Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* With control of Pennsylvania’s state House on the line, Democrat Lindsay Powell defeated Republican Erin Connolly Autenreith in a legislative special election yesterday. The results were not close: With nearly all of the votes counted, Powell’s advantage is roughly 30 points.
* In related news, Democrat Hal Rafter defeated Republican James Guzofski in a New Hampshire state legislative special election, flipping the seat from “red” to “blue.” Though Rafter prevailed by 12 points, the outcome was hardly assured: This is a district that backed Donald Trump in the 2020 cycle.
* With nine weeks remaining before Kentucky’s gubernatorial race, incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has a very hard-hitting new ad targeting Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s position on abortion.
#KYGov: The Andy Beshear campaign is up on TV with this spot —
Hadley to camera:
"This is to you, Daniel Cameron. To tell a 12-year-old girl she must have the baby of her stepfather who raped her is unthinkable" pic.twitter.com/2tW09U4ZUORecommended
— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) September 20, 2023
* Progress Action Fund’s first ad related to reproductive rights raised a few eyebrows, and so will its second. NBC News reported that the progressive group “will target Ohio and Pennsylvania with a 30-second ad depicting a Republican member of Congress inside a hospital room denying an abortion for a 12-year-old rape victim.”
* As some far-right voices peddle deeply weird conspiracy theories about Sen. John Fetterman being secretly replaced by a body-double, Politico reports that the Pennsylvania Democrat is having a little fun with the nonsense: “Fetterman’s campaign is now selling a T-shirt that reads ‘John Fetterman’s Body Double‘ and a hoodie that reads ‘I vote in this hoodie.’”
* In Indiana, the GOP’s U.S. Senate primary isn’t officially over, but Rep. Jim Banks has clearly succeeded in locking up support from party leaders: Incumbent Sen. Mike Braun, who’s giving up his seat to run for governor, threw his support behind Banks late last week.
* And it appears increasingly likely that Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz will run for governor in Florida in 2026. For now, I’m just going to flag the reporting, and I’ll save the commentary for an official announcement.
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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