Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The Democratic National Committee is poised to invest more than $1 million a month on its reinvigorated 50-state program, and as The New York Times reported, the party will “emphasize red states over blue ones.”
* On a related note, a Democratic recruitment group called Contest Every Race is preparing to invest $12 million into rural organizing, in the hopes of making inroads in conservative areas.
* While the Constitution prohibits Donald Trump from even trying to seek a third term, the Trump Organization has begun selling merchandise — including familiar red caps — featuring the words “Trump 2028” in white.
* Speaking of the president, public support for Trump’s handling of immigration policy was the one remaining thing where the Republican was still relatively popular. This week, however, several national polls found the president underwater on the issue, including a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey. (Click the link for more information on the poll’s methodology and margin of error.)
* Sen. Susan Collins appears to be running for re-election in Maine next year, though her constituents don’t appear overly excited about her ambitions: The latest poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center found only 21% of Mainers believe the Republican incumbent deserves another term. (Click the link for more information on the poll’s methodology and margin of error.)
* On a related note, while many observers in Maine wait to see whether Democratic Gov. Janet Mills launches a 2026 Senate campaign, a former House staffer named Jordan Wood isn’t waiting: He launched his first statewide campaign this week.
* In Florida, conditions have deteriorated so much for Democrats that their state Senate minority leader, Jason Pizzo, abandoned the party and became an independent.
* And in the mess surrounding North Carolina’s 2024 state Supreme Court race, a federal appeals court this week ordered the state elections board not to contact voters whose ballots are in dispute — at least not yet.
