DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: One Day Away From the Ohio and Indiana Primaries

Welcome to this morning’s Decision Desk HQ Morning News Spotlight on Elections Daily as part of the Decision Desk HQ News Network.

So far only Texas has held its 2022 federal and state primaries. That’s all about to change with 29 states holding theirs over 8 of the next 9 weeks starting tomorrow in Indiana and Ohio.

DDHQ will be providing preview videos looking at redistricting, important races to follow, and key counties to watch on primary nights.

We start this week in Indiana and Ohio. Be sure to check it out:

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Morning Headlines

• We are just one day away from the Ohio primary and its marquee US Senate race. The race has shattered spending records for a midterm primary contest in Ohio with campaigns shelling out nearly $64 million. The overwhelming majority of that has come for the Republican race, where polls show four candidates going into election day with a reasonable chance of winning. Check out Nick Field’s preview of the most competitive races tomorrow in Ohio and Indiana.
• A federal judge has rejected the RNC’s attempt to block a subpoena ordering their mass email marketing vendor to release its records to the House Jan. 6 select committee. The focus is on whether emails sent by the campaign were spreading disinformation that may have stoked the violence. The RNC claimed that the information being requested was protected speech under the First Amendment.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a delegation of Democratic House members made a surprise visit to Kyiv yesterday. They met with Ukrainian President Zelensky as an evacuation of citizens from a besieged steel plant in Mariupol was underway. The delegation then traveled to Poland where they met with the Polish president. At a press conference after, the speaker urged Congress to pass the $33 billion aid package for Ukraine that President Biden proposed last week.
• West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has made an endorsement in the Republican primary for US House District 2 in his home state. The race features two US House members facing each other after the state lost one of its three congressional districts following the latest US Census. Manchin endorsed Rep. David McKinley and highlighted how they both stood against President Biden’s Build Back Better plan last year. Former President Trump has endorsed Rep. Alex Mooney in the contest.
• Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was once seen as the front runner for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s US Senate race, but increased attacks from his opponents and the involvement of former President Trump have eroded his lead. Their main complaint is that as Attorney General, Brnovich failed to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Trump has begun to warm to another Peter Thiel-backed candidate in Blake Masters in that race.
• Former President Trump held a rally in Nebraska ahead of their May 10 primary. He was there to support Charles Herbster, a former advisor of his who is running for Governor. Herbster has been accused by eight women, including a sitting state senator, of sexual assault. Herbster never addressed the allegations in his speech, while the former President came to his defense calling his accusers liars. Trump also took the opportunity to attack Senator Ben Sasse and Rep. Don Bacon who both represent Nebraska in Congress.
• Over at Elections Daily, they take a look at the ever more competitive map for Maine State Senate and how that will shake out in a year full of races that are crucial for the balance of power in state government there.

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