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From The Rachel Maddow Show

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno, at the Columbiana County Lincoln Day Dinner in Salem, Ohio, on March 15.
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno, at the Columbiana County Lincoln Day Dinner in Salem, Ohio, on March 15.Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call via AP file

Wednesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 3.20.24

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.

* In a closely watched Republican primary, Bernie Moreno won the GOP’s Senate nomination in Ohio. Moreno, who enjoyed Donald Trump’s backing, was the candidate Democrats hoped to see win the primary because they saw him as the weakest candidate in the Republican field.

* Speaking of this week’s most notable contests, incumbent Rep. Mike Bost narrowly survived a GOP primary campaign against failed gubernatorial hopeful Darren Bailey.

* In the race to fill the vacancy left by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s resignation, Republican state assemblyman Vince Fong advanced to a runoff, falling short of the 50% threshold.

* While the race of the GOP presidential nomination is over — Trump no longer has any rivals — a Washington Post report took note of the latest primary results: “About 1 in 5 voters voted against Trump in Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. And about one-quarter voted against him in Kansas.”

* New polls from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found Trump leading President Joe Biden in North Carolina and Georgia by a few points.

* Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office has confirmed that the Kentucky Republican will not run for re-election to an eighth term in 2026.

* In California, after Rep. Katie Porter came up short two weeks ago in her U.S. Senate campaign, the Democrat issued a statement describing the contest as “rigged.” This week, the congresswoman expressed regret for her choice of words.

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."