Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Following up on an item from this morning, former Sen. David Perdue did, in fact, launch a Republican gubernatorial race in Georgia this morning, setting up a primary fight against incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. Remarkably, in his announcement video, Perdue blames Kemp for the two Democratic U.S. Senate victories in Georgia in January.
* Speaking of Georgia, Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams has expressed national ambitions, but her campaign said "unequivocally" this morning that if Abrams wins next year's gubernatorial race, she will serve a full term and won't run for higher office in 2024.
* In Virginia, one of the two state legislative recounts has been resolved in the Republican candidate's favor, assuring GOP control over the House of Delegates. The other recount is expected to wrap up this week.
* Donald Trump continues to intervene in Republican primaries, and Politico reported that the former president has "brokered a deal" in North Carolina's GOP Senate primary in which former Rep. Mark Walker will run for the House, making matters a little easier for Rep. Ted Budd, whom Trump supports. That said, former Gov. Pat McCrory is still in the race and isn't part of the agreement.
* Former Democratic Rep. Max Rose, who lost his re-election bid in New York last fall, is launching a comeback bid, setting up a rematch against incumbent Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. The contours of New York's 11th congressional district may yet change as part of the state's post-Census redistricting process.
* How significant is the infighting among Ohio Republicans? The Cleveland.com reported over the weekend, "An Ohio Republican Party Central Committee meeting ended abruptly Friday after raucous opponents of Gov. Mike DeWine in the audience refused to leave even after party officials brought in sheriff's deputies."
* And Trump got caught up in an unfortune double-negative on Saturday, issuing a statement that read, "Anybody that doesn't think there wasn't massive Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election is either very stupid, or very corrupt!" Oddly enough, that's one of the few accurate things he's said about last year's race, though the former president probably meant to say the opposite.
