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The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with further contributions from the Each day Kos Elections crew.
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● Virginia: It is on within the Previous Dominion: With Virginia’s primaries now within the rearview, Each day Kos Elections is previewing the important thing races that can decide management of the 100-member Home of Delegates in November.
- Simply three seats to flip it: Republicans presently maintain a 52-48 benefit after netting seven seats in 2021, which adopted two straight cycles that noticed Democrats collectively add a whopping 21 members to their caucus. Set in opposition to that, three seats appears small, however Democrats solely flipped a single seat in each 2011 and 2013.
- Going by Biden or going by Youngkin? Joe Biden carried 59 districts beneath Virginia’s new map, however Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin gained 52, together with 11 that had gone for the president. Was Biden’s efficiency a high-water mark, or is an identical exhibiting as soon as once more attainable for Democrats with abortion nonetheless a significant albatross for the GOP?
- The make-or-break districts: Seven of these Biden/Youngkin seats are hotly contested battlegrounds all throughout the state that can possible resolve who finally ends up with the bulk. Many look very completely different than they as soon as did, although, due to redistricting, and 4 are open seats.
Learn extra about every of those top-tier contests—in addition to 9 further races that might come on-line relying on the political atmosphere—in our complete roundup that is chock-full of knowledge.
Senate
● DE-Sen: EMILY’s Checklist has endorsed Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who has no severe opposition in sight.
Governors
● KY-Gov: Medium Shopping for reviews that the RGA, by way of its Kentucky Values/State Options affiliate, has increased its total spending on advertisements opposing Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear to $1.55 million, a rise of greater than $1 million compared to 10 days earlier.
● WA-Gov: Republican state Sen. Drew MacEwen tweeted Wednesday that he spoke with former GOP Rep. Dave Reichert, whom he reviews is “actively exploring a run” for governor subsequent 12 months, and MacEwen stated he would assist Reichert relatively than run himself. Reichert had beforehand refused to rule out working final month, however he has had a protracted historical past of flirting with working for statewide workplace but by no means truly doing it.
Reichert’s political profession started when he was appointed sheriff of closely Democratic King County in 1997, a submit that he simply held in that 12 months’s elections and once more in 2001. He gained additional prominence when infamous serial killer Gary Ridgway, higher often known as the Inexperienced River Killer, was delivered to justice throughout his tenure within the early 2000s. Reichert benefitted from this fame in 2004 when he ran for and gained an open congressional district within the japanese Seattle suburbs that had traditionally favored Republicans downballot however had develop into Democratic-leaning on the federal stage.
Gaining a repute as a practical conservative, Reichert had repeatedly survived tough reelection battles till post-2010 redistricting made his seat redder and insulated him from a tricky problem till the 2018 elections. However Reichert lastly opted to not search reelection forward of that 12 months’s blue wave, and Democrat Kim Schrier flipped his eighth District that 12 months and nonetheless holds it to at the present time.
Home
● TX-32: Former Dallas Metropolis Council member Kevin Felder has filed to run within the Democratic main to succeed Senate candidate Colin Allred on this closely Democratic seat, although he has but to touch upon his curiosity within the race.
Felder beforehand led the NAACP’s Dallas chapter and gained election to the Metropolis Council in 2017, however he misplaced his reelection marketing campaign in 2019 after he had been charged with a felony over an alleged hit-and-run incident, and he misplaced a comeback try for the seat in 2021. Nevertheless, the case was dismissed final 12 months on the situation that Felder full a defensive driving course.
Attorneys Normal
● TX-AG: Texas’ Republican-controlled state Senate has voted to ascertain a package deal of guidelines for the upcoming trial of state Legal professional Normal Ken Paxton, a Republican who was impeached and suspended from workplace final month. The trial will begin on Sept. 5, and senators voted with large bipartisan assist to bar Paxton’s spouse, state Sen. Angela Paxton, from voting within the trial, although she is going to nonetheless be capable of attend the trial. Nevertheless, regardless of his spouse’s recusal, it is going to nonetheless take 21 votes within the 31-member chamber to completely take away the legal professional basic from workplace.
In the meantime, earlier this month the FBI arrested Ken Paxton ally Nate Paul, a rich actual property investor who’s on the heart of the scandal that led to Paxton’s impeachment. Paul was charged with a number of counts of defrauding monetary establishments, for which the federal government is looking for $172 million in restitution. A lot of the impeachment fees in opposition to Paxton accused him of illegally utilizing his powers to assist Paul, whom the legal professional basic additionally allegedly satisfied to rent the lady Paxton was having an affair with.
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