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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Maryland’s Democratic-led legislature hoped to create a favorable district map, but a Maryland judge ruled late last week that the lines constituted an “extreme gerrymander” and need to be redone.
* In Missouri’s Republican Senate primary, one of Eric Greitens’ ex-wives accused him of domestic violence last week. On Friday, the former governor released a video claiming the allegations had been orchestrated by Karl Rove and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Greitens has offered no proof, and both Rove and McConnell denied the claims.
* In the new national NBC News poll, Republicans lead Democrats on the generic congressional ballot, 46 percent to 44 percent. Based on recent history, this suggests the GOP is well positioned to make significant gains, including reclaiming a House majority.
* Latest Siena poll found New York Gov. Kathy Hochul with an enormous lead over her Democratic rivals ahead of the June primary. That said, the same survey showed the incumbent governor ahead by only eight points if former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launches a comeback bid and seeks the Democratic nomination.
* On a related note, Hochul’s re-election bid may be complicated a bit by a controversy surrounding her lieutenant governor: The New York Times reported that federal prosecutors and the FBI are investigating whether Brian Benjamin “played a role in an effort to funnel fraudulent contributions to his unsuccessful 2021 campaign for New York City comptroller, and have issued subpoenas to his campaign advisers and the State Senate.”
* State legislators loyal to Donald Trump are trying to prohibit the use of ballot tabulating machines. As Politico reported, election officials have warned such a change “could make vote-counting slower, more expensive and — most importantly — less accurate.”
* And at the former president’s rally in Georgia on Saturday night, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida boasted that he would nominate Trump for Speaker of the House in the next Congress. There’s been a fair amount of related talk from other Republicans.