Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race is often overlooked, the latest WRAL News poll is the latest to show a very competitive contest: The survey found Republican Rep. Ted Budd with the narrowest of leads over former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, 43% to 42%.
* In Pennsylvania’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman with a six-point lead over Republican Mehmet Oz, 46% to 40%. In June, the same pollster showed Fetterman ahead by nine points. The new data also found Democratic state attorney general Josh Shapiro leading Republican Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race, 48% to 37%.
* In Michigan, a new poll by The Detroit News and WDIV-TV offered Republicans more bad news: In the statewide contests, the Democratic incumbents are well ahead of their GOP rivals, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who leads Republican Tudor Dixon in the survey by a surprising 17-point margin.
* On a related note, Dixon has begun urging voters to simply care less about the future of reproductive rights in her state. That doesn’t seem likely to work.
* A judge in Montana yesterday struck down several voting restrictions imposed by Republican state policymakers, including bans on same-day voter registration and limits on third-party ballot collections. An Associated Press report added, “Election officials declined to say if they would appeal the latest ruling to the state high court. And with the election just over a month away, it’s uncertain if justices would render a decision before Nov. 8.” * Though abortion rights have been at the center of Democratic messaging in many key 2022 contests, Wisconsin Senate hopeful Mandela Barnes launched his first such ad yesterday, targeting Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson over his support for abortion bans. * In Texas, the latest Quinnipiac poll found a stubbornly unchanged gubernatorial race: Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott still leads former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, 53% to 46%, thanks in part to an enormous gender gap. * And in New York, the latest Siena College poll found incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul with a 17-point lead over her Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin. The same survey showed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with an even larger advantage over his GOP rival, Joe Pinion.
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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