By
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) faces increasing pressure to resign, including calls from both of the state's Democratic U.S. senators, the governor has a new problem: Larry Schwartz, head of the state's vaccine rollout has reportedly phoned county officials in recent weeks "in attempts to gauge their loyalty" to Cuomo.
* After its plan to use a Liberty University parking lot collapsed, the Republican Party of Virginia finalized plans on Friday night for how to nominate candidates for statewide offices this year. As the Washington Post reported, "Members of the party's governing board voted Friday night to make the picks at a May 8 'remote-voting' convention, with up to 37 polling locations across the state."
* Add Texas to the list of states considering new voting restrictions. NBC News reported this morning, "More than two dozen GOP-sponsored elections bills are under consideration in the Legislature as lawmakers seek to tighten ID requirements and voter rolls, limit early voting and up the penalties for errors."
* Though there were rumors that Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) would run for the U.S. Senate next year, the Georgia Republican explained on "Meet the Press" yesterday that he will not take on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) next year.
* On a related note, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), fresh off his relatively easy re-election campaign, has decided not to run for his state's open U.S. Senate seat next year. Cooper explained that he thought he could win, but he wasn't comfortable leaving North Carolinians in the hands of Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R).
* The latest Des Moines Register poll found that 55% of Iowans hope that incumbent Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) does not seek an eighth term next year.
* And in Alabama, the Republican Party's U.S. Senate primary is still a year away, but former U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard (R) has already launched her first TV commercial, investing $100,000 into raising her profile. The candidate's ad focuses on, among other things, her opposition to "transgender athletes who participate in girls' sports."