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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* CNN reported that Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee to oversee North Carolina’s public schools, “has a history marked by extreme and controversial comments, including sharing baseless conspiracy theories and frequent calls for the execution of prominent Democrats.”
* Remember when Donald Trump said donors who contributed to Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign would be “permanently” barred from Trump World? He didn’t mean it: USA Today reports on the former president’s outreach to his former rival’s financial supporters.
* In Ohio’s competitive Republican U.S. Senate primary, the Associated Press reported that Bernie Moreno is “confronting questions about the existence of a 2008 profile seeking ‘Men for 1-on-1 sex’ on a casual sexual encounters website called Adult Friend Finder.” The GOP candidate said this was the result of a “prank” pulled by one of his friends.
* Rep. Richard Hudson, who’s chairing the National Republican Congressional Committee this year, is advising his party’s candidates to “embrace” Trump, even if they’re unsure how best to handle the former president.
* Right around the time that House Speaker Mike Johnson was imploring his members not to campaign against their own GOP colleagues, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was in Texas, hoping to rally support for Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales’ primary rival.
* In Michigan, the latest Quinnipiac poll found Trump leading President Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup, 48% to 45%.
* Speaking of the Wolverine State, Trump endorsed former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan’s Republican U.S. Senate primary, and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was not at all pleased.
* As New Jersey’s filing deadline approaches, indicted Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is reportedly considering running for a fourth term as an independent. In related news, a federal judge ruled this week that the senator cannot claim legislative immunity in his criminal case.
* Though it seems difficult to believe, Eric Hovde, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin, reportedly suggested in 2017 that alcohol should only be available to people who brew or distill it themselves.
* And as the questions about South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s video for a dentist in Texas continue, the Republican governor is now facing a lawsuit related to her efforts.