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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Democrats appear to be facing a brutal Senate map in 2024, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC News that he’s optimistic about the party maintaining its majority. “Yes, I absolutely do [believe it will] if we stick to our North Star, which is: help people with things that they need help with,” the New York Democrat said yesterday.
* HuffPost took a look at how Donald Trump’s super PAC spent its money during this year’s midterm elections, and the analysis found that the former president “wound up spending just a fraction of the $100 million he had available ― and hoarded the rest for his own 2024 presidential run.”
* In the race for House speaker, the five-member bloc opposed to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s candidacy indicated something new yesterday: It would operate as a unit and vote together, preventing party leaders from trying to pick the contingent apart.
* In Virginia, Democratic state Sen. Jennifer McClellan appears to be an early frontrunner in the race to replace the late Rep. Donald McEachin. Yesterday, the legislator picked up an endorsement from Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, ahead of February’s special election.
* Speaking of the commonwealth, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, ahead of a possible Republican presidential campaign, is unveiling a plan for more tax breaks, including a corporate tax rate cut.
* Sen. Kyrsten Sinema does not appear to be scaring away would-be 2024 rivals: Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is making no effort to hide his interest in a Senate campaign, and now Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton has confirmed he’s “taking a serious look” at the race.
* And while Twitter owner Elon Musk used his platform to encourage Americans to vote for Republicans in this year’s midterms, election records suggest he didn’t bother to cast a ballot himself.