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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Thanks to a ruling yesterday from the Michigan Supreme Court, voters in the Wolverine State will be able to weigh in on whether to amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights. Republican election officials had earlier rejected the ballot measure over a clerical matter.
* Speaking of Michigan, a special prosecutor was named yesterday to determine whether Matthew DePerno should face criminal charges as a result of a GOP scheme to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. DePerno is currently the Republican nominee in the state attorney general’s race.
* Though National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott continues to insist publicly that everything’s fine and there’s no cause for alarm, the Florida senator also felt the need this week to send a memo to party donors, assuring them that everything’s fine and there’s no cause for alarm.
* In Massachusetts, outgoing Republican Gov. Charlie Baker will not be supporting Geoff Diehl, his party’s nominee to succeed him. On a related note, the first post-primary poll in the Bay State found Diehl trailing Democratic state Attorney General Maura Healey by 18 points.
* On a related note, in Maryland, outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan believes Dan Cox, his party’s nominee to succeed him, is mentally unstable and has “no chance whatsoever” of winning in the fall.
* Kentucky will hold its next gubernatorial race next year, and the field of Republican contenders continues to grow. Kelly Craft, who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, kicked off her candidacy this week. It will be her first bid for elected office, though fundraising shouldn’t be a problem: Craft is married to a billionaire.
* And in Colorado, the Tina Peters saga continues: As NBC News reported, the Republican county clerk pleaded not guilty this week to charges of election tampering and official misconduct in connection with a security breach of Mesa County’s voting system last year.