IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

MaddowBlog

From The Rachel Maddow Show

Ryan Kelley attends a Freedom Rally outside the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing
Ryan Kelley, Republication candidate for Governor, attends a Freedom Rally in support of First Amendment rights and to protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer outside the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on May 15, 2021.Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Images, file

Thursday’s Campaign Round-Up, 6.9.22

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

By Steve Benen

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

* Just when it seemed Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial primary couldn’t get any weirder, Ryan Kelley — by some measures, the newest frontrunner for the GOP nomination — was reportedly arrested this morning. The charges appear to be related to his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

* On a related note, it’s worth emphasizing for context that five other Republican gubernatorial candidates in Michigan, including top contenders, were recently removed from the ballot after submitting thousands of forged petition signatures.

* In Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, VoteVets has launched a tough new commercial slamming Republican Herschel Walker over his highly controversial Patriot Support program, which allegedly preyed upon veterans and service members while defrauding the government.

* In Arizona, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and state Rep. Mark Finchem, a leading GOP candidate for secretary of state, went to court this morning in the hopes of blocking ballot tabulation machines from being used in 2022 elections. This comes two months after the same far-right duo also sued to block use of electronic voting machines.

* Though Sen. Mike Lee’s re-election in Utah is generally seen as a sure-thing, a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found the incumbent Republican leading independent Evan McMullin by just four points, 41 percent to 37 percent.

* President Joe Biden sat down with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel yesterday and made a compelling case that gun safety policy must become “a voting issue” for Americans ahead of the midterm elections.

* And two days after primary contests in seven states, there are still a whole lot of undecided congressional races. NBC News put together a useful rundown.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MSNBC political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics."