Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The field of gubernatorial candidates in Florida hasn’t even taken shape yet, but Donald Trump apparently wants to end his party’s primary process before it begins: The president endorsed Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in the race, despite the fact that the congressman hasn’t yet launched a statewide candidacy.
* With Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell retiring in Kentucky, a variety of would-be GOP successors are expressing public interest in the race, including former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron and Rep. Andy Barr.
* On a related note, while Democratic officials would no doubt love to see Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear run for McConnell’s seat, the Democratic governor’s campaign manager told NBC News that Beshear will not be a Senate candidate.
* In Minnesota, much of the state GOP was waiting to see whether Republican Rep. Pete Stauber would run for statewide office. This week, the GOP congressman said he would not.
* There were a couple of state Senate special elections in Delaware this week, and Democrats easily prevailed in both. In both instances, the seats were previously held by Democratic legislators. * In remarks to the Republican Governors Association, Trump said he’s expecting a “big surprise” in the 2026 midterm elections. Hours earlier, a national Washington Post-Ipsos poll found Democrats with a 7-point advantage on the generic congressional ballot, with 53% saying they want the next Congress “controlled by Democrats to act as a check on Trump,” while 46% said they want the next Congress to be “controlled by Republicans to support Trump’s agenda.” * At the same event, the president made additional comments, as he does on a very regular basis, about running for a third term, despite the plain language of the U.S. Constitution. * And in Iowa, if Gov. Kim Reynolds runs for re-election, the Republican will apparently face a primary challenge next year: Brad Sherman, a pastor and former state representative, kicked off his candidacy this week.
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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