Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* According to the latest campaign-finance filings, conspiratorial billionaire Elon Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars boosting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. This does not include the investments Musk made in support of other GOP candidates.
* Sen. Bill Cassidy’s re-election race in Louisiana is still nearly two years away, but the Republican incumbent already has a primary rival: Former Rep. John Fleming, the current state treasurer, kicked off his candidacy this week.
* Speaking of Senate GOP primary contests, in North Carolina, failed gubernatorial hopeful Mark Robinson has published some social media content suggesting he’s eyeing a 2026 race against Sen. Thom Tillis. The outgoing lieutenant governor predicted, for example, that the incumbent senator is “toast.”
* In case there were any doubts about Michael Whatley’s future as chair of the Republican National Committee, the party’s current leader said this week that he’s agreed to remain in his current role.
* Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who spent part of his political career as a Republican, appears to have left the door open to joining the GOP once again. Whether Democrats would miss him is an open question: The mayor, who’s ostensibly running for re-election next year, was indicted in September, accused of bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. (Adams has denied any wrongdoing.) * Though the reporting hasn’t been confirmed by other news outlets, NOTUS reported that Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is eyeing a bid for statewide office in South Carolina in 2026, with plans to run either for governor or against Sen. Lindsey Graham in a primary. * And in Massachusetts, where Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton has drawn plenty of intra-party critics, there’s growing talk about a possible 2026 primary challenge. Politico reported that Dan Koh, a White House official with experience in and around Boston, “has been making — and fielding — calls” about a race against the incumbent congressman.
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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