Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Ohio, failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has finally made it official, kicking off his gubernatorial campaign. If elected, it will be Ramaswamy’s first position in elected office.
* On a related note, while it’s been widely assumed that the GOP gubernatorial field in the Buckeye State will be sizable, Donald Trump is apparently trying to short circuit the process: The president endorsed Ramaswamy just hours after the candidate’s announcement.
* In Virginia, one of two states holding gubernatorial races this year, the latest Roanoke College poll found former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger ahead of Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, 39% to 24%. About a third of the voters in the commonwealth remain undecided. (Click the link for more information on the poll’s methodology and margin of error.)
* In New York, Democratic Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado announced that he won’t run for re-election to his current office in 2026, though his statement left open the possibility that he might yet run for a different office. There’s been considerable speculation for a while that Delgado might take on Gov. Kathy Hochul in a Democratic primary.
* With this in mind, New York’s incumbent governor responded to the developments with a rather pointed statement, saying, “Today, Antonio Delgado finally said out loud what has been obvious for quite some time: He is simply not interested in doing the job of the lieutenant governor of the state of New York.” * In Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial race, Trump has already endorsed Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, but incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said the congressman “just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here.” The governor added some words of support for his wife, Casey DeSantis, who’s reportedly eyeing the contest. * And in Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court race scheduled for April 1 is technically non-partisan, but the Republican State Leadership Committee is investing $2 million in support of Brad Schimel, a local conservative judge. A group backed by Elon Musk is also spending to bolster Schimel’s candidacy.
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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