• WI-Sen: Businessman Scott Mayer announced Tuesday that he would not seek the Republican nomination to face Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and would instead back fellow rich guy Eric Hovde to avoid a "bloody primary." Mayer, who spent a year flirting with a campaign, made his declaration of unity one month after he said of Hovde, "I don't know that Wisconsin voters are keen on having a Wisconsin senator that lives in California."
One other notable potential candidate, former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, still hasn't confirmed his plans, but the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal notes that he's posted pro-Hovde content on social media multiple times over the last month. While there's still a while to go before the June 3 filing deadline, no other major Republicans have shown any interest in taking on the NRSC-backed Hovde.
• CO-04: Republican leaders have announced that they'll gather on the evening of March 28 to pick their nominee in the June 25 special election to replace soon-to-be-former Rep. Ken Buck in Colorado's 4th District. Whoever the GOP chooses is likely to hold this conservative seat in the general election, which will take place the same day as the state's regularly scheduled primary for a full two-year term. (Democrats previously announced they'd convene on April 1 to choose a candidate.)
Colorado Politics says that all of the notable Republicans who were already running to succeed Buck before he announced his resignation will compete in the special―all of them except for Rep. Lauren Boebert, that is. And at least two of these contenders, state Reps. Richard Holtorf and Mike Lynch, will serve on the 111-member committee—made up largely of party insiders—that will select the GOP's nominee for the special election.
The gathering will take place about a week before the party's regularly scheduled convention (locally known as an "assembly") to endorse a candidate in the primary. Delegates to the larger assembly, unlike members of the special election committee, won't actually choose their party's nominee. However, the state's complicated ballot access laws mean that some candidates will likely be eliminated from the primary ballot.
Colorado Politics says that Boebert, who is trying to jump from the 3rd District to the 4th, has already collected enough signatures to make the primary ballot, so taking part in the assembly is optional for her. Boebert is also hoping to introduce herself to her would-be constituents with an opening ad that emphasizes that she's Trump's endorsed candidate. The Colorado Sun says that Boebert is spending $40,000 on TV and another $20,000 on streaming services.
• CO-05: The Colorado Sun writes that both conservative radio host Jeff Crank and state Sen. Bob Gardner will skip Saturday's GOP convention, though Crank's team tells Colorado Politics he's still "weighing his options."
State election authorities have confirmed that Crank has turned in enough signatures to advance to the June 25 primary, so he's ensured a place on the ballot unless he ultimately does participate in the convention and receives support from fewer than 10% of the delegates. Anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce, however, gave up on his plan to collect petitions, so he needs to win at least 30% of the vote this weekend to keep his campaign going.
State party chair Dave Williams is also going with the convention-only route. He recently emailed delegates to make sure they knew he's Donald Trump's endorsed candidate, which prompted a little-known contender, Army veteran Joshua Griffin, to file a criminal complaint with El Paso County prosecutors alleging fraud, saying that county GOP chair Vickie Tonkins told him the list of delegates was "not ready" when he'd asked for it.
Griffin asked the authorities to investigate whether Williams and Tonkins violated a state law that bars "fraudulent, dishonest, or corrupt" conduct in the convention process. Both Williams and Tonkins dismissed the accusations from Griffin, who did not collect petitions.
• MD-06: Army veteran Geoffrey Grammer announced Monday that he was dropping out of the May 14 Democratic primary and endorsing former U.S. Commerce Department official April McClain Delaney. Grammer self-funded $440,000 in 2023 but raised little from donors in his bid to replace Democratic Rep. David Trone, who is running for Senate.
• MI-08: State Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet this week picked up the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, which has long been one of the most prominent labor groups in Michigan, ahead of the August primary to replace retiring Rep. Dan Kildee, a fellow Democrat.
• TN-05: Davidson County Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston tells Axios that she's thinking about challenging freshman Rep. Andy Ogles in the August GOP primary. The candidate filing deadline is April 4, so we won't need to wait long to learn what she decides.
"The people of Middle Tennessee deserve better than Andy Ogles," Johnston said, though she doesn't appear to have emphasized the allegations that Ogles fabricated large parts of his life story. She instead told Axios, "We need a tested conservative leader who can deliver and not just talk." Donald Trump, though, has been perfectly happy with Ogles' performance, as he endorsed the incumbent in May.