Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* After months of scuttlebutt, Rep. Jasmine Crockett launched a Democratic U.S. Senate bid in Texas this week, setting up a primary fight against state Rep. James Talarico.
* Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, seeing Crockett as a rival who’d be easy to defeat in a general election, described her candidacy as a “gift.”
* Speaking of the Lone Star State, Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas announced this week that he won’t seek reelection next year. He will, however, be on the 2026 ballot. Veasey said he’s running for Tarrant County judge.
* An effort in Missouri to block a Republican-imposed gerrymandering scheme appears to be advancing: The People Not Politicians initiative, hoping to trigger a referendum process that could put the map in front of voters, turned in 305,000 signatures to Missouri’s Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday, nearly triple the threshold needed to force a statewide vote.
* In a bit of a surprise, Bruce Blakeman, a Republican county official, launched a gubernatorial campaign in New York this week. He’ll face off against Rep. Elise Stefanik in a GOP primary next year. * Also in the Empire State, Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman has drawn a credible primary rival of his own: New York City Comptroller Brad Lander kicked off a congressional campaign Wednesday morning, months after coming up short in New York City’s mayoral race. * And in Virginia, where Democrat Tom Perriello scored a dramatic upset victory in 2008 before losing two years later, the former congressman has launched a comeback bid. Perriello, who served in several diplomatic posts in the Obama and Biden administrations, kicked off a campaign this week against Republican Rep. John McGuire.
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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