By
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Following up on an item from this morning, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed new voting restrictions yesterday, and civil rights advocates filed suit to challenge the new law today.
* Despite the apparent difficulties between Donald Trump and his party, the Republican National Committee has decided to move part of its spring donor retreat next month to Mar-a-Lago. The former president is scheduled to speak at the event.
* This may seem like an obscure intra-party fight, but in some progressive circles, it's a big deal: Politico reported this morning that new DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) has agreed to end the "controversial ban on political consultants who work with candidates challenging sitting Democratic incumbents in primaries."
* In Missouri, where incumbent Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is retiring, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) acknowledged yesterday that he's considering the race. If he runs, Lucas will join a primary field that already includes former state Sen. Scott Sifton (D), who launched his candidacy before Blunt's announcement.
* In Florida, an aggressively pro-Trump state representative, Anthony Sabatini (R), announced plans to run in U.S. Rep. Daniel Webster's (R) district next year. Webster, incidentally, voted with Trump roughly 91% of the time over the last four years.
* Speaking of the Sunshine State, right-wing congressional candidate Laura Loomer (R) described herself as "pro-white nationalism" in a newly surfaced recording from 2017. Loomer lost badly to Rep. Lois Frankel (D) last fall, but the Republican has already said she intends to try again.
* And in North Carolina's open U.S. Senate race, Kimrey Rhinehardt, a former aide to Sen. Richard Burr (R) kicked off her own statewide candidacy this week. But this one's a little different than most: Rhinehardt, a lifelong Republican, is running as an independent, having left her party in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.