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Wednesday's Campaign Round-Up, 4.4.18

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* In state legislative special elections yesterday, Democrats held onto seats in the California state Assembly, the Rhode Island state Senate, and the Massachusetts state House.

* In Indiana's Republican Senate primary -- which I think can fairly be described as the most contentious primary in the country this year -- Rep. Todd Rokita (R) literally puts on a red "Make America Great Again" cap in his new television ad and vows to "proudly stand with" Donald Trump more than his primary rivals.

* The Texas Tribune  reported late yesterday that a federal judge "sided with a civil rights group that claimed Texas violated federal law by failing to register residents to vote when they updated their drivers' license information online."

* Already facing a tough re-election challenge, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) responded to the shooting at YouTube headquarters yesterday by suggesting the gun violence might have been connected to illegal immigration. (It wasn't.)

* In Arizona's congressional special election, Republicans are still taking steps to boost their candidate, Debbie Lesko, in a race that wasn't supposed to be competitive. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will travel to the district to headline a fundraiser for the GOP candidate two weeks from today. The election is April 24.

* In Missouri's closely watched U.S. Senate election, Josh Hawley (R) launched a new ad this week criticizing Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) for opposing Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch's nomination. I have no idea if this is an issue voters actually care about.

* On a related note, McCaskill has launched her first television ad of his re-election bid, focusing on her work on behalf of veterans.

* And despite the fact that the 2016 presidential election was 17 months ago, Trump took a shot at "Crooked Hillary" during a White House meeting with the leaders of Baltic States yesterday. Soon after, at a press conference, Trump referred to Clinton as his "opponent" and criticized her energy policies.