Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson became the latest Republican to say he’s running for president, though he told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that he’ll have a formal kickoff event later this month. In addition to serving two terms as Arkansas’ governor, Hutchinson also served a few terms in Congress before leading the Drug Enforcement Administration during the Bush/Cheney administration.
* On a related note, Hutchinson, ahead of yesterday’s announcement, also said Donald Trump’s indictment should lead the former president to end his 2024 candidacy.
* Ahead of tomorrow’s state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, conservative candidate Dan Kelly and the Republican Party of Wisconsin issued a controversial “emergency alert warning“ while parts of the state faced a tornado watch late last week.
* Speaking of this week’s elections, voters in Chicago will elect the city’s new mayor tomorrow. This will be a runoff election featuring former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson.
* A far-right propagandist named Douglass Mackey was convicted late last week on charges that he helped orchestrate a voter-suppression scheme in the 2016 presidential election.
* Though Sen. Tim Kaine isn’t generally seen as a top 2024 target for Republicans, the Virginia Democrat picked up a new challenger today: Scott Parkinson, a former aide to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, launched his GOP Senate campaign this morning.
* Speaking of the Florida governor, DeSantis hasn’t yet formally begun his presidential campaign, but American Bridge 21st Century, a leading super PAC aligned with Democratic politics, launched the “Ron DeSantis Research Book” this morning, making public several hundred pages’ worth of background on the Republican.
* And Sen. Joe Manchin apparently hasn’t ruled out a 2024 presidential campaign. The conservative West Virginia Democrat told NBC News’ Chuck Todd on yesterday’s “Meet the Press” that he won’t announce his electoral plans “until the end of the year.”