By
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though the congressman has not made an official announcement, multiple news outlets have reported that Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina will announce today that he will not seek re-election. Butterfield, the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, is reportedly retiring as a result of North Carolina Republicans' gerrymandered district map.
* A new Marquette Law School poll found President Joe Biden with a 45 percent approval rating at the national level, while Quinnipiac's new survey put the president's national support at 36 percent. It's a reminder as to why I tend to stick to averages.
* Just as notably, the new Quinnipiac poll shows Republicans with a healthy lead over Democrats on the congressional generic ballot, and that's the number election watchers should pay attention to.
* In Virginia, far-right state Sen. Amanda Chase launched a Republican congressional campaign yesterday, hoping to take on Democratic incumbent Rep. Abigail Spanberger next fall. Chase, who ran a failed gubernatorial campaign this year, routinely describes herself as "Trump in heels."
* Though the 2020 presidential election was more than a year ago, Republican state Rep. Tim Ramthun of Wisconsin is reportedly pushing a resolution to decertify the state's election results. A local report from KFIZ added, "A memo produced earlier this month by the Legislative Council said decertifying the presidential election is not possible under either state or federal law."
* As if Missouri's U.S. Senate Republican primary weren't already crowded enough, state Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz launched a candidacy of his own this week. This is an open-seat contest to succeed retiring GOP incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt.
* And in Pennsylvania, state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman kicked off his Republican gubernatorial candidacy this week. Corman is perhaps best known to national audiences for supporting a partisan election "audit" of the Keystone State's 2020 results. Though the GOP legislator has offered no proof of widespread irregularities, the gubernatorial hopeful has told the public, "I don't necessarily have faith in the results."