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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The Illinois State Board of Elections is the latest body to consider whether Donald Trump should be removed from the state’s primary ballot, because of the Constitution’s prohibition on insurrectionist officeholders.
* Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia is the latest member of the Senate Republican leadership to formally endorse Trump’s 2024 candidacy. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet taken a similar step.
* The Daily Beast reported this week that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has spent over $200,000 from her taxpayer-funded office budget on chartering private flights. That’s not illegal, though it may be politically problematic if the Arizona independent decides to run for re-election in the fall.
* After the Republican National Committee took steps to push Nikki Haley out of the presidential race, NBC News’ Kristen Welker asked the former ambassador whether she sees the RNC as “an honest broker.” Haley replied, “I mean, clearly not.”
* The Senate Leadership Fund, the top super PAC aligned with the Senate Republican leadership, is reserving $24.6 million in airtime in Montana in the hopes of defeating incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester. American Crossroads, meanwhile, is reserving an additional $23.3 million worth of airtime in the same race.
* Speaking of super PACs, Future Forward, the main group backing President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, is reserving $250 million in advertising across seven battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
* After the United Auto Workers endorsed Biden’s 2024 bid, Trump did exactly what most observers expected him to do: The former president took steps to villainize Shawn Fain, the UAW’s high-profile leader.