode Island, and while no incumbent governors have lost so far this year, there’s a reason to believe that might change this week as Democratic Gov. Dan McKee faces a highly competitive race against Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive. The New York Times reported that the abrupt closure of a crucial Rhode Island bridge in 2023 has become a key issue in the race.
* Just when it seemed there was clarity about Missouri’s congressional map, the picture grew considerably more complex. The state Supreme Court rejected the Republican-imposed gerrymandered map, and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday denied Missouri’s emergency request to use the new map ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Minutes later, however, a federal court in Missouri told the state it can’t use the old map, adding a new layer of chaos.
* In Texas’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, David Maxwell, who served as state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s director of law enforcement, announced this week that he’s supporting Paxton’s 2026 rival, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
* Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is generally seen as a safe bet for re-election this year, but the Republican incumbent has a new problem on his hands. The New York Times reported that the governor, who’s aligned himself with the president’s anti-immigrant agenda, has a history of hiring undocumented workers for his multimillion-dollar hog enterprise.
* As Gov. JB Pritzker looks ahead to a likely 2028 presidential campaign, the Illinois Democrat has launched a new political action committee, called the Ready for the Fight PAC, which is poised to invest at least $20 million in what it considers to be overlooked congressional races.
* And in Kansas’ increasingly interesting U.S. Senate race, the Democratic nominee, Rev. Adam Hamilton, a Christian pastor who leads the nation’s largest Methodist congregation, wasted little time seizing on revelations that incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall garnished paychecks and pushed arrest warrants when his patients couldn’t afford their medical bills.
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