Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It’s Election Day in the late Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly’s Virginia district, where Democrat James Walkinshaw is expected to fare well in a congressional special election. The result would narrow the House Republicans’ majority in the chamber just a bit more.
* As expected, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, widely seen as a rising star in the party, kicked off a U.S. Senate race in Texas, setting the stage for a tough primary with former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who ran a competitive but unsuccessful Senate campaign last year.
* Speaking of Texas’ 2026 Senate race, Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt continues to stoke speculation that he might throw his hat into the ring to create a three-way contest with Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. The National Republican Senate Committee, however, wants Hunt to give up on this plan and instead run for re-election to the House.
* The Republican-led Missouri House is poised to advance a mid-decade redistricting scheme that would lead to a net gain of one additional GOP seat in the state. Republicans already control six of Missouri’s eight U.S. House seats, but as part of Donald Trump’s national gerrymandering offensive, that’s apparently no longer good enough.
* On a related note, Kansas and Nebraska are reportedly also in the mix to redraw their state congressional maps to ensure GOP victories before voters cast ballots. * Speaking of redistricting, in California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last week launched a new ad campaign to boost his effort to overhaul his state’s congressional boundaries, hoping to counter a related effort in Texas. * JD Vance was asked about his expectations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections during his latest Fox News appearance, and the vice president replied, “One of the president’s pollsters told me that anger usually wins midterm elections, and because we’ve done so much of what we said we are going to do, our people aren’t angry.”
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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