• ME-02: State Rep. Austin Theriault on Wednesday publicized an endorsement from Speaker Mike Johnson for his campaign to take on Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. Theriault's main foe in the June 11 Republican primary is fellow state Rep. Mike Soboleski.
• MT-02: State Senate President Pro Tempore Ken Bogner announced Tuesday that he was running for the safely red seat held by his fellow Republican, prospective Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, though he doesn't appear to have addressed if he'd keep campaigning should Rosendale seek reelection. The filing deadline is March 11, and while the congressman has spent the better part of the year strongly hinting that he wants to avenge his close 2018 loss to Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, he has yet to commit to anything.
Bogner, however, isn't the only Republican in eastern Montana who has decided that they can't simply wait for Rosendale to eventually make up his mind. State Auditor Troy Downing launched his own effort in early November, and he's disclosed that he raised $194,000 during his opening quarter and self-funded another $150,000.
Former state Sen. Ed Walker began campaigning earlier in the fall, and like Bogner and Downing, he doesn't seem to have indicated that he'd defer to Rosendale. But state Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen, who formed an exploratory in August, has said she won't run against the congressman. The primary is June 4.
• NY-03: AdImpact reports that the DCCC and House Majority PAC have spent or reserved a combined $5.9 million on advertising to support former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, while the only major conservative independent expenditure remains the $800,000 that the NRCC has booked to aid Nassau County Legislator Mazi Pilip. There's been considerably less action from the candidates a month ahead of the Feb. 13 special: Suozzi has outspent Pilip $300,000 to $200,000, while the GOP nominee and the NRCC have used another $100,000 on a joint buy.
• WV-02: Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chris Walker announced this week that he would oppose state Treasurer Riley Moore, who until now has been on a glide path to replace GOP Senate candidate Alex Mooney, in the May 14 Republican primary for this dark red seat.
Walker unsubtly contrasted himself with Moore, who is the nephew of Sen. Shelly Moore Capito and the grandson of the late Gov. Arch Moore, by declaring, "I wasn’t born into money or a political dynasty. My life is the story of hard work and choosing what is right." The New York City native, who would be the first Black person to represent the Mountain State in Congress, continued, "I’m even a West Virginian by choice. I put down roots here because West Virginia is different."
Moore began running for this constituency, which encompasses the northern part of the state, in November of 2022, and he soon picked up endorsements from Mooney, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Moore Capito. All of his opponents until now have been of the Some Dude variety, and Walker only has a few months to put together a stronger effort.