IL-16: Gene Koprowski, a former official with a conservative suppose tank referred to as the Heartland Institute, not too long ago told the New York Instances that he was raising money for a potential campaign in opposition to Rep. Adam Kinzinger, however Koprowski added that he would not enter the race till the Democratic-led state legislature finishes the redistricting course of. Koprowski earned some very unfavorable discover in 2018 when HuffPost reported that he’d been charged with stalking a female colleague, and that senior Heartland officers sought to guard him.
MI-03: Military Nationwide Guard veteran Tom Norton, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nod in Michigan’s third District final yr when it was an open seat final yr, is working in opposition to Rep. Peter Meijer as soon as once more. Norton raised very little and finished a distant third with simply 16% of the vote. His Twitter feed is crammed with remarks like, “If there isn’t a such factor as gender, how can @KamalaHarris be a historic feminine?” and “In case your homosexual go be homosexual that’s your proper. However whenever you take away a physique half your not a lady your nonetheless a person. We’re normalizing loopy.”
MI-06: Veteran Rep. Fred Upton was censured over the weekend by the Republican Celebration of Allegan County, which is one of the six counties in his southwest Michigan seat. Upton, a relative pragmatist in in the present day’s GOP, has typically been focused in primaries for his earlier apostasies, and final yr, he turned in a relatively soft 63-37 win over businesswoman Elena Oelke, who appears to have raised no money at all.
NY-24: Native Republican and Conservative Celebration officers are quite pissed at Rep. John Katko, although there’s been no actual speak of a main problem but. Nonetheless, Katko was already on skinny ice with the Conservative Celebration, whom he infuriated final cycle when he cosponsored a bill that condemned Trump’s ban on transgender People serving within the armed forces. Some (however not all) of the harm was later repaired, however lack of Conservative assist might show very harmful: In 2018, Katko defeated Democrat Dana Balter by 13,694 votes whereas incomes 16,972 votes on the Conservative Celebration line. New York’s twenty fourth is certainly one of simply two districts Joe Biden gained on this listing (together with California’s twenty first), so defections on Katko’s proper flank might trigger him severe bother within the basic election as a lot as in a main.
OH-16: Former state Rep. Christina Hagan, who sought Ohio’s sixteenth District as soon as earlier than, “will not be ruling out” a problem to Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, says Politico. Hagan lost to Gonzalez 53-41 within the GOP main in 2018, when the sixteenth had turn out to be open, then ran unsuccessfully within the neighboring thirteenth District final yr, falling 52-45 to Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan.
SC-07: We have beforehand written about two Republicans who are considering challenges to Rep. Tom Rice, however now a 3rd is threatening to enter the fray. Former NYPD officer John Cummings, who raised $11 million in a futile bid in opposition to AOC final yr, is reportedly thinking about taking his grift present down South for a possible main bid. Rice often is the most weak Republican on this listing as a result of South Carolina, alone amongst these 9 states, requires runoffs if no candidate secures a majority, that means Rice cannot pin his hopes of survival on successful renomination with a mere plurality.
WA-03, WA-04: Republican leaders in Washington’s third and 4th Districts are hopping mad and say they count on each Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse to face main challenges, although no names have emerged but. Nonetheless, like Valadao, each get pleasure from a measure of safety because of Washington’s top-two main system, which works similar to California’s.
WY-AL: Politico stories that Air Pressure veteran Bryan Miller is “expected” to run in opposition to Rep. Liz Cheney, although in a quick quote, he would not say something about his plans. If he does enter, nevertheless, which may paradoxically be excellent news for Cheney, since she already landed one credible opponent, state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, simply the opposite day. Contra Tom Rice in South Carolina, Cheney might escape with a plurality as a result of Wyoming has no runoffs.
Senate
● GA-Sen: The Atlanta Journal-Structure means that former Republican state Rep. Earl Ehrhart might be considering a bid in opposition to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who’s up for re-election for a full six-year time period in 2022. Ehrhart served within the state Home for 30 years earlier than retiring in 2018, making him the longest-serving Republican within the decrease chamber, although he is nonetheless solely 61 years outdated.
● WI-Sen: Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who beforehand had not dominated out a bid in opposition to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson subsequent yr, now confirms he is “given consideration” to a attainable marketing campaign, although he hasn’t provided a timetable for a choice. Barnes, a former state consultant, was elected on a ticket with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2018 and can be Wisconsin’s first Black senator.
Governors
● RI-Gov: With Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Daniel McKee set to switch Gov. Gina Raimondo if she’s confirmed as Joe Biden’s new Commerce secretary, we had been curious to understand how properly individuals who’ve ascended to the governorship on this method fare after they select to hunt election in their very own proper. Thankfully, the College of Minnesota’s Eric Ostermeier has answered this question in depth.
Since 1900, 174 second-in-command office-holders (together with not solely lieutenant governors but additionally—relying on the state—secretaries of state, state senate presidents, and state home audio system) have turn out to be governor in their very own proper, although solely 128 had been eligible to run within the following election (some, as an illustration, had been solely elevated after related primaries had handed). Of those, 109 selected to take action, however solely just a little greater than half—59, or 54%—succeeded: 21 did not win their get together’s nomination, whereas 29 misplaced basic elections.
That is significantly decrease than the general re-election charge for governors, which from 1963 by 2013 was 75%, according to an earlier Ostermeier analysis. Nonetheless, that determine contains these “elevated governors,” so the precise re-election charge for governors first elected in their very own proper is even larger. That’ll be one thing for McKee to consider each by way of the Democratic main and, ought to he prevail, subsequent yr’s basic election as properly.
● VA-Gov: Bob McDonnell, who was the final Republican to function governor of Virginia, has endorsed Del. Kirk Cox, who’s hoping to interrupt the GOP’s lengthy dropping streak this fall. When McDonnell gained workplace in 2009, that was in reality the final time any Republican gained a statewide race in Virginia.
Mayors
● Cincinnati, OH Mayor: Hamilton County Commissioner Denise Driehaus, a Democrat, mentioned on Friday that she would not run for mayor this year.
