Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary, a new poll from the Fox affiliate in Atlanta initially showed incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp with a sizable advantage over former Sen. David Perdue, 41 percent to 22 percent. But when the same poll told respondents that Donald Trump is backing Perdue, the two GOP candidates were then tied at 34 percent each.
* On a related note, in Alabama’s gubernatorial race, Lynda Blanchard has ended her Senate campaign. At Trump’s urging, the former ambassador will instead launch a Republican primary campaign against incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey.
* If former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is going to defeat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas next year, he has a lot of ground to make up: A new Quinnipiac poll shows the incumbent ahead, 52 percent to 37 percent.
* Speaking of the Lone Star State, Matthew Dowd, a former ABC News political analyst, announced yesterday that he’s ending his Democratic campaign for lieutenant governor in Texas. Dowd also worked as the chief strategist for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004.
* Also in Texas, as Rachel noted on the show, the Justice Department filed suit this week against GOP policymakers’ plans for congressional and state legislative districts. The case is based on what remains of the Voting Rights Act, which Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Monday he’d like to see Congress restore. * In New York’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, the latest Siena poll found incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul leading the field with 36 percent support, followed by state Attorney General Letitia James with 18 percent. The survey included New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has not yet officially launched a campaign, and who received 6 percent support. * And while the new Wall Street Journal poll generated some chatter yesterday with its poll about a hypothetical 2024 Biden-Trump rematch, I’d recommend ignoring that and instead paying attention to the generic-ballot results related to 2022: Republicans lead Democrats, 44 percent to 41 percent.
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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