Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Alaska’s four-way U.S. Senate primary, incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski advanced yesterday to the general election as the top vote-getter, along with Kelly Tshibaka, a Trump-backed GOP challenger. Democrat Pat Chesbro was a distant third, though she’s also advancing to the next round in the fall. It’s not yet clear who’ll claim the fourth spot.
* Speaking of the Last Frontier, Alaska also held a ranked-choice congressional special election yesterday, and no candidate appears likely to finish with a majority in the first round. The top contenders — former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican Nick Begich, and Democrat Mary Peltola — will have to wait until later this month for updated tallies.
* And speaking of yesterday’s contests, Republican State Rep. Chuck Gray, who was also backed by Trump, won the GOP nomination in Wyoming’s secretary of state primary, and is the overwhelming favorite to get the powerful job in the fall. Gray will oversee state elections, despite being an election conspiracy theorist who’s peddled bizarre claims about the 2020 race.
* In the wake of her primary defeat, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney has reportedly decided to form a new leadership political action committee called “The Great Task.” As NBC News reported, the Wyoming congresswoman is sitting on millions of unspent dollars, which she can now transfer to the new PAC.
* Asked this morning about a possible 2024 presidential campaign, Cheney also told NBC News, “That’s a decision that I’m going to make in the coming months, and I’m not going to make any announcements here this morning — but it is something that I am thinking about.”
* In Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, celebrity doctor Hehmet Oz was asked over the weekend how many homes he owns. “Legitimately, I own two houses,” the Republican responded. According a Daily Beast report, the actual number is 10. (This brings to mind the time during his 2008 presidential campaign when the late Sen. John McCain was asked how many homes he owned, and he wasn’t sure. At least, however, the Republican didn’t give the wrong number.)
* And with time running out ahead of Rhode Island’s primaries, the latest Roger Williams/WPRI 12 poll found Gov. Daniel McKee narrowly ahead in his Democratic primary, leading Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, 28 percent to 25 percent. Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes was third in the survey with 14 percent.
