By
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appears well positioned to win re-election in Ohio, the U.S. Senate race in the Buckeye State couldn’t be much closer: A new Marist poll found Republican J.D. Vance leading Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan by just a point, 46% to 45%, while a new Spectrum News/Siena poll showed the two candidates tied, with each garnering 46% support.
* The latest NBC News poll, released yesterday, found Democrats narrowly leading Republicans on the congressional generic ballot, 47% to 46%, among registered voters. Among likely voters, however, it’s the GOP with a narrow advantage, 48% to 47%. The problem for Democrats: Both parties’ bases appear fired up, but Republicans appear more fired up.
* The Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, which is aligned with Senate Republican leaders, had planned to invest $5.6 million in television ads in New Hampshire, but with Don Bolduc trailing Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, The New York Times reports that the Senate Leadership Fund is canceling its investments in the state for the final two weeks of the race.
* With Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt facing a surprisingly competitive race against Democrat Joy Hofmeister, the state superintendent of education, the Republican Governors Association is hoping to rescue the incumbent with a late, seven-figure ad buy.
* In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski surprised observers when she announced plans to rank Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola first on her top-four ballot. What’s more, the new congresswoman said she’d return the favor and rank Murkowski first on her ballot, too.
* Are Republicans and their allies running attack ads that darken the skin tone of Black Democratic candidates? The evidence clearly points in that direction.
* In Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Herschel Walker not only continues to pretend his honorary law enforcement badge is real, he’s also begun using false claims about The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to raise money. The newspaper’s editors are not pleased.
* And in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, Mehmet Oz has reportedly dipped into his personal fortune again, loaning his Republican campaign another $1 million last week.