Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The race for Democratic National Committee chair has narrowed a bit: New York state Sen. James Skoufis is ending his candidacy and throwing his support behind Ken Martin, the party’s chair in Minnesota. The intraparty election is just a couple of weeks away.
* Who fill Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat in Ohio? As difficult as this might be to believe, NBC News reports that failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is under consideration. A Politico report added that Ramaswamy has spoken to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine about the position.
* Former Vice President Mike Pence’s new advocacy organization, Advancing American Freedom, hasn’t yet had much of a public impact, but it’s making one unexpected move: The group is calling on Republican senators to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s prospective nomination for health and human services secretary — not because of Kennedy’s fringe views about science, but because he has supported abortion rights.
* Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida has stoked speculation for months about a 2026 gubernatorial campaign, and NBC News reports that the congressman “has been telling potential donors and Florida political players that he is running for governor” next year.
* The New York Times published a good report taking a closer look at Donald Trump’s margin of victory, and it concluded that GOP claims about a “landslide” are just demonstrably wrong.
* Sen. Rick Scott’s bid to become Senate majority leader failed badly — the Florida Republican finished third of three — but his consolation prize isn’t bad: Scott is taking over the Senate GOP’s steering committee.
* In South Carolina, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham confirmed this week that he’s running for re-election, though Republican Rep. Ralph Norman has left the door open to a possible primary campaign against the longtime incumbent.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com