By
Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial primary, much of the party establishment rallied behind former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, but she ended up losing to businessman Tim Michels, who had Donald Trump’s backing, and who said he’s open to decertifying the state’s 2020 election results.
* On a related note, in Connecticut’s Republican U.S. Senate primary, much of the party establishment rallied behind former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a relative moderate. She lost by 10 points to Republican National Committee member Leora Levy, who was endorsed by Trump.
* In Minnesota’s congressional special election, Republican Brad Finstad fended off Democrat Jeff Ettinger, but given the district’s partisan leanings, the race was much more competitive than expected. The New York Times’ Nate Cohn added, “The signs of a Democratic rebound post-Dobbs are starting to pile up.”
* Also in the Great Lakes State, Rep. Ilhan Omar defeated former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels in a Democratic primary, but the contest proved to be much closer than anyone predicted: The incumbent only won by two points.
* Trump went all out in the hopes of defeating Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos — the former president has blamed the legislator for not helping him steal the 2020 race — but the incumbent managed to win his GOP primary yesterday anyway.
* In Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock has pressed Herschel Walker to agree to a series of debates, though the Republican has been reluctant to accept the invitations. The Daily Beast reports that the former football player is now willing to participate in an event that provides him with the topics in advance.
* And in Vermont, Becca Balint, the state Senate’s president pro tempore, easily defeated Lt. Gov. Molly Gray in the Democratic U.S. House primary. She’s now the clear favorite to succeed Rep. Peter Welch, who won a U.S. Senate primary yesterday. Balint will likely become the first woman to ever represent the Green Mountain State in Congress.