Maddow Blog | Wednesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 4.17.24

Steve Benen
Updated ·2 min read
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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* Democratic candidates won two state legislative special elections in Michigan yesterday, and once they’re sworn in, Democrats will regain control of the chamber. Headed into this week, Michigan’s state House has been deadlocked for months, with each party holding 54 seats.

* In Alabama’s 2nd congressional district, Democrat Shomari Figures and Republican Caroleene Dobson won their party’s respective primaries yesterday and will face off in the fall. As the Associated Press reported, this is a district that was “redrawn by a federal court to boost the voting power of Black residents.”

* HuffPost had a good catch yesterday, reporting, “In a newly discovered video, former Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) said in 2020 that she wished her state had banned abortion entirely ― a sharp contrast to her efforts to appear more measured on abortion issues ahead of the November election, when she is hoping to regain her old seat in Congress.”

* In Maryland’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, a new poll conducted on behalf of The Baltimore Sun, the University of Baltimore, and local Fox affiliate found Rep. David Trone with a 19-point lead over Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary. The same survey found both of them trailing former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in hypothetical general-election match-ups.

* On a related note, the latest campaign finance filings found Trone has now invested nearly $42 million of his own money into his Senate candidacy, making him one of the biggest self-funders in the history of U.S. Senate campaigns.

* In New Jersey, the latest Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found Democratic Rep. Andy Kim leading both of the leading GOP contenders by nine points in hypothetical general-election match-ups. If, however, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez runs as an independent, Kim’s margin shrinks to six points.

* And in South Carolina, WFW Action Fund, which is aligned with GOP politics, previously endorsed Rep. Nancy Mace for re-election. Now, however, the group is airing advertising in support of one of the South Carolina Republican’s primary rivals, Catherine Templeton. Primary Day in South Carolina is June 11.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com