Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The North Carolina Supreme Court late last week rejected the state’s voter-ID law and a gerrymandered state Senate district map. The decisions were handed down by the state court’s 4-3 Democratic majority, which will soon flip to a 5-2 Republican majority.
* Speaking of the Tar Heel State, the latest statewide polling in North Carolina found that incumbent Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson would likely be the favorite for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2024, if the far-right official decides to run.
* In Arizona, Republican Mark Finchem’s lawsuit seeking a new secretary of state election was rejected late Friday by a state judge. As NBC News reported, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian “dismissed his misconduct allegations with prejudice — barring them from being brought back in another court — and called some of his claims ‘fatally flawed.’”
* Though Donald Trump originally tapped Ronna McDaniel to serve as chair of the Republican National Committee, the former president isn’t going out of his way to help her win a fourth term. Asked last week about McDaniel and her intra-part rival, Committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, Trump told a far-right website, “I like them both.”
* In the race to replace the late Rep. Don McEachin in Virginia, Republicans in the 4th congressional district have chosen Pastor Leon Benjamin as the party’s nominee ahead of February’s special election.
* On a related note, Democrats are set to choose their own nominee in the Virginia race tomorrow, and state Sen. Jennifer McClellan appears to be the favorite. If McClellan succeeds, she’ll be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia.
* And a Washington Post report yesterday briefly noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell “frequently” advises Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and I can’t decide whether to find that surprising or not.