• MS-Sen: Former state Public Service Commission Brandon Presley tells Mississippi Today he won't challenge Republican Sen. Roger Wicker even though reporter Taylor Vance writes that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer traveled to Presley's hometown to recruit him. The candidate filing deadline is Thursday, so it would be a surprise if a prominent Democrat steps forward at this late date.
However, we may not have seen the last of Presley, who held Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to a 51-48 victory last year—the state's closest gubernatorial race since 1999. Days after that narrow loss, Mississippi Today asked Presley if he was interested in running to succeed the termed-out Reeves in 2027. "I am not walking off the political stage," he responded. "I see Tuesday as a bump in the road."
• NJ-Sen: Rep. Andy Kim just earned the backing of AFSCME, which the New Jersey Globe says represents 20,000 public sector workers in the state, ahead of the June 4 Democratic primary.
• CO-04: Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas announced this week that she'd run for the state House rather than campaign to replace retiring Rep. Ken Buck, a fellow Republican.
• IN-06: Republican Rep. Greg Pence, who is the older brother of Mike Pence, announced Tuesday that he would not seek a fourth term in Congress. The congressman's eventual successor, however, will likely need to get through a tougher primary than the one Pence faced in 2018.
Pence's family connections helped him easily win the nomination that year even as he dodged questions about his family's chain of gas stations that went bankrupt on his watch, forcing Indiana taxpayers to pay for decontamination efforts. That wasn't the last unwelcome headline he'd have to deal with, however, in the years before his short political career came to an end.
But is it really over? Check out more from Jeff Singer about Pence's time in the spotlight, and why he may yet appear on the ballot this year for a more low-profile office.
• MD-03, MD-Sen: Businessman Juan Dominguez announced this week that he would end his campaign for the Senate and run instead in the Democratic primary for the district held by retiring Rep. John Sarbanes. Dominguez, who would be the first Latino to represent Maryland in Congress, ended last year with a mere $30,000 in the bank, though he can use that money on his new effort.
• MD-05: Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer announced Monday that he'd run for reelection despite stepping down last year after two decades as the number-two Democrat in the House. The 84-year-old incumbent ended speculation that he might finally leave behind the seat he first won in a 1981 special election when he told the Washington Post, "I am blessed to have the good health, strength, and enduring passion necessary to continue serving my constituents at this decisive moment for Maryland and America."
Hoyer, who continues to serve on the powerful Appropriations Committee, still faces a few intraparty rivals in the May 14 primary for this seat in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, but it's unlikely any of them will give him much trouble. His most familiar opponent is activist Mckayla Wilkes, who lost to Hoyer 64-27 in 2020 and then by a wider 71-19 margin two years later.
Also in the running is Andrea Crooms, the director of the Prince George's County Department of the Environment. Crooms, who would be the first member of Congress to use they/them pronouns, hasn't revealed their latest quarterly fundraising numbers, but they ended September with just $23,000 in the bank.
• OH-02: State Sen. Shane Wilkin has publicized an endorsement from Rep. Mike Carey, who represents the neighboring 15th District to the north, for the busy March 19 Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup.
• Cook County, IL State's Attorney: Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke has picked up an endorsement from Rep. Mike Quigley for the March 19 Democratic primary. Burke's intra-party rival, Clayton Harris, earned the backing of another Chicago-area representative, Robin Kelly, earlier in the week.