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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary finally comes to an end today, former Sen. David Perdue is ending his candidacy with racist rhetoric directed at Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams.
* In related news, the former senator was asked yesterday whether he intends to accept the election results as legitimate. Perdue responded, “Depends on if there’s fraud or not.”
* In Pennsylvania’s unresolved GOP Senate primary, Dave McCormick and his team filed suit yesterday to ensure certain mail-in primary ballots aren’t disqualified. At issue are ballots that were submitted on time, but which were missing handwritten dates on the envelopes. Some local county boards of election are refusing to count ballots, prompting yesterday’s litigation.
* Speaking of the Keystone State, as Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial election enters the general-election phase, an independent expenditure group backed by the Democratic Governors Association is launching a new ad campaign, targeting Republican Doug Mastriano for his staunch opposition to reproductive rights.
* Michigan Republicans received some discouraging news yesterday when election officials found that the top two GOP gubernatorial candidates may not have submitted enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the state’s primary ballot.
* In Connecticut, Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Stefanowski attended an anti-mask group’s “Freedom Family Cookout” on Sunday. A day later, the GOP candidate, who is vaccinated and boosted, tested positive for Covid.
* On a related note, the latest statewide poll in Connecticut found that Stefanowski is trailing incumbent Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in this year’s gubernatorial race by 13 points.
* And in New York, today is Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado’s last day as a member of Congress: He’ll be sworn in as the Empire State’s new lieutenant governor. The special election to fill the vacancy is scheduled for Aug. 23.