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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* After a district court ordered Louisiana to create a less racially discriminatory district map, the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed justices yesterday blocked that order. Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan dissented.
* In Colorado’s Republican secretary of state primary, Tina Peters’ scandals apparently caught up with her: She finished third. Former Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson won the GOP nomination and will face incumbent Secretary of State Jena Griswold in November. (Peters, true to form, said the results were fraudulent.)
* On a related note, Colorado Republican primary voters appeared to be focused more on electability than ideological purity in other races, too: In the U.S. Senate primary, businessman Joe O’Dea defeated far-right state Rep. Ron Hanks (despite Democratic efforts to help Hanks), and University of Colorado Board of Regents member Heidi Ganahl defeated former Parker Mayor Greg Lopez in the GOP’s gubernatorial primary.
* In Illinois’ Republican gubernatorial primary, party insiders and donors lined up behind Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, a relative GOP moderate, whom they saw as competitive in a general election. Despite lining up $50 million to advance Irvin’s candidacy, he finished third, badly trailing far-right state Sen. Darren Bailey, who received Donald Trump’s endorsement.
* Rep. Matt Salmon shook up Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial primary by unexpectedly ending his campaign and endorsing former developer Karrin Taylor Robson over local far-right television personality Kari Lake. Note, because Salmon dropped out of the race so late, his name will still appear on the ballot.
* In Nebraska’s congressional special election, Republican Mike Flood defeated Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks yesterday, but only by about six points. This is a district that was represented by former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who repeatedly won by landslide margins.
* On a related note, Fortenberry, who resigned after being convicted on corruption charges, received probation yesterday and will not serve prison time.
* And in Oklahoma’s crowded Republican U.S. Senate primary, Rep. Markwayne Mullin came out on top, but fell short of a majority and will advance to a runoff against T.W. Shannon, the former speaker of the Oklahoma House. Former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s comeback bid fell far short: The scandal-plagued Oklahoman finished fifth in the crowded field.