Maddow Blog | Tuesday’s Campaign Round-Up, 4.16.24

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* To the surprise of no one, Donald Trump’s political operation tried to turn the first day of his criminal trial into a fundraising opportunity.

* Voters in Alabama’s 2nd congressional district will vote today on the major parties’ nominees. As the Associated Press reported, this is a district that was “redrawn by a federal court to boost the voting power of Black residents.”

* Michigan’s state House has been deadlocked for months, with each party holding 54 seats, but that’s poised to change today with two special elections in heavily Democratic districts just outside of Detroit.

* The Republican Party of Wisconsin has a new executive director: Andrew Iverson. That wouldn’t be especially notable except the AP reported that Iverson “pushed allegations of widespread fraud that were ultimately debunked.” The same report highlighted a recording, made two days after Election Day 2020, in which Iverson said, “Here’s the drill: Comms is going to continue to fan the flame and get the word out about Democrats trying to steal this election.”

* Speaking of the Badger State, U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde has already taken steps to distance himself from his original position on abortion rights, and now the Wisconsin Republican is apparently moving on from his original opposition to tax credits for green energy, too.

* Though it’s difficult to know what to believe in a story like this, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed this week that Trump “emissaries” asked him to consider being the former president’s running mate. A Trump adviser denied the conspiracy theorist’s assertion.

* And in New York, former Republican Rep. George Santos’ comeback bid appears to be off to a difficult start: Pointing to his latest campaign-finance filing, Politico reported, “A new campaign committee from disgraced former Rep. George Santos raised no money and reported no activity in March, calling into question his plans to return to Congress.”

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com