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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As David McCormick eyes a Republican U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania, the Associated Press reports that the former hedge fund CEO “still lives on Connecticut’s ‘Gold Coast,’ one of the densest concentrations of wealth in America.” Last year, McCormick narrowly lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz, who also faced difficult residency questions, in a GOP Senate primary.
* In Nevada, Republican Senate hopeful Sam Brown created a political action committee to help elect GOP candidates, but CNN reported that most of the money Brown’s PAC raised was spent "paying down debt from his failed previous campaign.”
* Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told NBC News that he’d support a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy if elected. The conspiracy theorist, who claims to be a Democrat, later walked that back, claiming he “misunderstood” the question, though a transcript of the exchange raises doubts about his explanation.
* In Ohio’s U.S. Senate race, Secretary of State Frank LaRose last week told NBC News that he believed former Vice President Mike Pence “made the best decision he could with the information in front of him” on Jan. 6. Evidently, the interview made its way to Donald Trump, and a possible endorsement for LaRose is now in jeopardy.
* While speaking to voters he falsely thought were like-minded allies, John Stirrup, a Republican state legislative candidate in a key Virginia district, said he’d support “a 100% ban” on abortion, adding, “I’d like to see, you know, [a] total ban.” This probably won’t help his candidacy.
* Speaking of the commonwealth, Republican Del. Jeff Campbell recently resigned to become a judge, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has scheduled an Aug. 29 special election to fill his vacancy.
* And in Pennsylvania, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is known as one of the less reactionary members of the House GOP caucus, which helps explain why the congressman is now facing a primary challenge from Mark Houck, an anti-abortion activist.