Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* According to a new report in Roll Call, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s first national ad buy of the 2026 cycle will focus on the impact of Republicans’ far-right megabill. A variety of progressive groups, including Unrig Our Economy, Protect Our Care and the League of Conservation Voters, have also begun airing related ads.
* In North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, with Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis retiring, Donald Trump is already promoting his daughter-in-law, Fox News’ Lara Trump, and her unannounced candidacy.
* On a related note, there was some scuttlebutt about North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, the current chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, possibly running to succeed Tillis, but he declared that he’s not running for the Senate next year.
* In South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is favored to keep his seat, but the longtime incumbent is facing a new primary rival: Former Lt. Gov. André Bauer kicked off his Senate campaign last week.
* With 17 weeks to go before Election Day in New Jersey, the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll found Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill with a big lead over former Republican assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, 51% to 31%. (Click the link for more information on the poll’s methodology and margin of error.)
* On a related note, Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t winning any popularity contests in New York, but the latest Siena College poll found the Democratic incumbent with 20-point leads over the top Republican contenders in next year’s gubernatorial race. * At a White House event on the Fourth of July, Trump once again focused on election victory last fall, claiming he won 2,750 congressional districts, while losing 505. As best as I can tell, this was the sixth different version of the meaningless electoral statistic he’s come up with in recent months, rendering the claim meaningless. * In the 2024 election cycle, Elon Musk donated $288 million to help put Republicans in power. Now, the megadonor claims he’s creating a new third party called the “America Party.” (Note, the “American Party” name was already taken, and it has an unfortunate history). * On a related note, Trump was quick to denounce Musk’s endeavor, both publicly and online, trashing the very idea of third-party candidacies. What the president might not remember is that he ran as a Reform Party candidate in the 2000 cycle and threatened to run as an independent in 2016 if GOP voters denied him the Republican nomination.
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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