* At the White House’s direction, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, signed into law a newly gerrymandered congressional district intended to boost his fellow Republicans. If implemented, the map will ensure that the GOP controls seven of the state’s eight U.S. House seats, up from the current six.
* Facing an inevitable defeat, New York Mayor Eric Adams announced over the weekend that he’s abandoning his re-election campaign. However, with Election Day just five weeks away, it’s too late to remove the scandal-plagued incumbent’s name from the ballot.
* In Wisconsin’s wide open gubernatorial race, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany announced last week that he’s giving up his congressional seat to launch a statewide bid, joining a crowded GOP field.
* Speaking of Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, businessman Bill Berrien, who was running as a conservative supporter of “family values,” ended his candidacy last week, after reporting that showed his apparent interest in numerous sexually explicit online accounts.
* Thanks to an ugly power-grab from the Republican-led state legislature, Dallas Woodhouse has been tapped to oversee state and local election officials in North Carolina. Politico reported that Woodhouse is a former director of the North Carolina Republican Party, “who resigned amid election fraud and corruption scandals that targeted other Republicans and consumed the state party.”
* In Illinois, former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey lost to Gov. JB Pritzker a few years ago by 13 points. As the Democratic incumbent prepares to run for third term next year, Bailey announced last week that’s he’s seeking a rematch, though he isn’t the only GOP candidate in the race.
* And in Virginia, where statewide elections are just five weeks away, Chris Stone recently announced that he’s abandoning his Republican state House race because he lost his government contracting job and has to take a job in another state. Oddly enough, his personal challenges dovetail surprisingly well with the message Democrats are pushing in the commonwealth.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
