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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In response to Donald Trump’s highly controversial comments about abortion rights to Time magazine, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign released a new video overnight with a direct-to-camera message.
* After the judge in Trump’s criminal trial ruled him in contempt of court, the Republican’s political operation launched a new fundraising campaign based on the developments. “A Democrat judge JUST HELD ME IN CONTEMPT OF COURT!” the appeal read.
* Despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, two Trump-appointed federal judges yesterday rejected Louisiana’s new congressional map. As Roll Call reported, this sets up “a potential last-minute Supreme Court fight ahead of this fall’s election.”
* NBC News reported this morning that a proposed amendment “to enshrine abortion access in South Dakota’s constitution is one step closer to appearing on the November 2024 ballot, after a coalition of reproductive rights advocates submitted the required number of signatures on Wednesday. Dakotans for Health, the group leading the ballot effort, announced it had collected the signatures of more than 55,000 registered voters — far more than the 35,000 needed to move forward with the process of getting their proposal on the ballot.”
* After Democratic officials in New Hampshire ignored their party’s presidential primary calendar, the Democratic National Committee punished them by stripping them of their convention delegates. Yesterday, the DNC restored the delegates, which as the Associated Press noted, ended “a bitter feud with the state over its presidential primary no longer being the first in the nation.”
* Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign has reportedly now qualified for the presidential ballot in California. The conspiracy theorist ended up securing the nomination of the American Independent Party.
* And former White House deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews became the latest former member of Team Trump to announce she’s voting for Biden in the fall. Matthews made the comments to MSNBC’s Jen Psaki.