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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In a victory for voting rights advocates, a state judge ruled late last week that Georgia law allows Saturday voting before the U.S. Senate runoff election. Republican state officials soon after announced plans to appeal the ruling.
* On a related note, Barack Obama campaigned for Georgia Democrats before the midterm elections, and now the former president is poised to do it again: The Associated Press reported that Obama has scheduled a Dec. 1 event in Georgia, hoping to give incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock a boost. Dec. 1, the AP noted, is the final day of early in-person voting.
* As for Warnock’s opponent, Herschel Walker campaigned alongside Gov. Brian Kemp over the weekend. It was the first-ever joint appearance for the two Georgia Republicans.
* And speaking of unresolved Senate races, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has inched into the lead in Alaska as more votes are tallied.
* Why are Democrats disappointed that Sen. Rick Scott will no longer chair the National Republican Senatorial Committee? Because his successor, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, said last week that one of the changes he intends to implement is focusing on candidates “that can win a general election.”
* Former Ambassador Nikki Haley vowed last year not to run for president in 2024 if Donald Trump launched a campaign of his own. Now that the former president is, in fact, trying again, the South Carolina Republican has apparently changed her mind, confirming over the weekend, “Now that the midterms are over, I’ll look at [the 2024 race] in a serious way.”
* As for Sen. Ted Cruz’s future plans, the Texas Republican confirmed that he plans to seek a third term in 2024, even as he weighs another White House campaign.
* Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke hasn’t yet been sworn in as Montana’s newest congressman, but he’s already leaving the door open to a possible Senate campaign in 2024. Despite a series of ethics scandals, Zinke narrowly won his U.S. House bid two weeks ago.