Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose launched a Republican U.S. Senate campaign this morning, complicating a race that’s likely to get messy. LaRose joins a GOP field that already includes businessman Bernie Moreno — who’s received Donald Trump’s encouragement — and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who ran an unsuccessful statewide campaign last year.
* Speaking of the Buckeye State, Progress Action Fund has launched a provocative new ad on Issue 1 in Ohio, which intends to make it harder for reproductive rights advocates to amend the state constitution. (Note: Depending on your coworkers and your office culture, this ad might very well fall into the “not safe for work” category. Be forewarned.)
* Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign isn’t yet two months old, and the Florida Republican is already shaking up his staff, firing roughly a dozen staffers.
* Former Vice President Mike Pence’s 2024 operation raised less than $1.2 million in the second quarter. While it’s important to note that the Hoosier didn’t launch until early June — the second quarter began in April — it’s still widely seen as a disappointing haul that might make it difficult for Pence to qualify for his party’s upcoming debates.
* Speaking of fundraising, incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema hasn’t officially announced her 2024 plans, but the Arizona independent’s campaign coffers are adding to her electoral difficulties: In the second quarter, she raised $1.7 million, as compared to her Democratic rival, Rep. Ruben Gallego, who brought in $3.1 million over the same three-month period. * At the Turning Point Action Conference over the weekend, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez faced quite a bit of booing and heckling from the far-right audience. It wasn’t because of anything the GOP presidential hopefuls said: They were jeered because they’re daring to run primary campaigns against Trump. * In Iowa, after Republican state Sen. Jeff Reichman shifted his support from Trump to DeSantis, the former president’s spokesperson responded, “There is no room for weak-kneed and lily-livered people on Team Trump.” Reichman is an Iraq War veteran who served in the Marine Corps for nearly three decades. * And while Democratic officials have been largely content to ignore Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s weird presidential campaign, the party was quick to condemn the conspiracy theorist after an apparent video surfaced showing Kennedy saying Covid-19 was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and that Jewish people are most immune. Kennedy later defended his remarks, claiming they were not antisemitic.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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