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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The more Donald Trump’s legal troubles worsen, the more GOP support he picks up: Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida endorsed the former president’s 2024 campaign yesterday.
* In Missouri, where term limits prevent GOP Gov. Mike Parson from seeking another term, Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft kicked off a gubernatorial campaign yesterday. His father, John Ashcroft, held the same office 30 years ago.
* In West Virginia, where term limits also prevent GOP Gov. Jim Justice from running for a third term, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey launched a gubernatorial campaign earlier this week.
* Speaking of West Virginia, much of the Republican Party establishment desperately wants Justice to run for the Senate next year, which made it all the more notable when the far-right Club for Growth endorsed Rep. Alex Mooney for the GOP nomination this week.
* Now that the Republican Party of Michigan is led by extremists such as Kristina Karamo, there are reportedly conversations underway among conservative operatives, including former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to form a shadow party that would work adjacent to the actual state GOP. Karamo has vowed to ignore such an entity.
* Gov. Gavin Newsom continues to take steps to raise his national visibility: The California Democrat was in Florida this week, meeting with students and faculty members from the New College of Florida, a liberal arts institution that’s struggling with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign against higher education.
* And as the group No Labels creates new concerns for Democratic candidates, it remains an open question how the organization raised $70 million and whether anti-Democratic forces are helping finance the operation.