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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* It wasn’t long after Sen. Debbie Stabenow made her retirement announcement when others expressed interest in the Michigan Democrat’s seat. Sources close to Reps. Elissa Slotkin, Haley Stevens, and Debbie Dingell said they were considering the 2024 race.
* Speaking of the 2024 Senate race, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is reportedly putting together a team in preparation for a statewide bid in Arizona next year.
* Al Schmidt, a former Republican elections official in Philadelphia targeted by right-wing election deniers, is being tapped for a new gig: Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor-elect, wants Schmidt to serve as the commonwealth’s chief elections officer.
* Despite the recent success of relatively moderate Republican governors in Massachusetts, the state GOP appears surprisingly eager to move in a far-right direction — even after a Trump-like gubernatorial candidate lost in November by 29 points.
* Derrick Evans, a former state lawmaker who went to prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack, launched a Republican congressional campaign in West Virginia this morning. He’s planning to take on incumbent Rep. Carol Miller in a GOP primary.
* Ahead of next year’s Republican presidential primary, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s spokesperson went after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis yesterday, telling National Review that the Floridian hasn’t gone nearly far enough to restrict abortion rights.
* And in a sign of the times, two of House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s highest-profile intra-party opponents — Reps. Matt Gaetz or Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona — launched fundraising appeals this week, raising money off their anti-McCarthy efforts.