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Monday's Campaign Round-Up, 8.16.21

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

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Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* In Nevada, former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt (R) filed the paperwork yesterday to take on incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) next year. The race will come four years after Laxalt ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign, losing to Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) by 4 percentage points.

* Stephen Richer, a local Republican official who oversees Maricopa County's elections department, has reportedly launched a political action committee to "support pro-democracy Arizona Republicans." Richer has clashed with the GOP state senators behind Arizona's utterly bonkers "audit" of the 2020 elections.

* A growing number of Republicans in Minnesota are calling on state GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan to resign following the arrest of a prominent state party donor. As the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, Minnesota GOP strategist Anton "Tony" Lazzaro was arrested last week and faces federal charges of recruiting and sex trafficking minors.

* Write-in candidates tend not to succeed, but in Buffalo, Mayor Byron Brown (D) is running a write-in campaign against India Walton, who defeated the incumbent in a recent Democratic primary. Though Walton will be alone on the ballot, recent polling suggests Brown is a strong contender.

* Election Day in Virginia's gubernatorial race is 11 weeks from tomorrow, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has reportedly failed to respond to a debate invitation by Norfolk State University. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) had already accepted. The school has agreed to host a voting-rights summit instead.

* In California's gubernatorial recall campaign, which is now less than a month away, Republican Larry Elder recently touted an endorsement from a man who was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack. Elder is generally seen as the top Republican contender in the race.