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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* A state legislative special election in Pennsylvania today will help dictate which party controls the state House in Harrisburg.
* Donald Trump will not participate in the Republican National Committee’s second presidential primary debate, but the former president has scheduled a speech to union workers in Detroit that will air at the same time.
* With time running out in Kentucky’s gubernatorial race, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron now says he supports exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s abortion ban. Up until very recently, the Republican nominee held the opposite position.
* In case House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wasn’t facing enough criticisms from his own conference on Capitol Hill, Gov. Ron DeSantis is also upset with the GOP leader after McCarthy said the Florida Republican is “not at the same level” as Trump.
* A group called Republicans for Ukraine has reportedly launched a $1 million ad campaign intended to bolster GOP support for the U.S. ally. The campaign includes spots on Fox News, as well as one that will air during the party’s presidential primary debate next week.
* In New Jersey, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has a new GOP rival ahead of his re-election campaign next year: Christine Serrano Glassner, a New Jersey mayor who has political ties to Trump, kicked off her first statewide bid yesterday.
* And in Missouri, state Sen. Bill Eigel, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, was filmed using a flamethrower to torch a stack of boxes at a fundraising event late last week. As The Kansas City Star reported, the legislator has vowed to burn books if he’s elected to statewide office.