Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly held a three-hour meeting with Donald Trump yesterday. While it’s unclear what the two discussed, the former president apparently referred to the GOP leader as “Speaker McCarthy,” in reference to an expected Republican takeover of the House.
* Among yesterday’s primary winners was Max Miller, a former aide in the Trump White House, who won a Republican primary in Ohio’s newly drawn 7th congressional district. Miller prevailed easily in a crowded GOP field, thanks in part to the former president’s endorsement, despite abuse physical allegations from his former girlfriend, former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
* Though some recent polling in Georgia’s U.S. Senate race showed Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock trailing former Republican football player Herschel Walker, the latest SurveyUSA poll found the incumbent ahead, 50 percent to 45 percent.
* Speaking of Georgia, Trump may be an enthusiastic proponent of former Sen. David Perdue’s Republican gubernatorial candidacy, but George W. Bush will appear at an upcoming fundraiser for incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.
* Tennessee Republicans recently barred Robby Starbuck, a right-wing influencer, from competing in a U.S. House primary, saying he failed to meet the party’s qualifications under the Tennessee GOP’s bylaws. This week, Starbuck filed a federal lawsuit, challenging his disqualification.
* Mary Souza, a Republican secretary of state candidate in Idaho, announced last week that if elected, she would not try to encourage anyone to vote, despite overseeing the state’s elections. She added that encouraging people to participate in their democracy should fall to “the partisan groups, the special interest groups, people who are very supportive of a candidate or a ballot measure.”
* And in Massachusetts, where Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is retiring after two terms, the latest Boston Globe poll conducted by Suffolk University found Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey with big leads over each of her hypothetical Republican rivals. If she prevails, would be the first woman elected to the office.
