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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Politico asked Herschel Walker whether Republican voters in Georgia might be less motivated to vote in tomorrow’s Senate runoff election. The GOP candidate said no, adding, “[T]he House will be even so they don’t want to understand what is happening right now. You get the House, you get the committees. You get all the committees even, they just stall things within there.” For the record, Walker is running for the Senate, not the House. What’s more, the lower chamber will not be evenly split next year.
* On a related note, HuffPost took a closer look at Walker relying on a “buddy system” during nationally televised interviews, sitting alongside “one or two Republican senators who get as much ― and occasionally even more ― speaking time as the candidate who’s actually running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.”
* A Democratic National Committee panel agreed on Friday to advance a new presidential nominating calendar that would jettison Iowa and demote New Hampshire. South Carolina would go first in the new model, followed a few days later by Nevada and New Hampshire. Georgia’s primary would come a week later, followed by Michigan.
* Meanwhile, at the Republican National Committee, Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC committeewoman, is reportedly moving forward with her plans to challenge incumbent Chair Ronna McDaniel. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is also a candidate for the position.
* Three Republicans who lost top-of-the-ballot statewide races in Michigan this year — Tudor Dixon, Kristina Karamo, and Matthew DePerno — are now eyeing the race to oversee the state GOP. An Associated Press report added, “That is raising concerns within the party after it suffered a drubbing in Michigan. ... Their attempts to gain control of the party apparatus also show how far-right conservatives are trying to maintain their grip on the party’s grassroots.”
* On a related note, Republican Don Bolduc, fresh off his failed Senate race in New Hampshire, announced this morning that he hopes to become the new vice chair of the state GOP.
* And in California, it took a while, but The Associated Press has called the U.S. House race in the 13th District for Republican John Duarte. Democrat Adam Gray conceded in a statement, saying, “I accept the results and have called to congratulate my opponent.” This means the House GOP conference will likely have a majority of 222 seats as the next Congress gets underway, though the Colorado secretary of state’s office has ordered a recount in Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert’s 3rd District.