It’s nearing crunch time in Wisconsin, where Republicans and Democrats are gearing up to pick the nominees they hope will vanquish two incumbents — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, respectively. And Tuesday brought some notable developments in the GOP gubernatorial primary.
Former President Trump is bringing his roadshow to the state next week for a rally to boost his gubernatorial pick, businessman Tim Michels, along with what his PAC called the “entire Wisconsin Trump ticket.” But despite having Trump’s endorsement, Johnson has said he won’t attend the rally because he wants to remain neutral in the gubernatorial primary and doesn’t want to be seen as giving another candidate a leg up. Also on the endorsement front, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, the other top candidate in the gubernatorial race, won Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s endorsement on Tuesday.
Michels’ bid got another boost yesterday from the Club for Growth Action, which booked more than $1.1 million on TV and radio (including a flight of ads on Fox News, per AdImpact,) in what appears to be an attempt to tank Kleefisch.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail…
Georgia Senate/governor: A new poll from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the latest to show a split-ticket dynamic in the top two statewide races in Georgia — while Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock narrowly leads Republican Herschel Walker by 3 points, Republican Gov. Brain Kemp is ahead of Democrat Stacey Abrams by 5 points (both are within the margin of error).
Pennsylvania Senate: Republican Mehmet Oz’s campaign told NBC News’ Sahil Kapur that Oz would support a bill ensuring same-sex marriage protections.
Wisconsin Senate: The Senate Democratic primary may come down to who makes the best electability argument, HuffPost reports.
Wyoming At-large District: GOP Rep. Liz Cheney is getting back on the airwaves, making an $80,000 TV ad buy per AdImpact.
Michigan's 3rd District: A handful of Democratic lawmakers are blasting the DCCC on the record over the decision to boost a primary challenger to Republican Rep. Peter Meijer. DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney responded to the criticism by saying the move “makes sense” because “our focus is on winning 218 seats.”
Michigan's 13th District: Democratic state Rep. Shri Thanedar’s new spot features his son describing him as “Superman” for raising him and his siblings as a single parent, and criticizing attack ads as lies.
New York's 12th District: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., narrates in a new ad for Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in his primary against fellow Rep. Carolyn Maloney.
