Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* New York City Mayor Eric Adams was a Republican; then he was a Democrat; and now he’s running for a second term as an independent. Adams announced the partisan switch the day after the federal corruption charges against him were dismissed in court under highly controversial circumstances.
* In New Hampshire, Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas confirmed weeks of rumors and launched a U.S. Senate campaign. If elected, the congressman would be the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate.
* In Wisconsin, former Republican Gov. Scott Walker explained his party’s failure in a state Supreme Court race this week by arguing that GOP voters “just historically don’t vote in spring elections.” But that’s not what happened: Turnout was high, and Republicans met their targets. They lost anyway because Democratic turnout was better.
* Speaking of Wisconsin, a Democratic-backed candidate in the race for state school superintendent also won this week.
* One day after Republicans won two congressional special elections in Florida, Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine were sworn in to office, creating a new balance of power in the U.S. House: There are now 220 Republicans and 213 Democrats. * In Aurora, Illinois, the city’s incumbent mayor, Republican Richard Irvin, lost his re-election bid this week, coming up short against John Laesch, who enjoyed the support of several prominent Democratic leaders in the state. * In California, there’s still plenty of speculation about whether former Vice President Kamala Harris will run for governor next year, but in the meantime, Xavier Becerra isn’t waiting: The former health and human services secretary kicked off his statewide bid this week. * And in Michigan, a high-profile state senator, Mallory McMorrow, launched a Democratic U.S. Senate campaign this week. The 38-year-old lawmaker is the first major candidate to jump into the race, though the Democratic primary is expected to be quite crowded.
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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