Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* A Democratic candidate won a state Senate special election in Iowa, which wouldn’t be especially notable were it not for the fact that it was a Republican-held seat in a district that Donald Trump won by 21 points.
* In Florida, Republican state Sen. Randy Fine easily won his congressional special election primary race, in a contest to succeed former Republican Rep. Mike Waltz. Fine was expected to win, thanks in large part to the endorsement he received from Trump.
* In related news, in former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s district in Florida, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis cruised to victory in his GOP congressional special election primary race, thanks to the president’s backing. The general election in both districts is April 1.
* In Michigan, with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters making an unexpected retirement announcement, is there any chance Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer might be interested in the race? The two-term governor, who cannot run for re-election, has categorically ruled out the possibility.
* During an appearance at a House Republican gathering this week — held at a Trump-owned property near Miami — the president once again talked about running for a third term, though he characterized his comments as a joke. * At the same event, Trump again claimed that TikTok helped him with the youth vote “by 36 points.” There is literally no evidence to support this, and exit polls found the Republican losing younger voters by a sizable margin. * In Georgia, where Republican Gov. Brian Kemp cannot seek a third term, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Democratic mayor of Atlanta, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she’s eyeing the 2026 race. * And as Karoline Leavitt begins her stint as the White House press secretary, she reportedly has revealed in amended campaign filings that her failed 2022 congressional campaign accepted improper contributions. Leavitt is one of several people Trump has hired for his team in the wake of their failed bids for elected office.
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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