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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court settled on a new congressional district map this week, which is consistent with the lines proposed by a group of Democratic-aligned voters. That’s not the outcome Republicans were hoping for.
* On a related note, a North Carolina court this week rejected a Republican-drawn map, instead endorsing a map drawn by a non-partisan panel of redistricting experts. That’s also not the outcome the GOP wanted to see.
* In Texas, the latest Emerson poll found Republican Gov. Greg Abbott maintaining his advantage over former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke, 52 percent to 45 percent.
* The same poll found scandal-ridden state Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead in his GOP primary race, though his support stood at 43 percent, while Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is second with 20 percent. The intra-party election is March 1 and if no one wins a majority, there will be a May 24 runoff. Only one-in-four GOP primary voters in the state said they’re less likely to support Paxton because he’s under criminal indictment.
* In Minnesota, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz scheduled the congressional special election to succeed the late Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who died last week. The primary will be on May 24, followed by a general election on Aug. 9, which will coincide with statewide primaries. Minnesota’s 1st congressional district is very conservative, and Republicans expect to keep the seat.
* In New York’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, the latest Siena College poll showed incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul with a big advantage over Jumaane Williams, 46 percent to 17 percent. Rep. Tom Suozzi was even further back in the survey, garnering 9 percent support.
* And speaking of the Empire State, former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly moving forward with plans for a political rehabilitation, including an ad campaign in which the former governor will apparently claim he’s been exonerated from sexual-harassment charges.