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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Wyoming, Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis was officially neutral in her state’s U.S. House Republican primary, but this week, the senator threw her support behind Rep. Liz Cheney’s GOP rival, attorney Harriet Hageman. Primary Day is this Tuesday, Aug. 16.
* On a related note, Cheney’s campaign today unveiled one last closing message ad. In a straight-to-camera message, the congresswoman reflects on the partisan lies surrounding the 2020 presidential election, adding, “This is Donald Trump’s legacy, but it cannot be the future of our nation. History has shown us over and over again how these types of poisonous lies destroy free nations.”
* The latest national Reuters/Ipsos poll showed President Joe Biden’s approval rating at 40 percent, which isn’t great, but which is an improvement from recent data from the same pollster. It’s also in line with the latest national averages.
* In Arizona’s gubernatorial race, former Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said she’s willing to support her party’s 2022 nominee, Kari Lake, but only if she stops lying about elections. “I want to hear her tell me she did all this because she wanted to win and that it got a little bit out of control,” Brewer said.
* In Maryland’s gubernatorial race, Republican Dan Cox was so outraged by the FBI searching Mar-a-Lago that the candidate said he’d consider using the state police and Maryland National Guard to oppose the Biden administration if elected.
* Now that Wisconsin’s primaries are over, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is rolling out its first ad campaign targeting Republican Sen. Ron Johnson. “Tired of Washington politicians not working for you? We’ve got a solution — with three easy payments of $1 million, Ron Johnson will work for you! Just ask these billionaires!” a narrator says in one spot. “They donated a fortune to Johnson and he delivered a $215 million tax break for them. That’s right, $215 million. Johnson even threw in a tax break for himself. Don’t miss this opportunity, call now.”
* And speaking of notable ads, in Alaska’s congressional special election, Republican businessman Nick Begich III launched this commercial this week targeting former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin. The spot features a local small-business owner saying, “I get it. Sarah Palin is famous. But come on, U.S. Congress?”