NC-04: A vulnerable House Democrat just got a late infusion of support

An unexpected infusion of late money in a hotly contested Democratic primary in North Carolina has tilted the spending picture in favor of Rep. Valerie Foushee, but the congresswoman also just saw one of her ads pulled from the airwaves in a move that appears to violate federal law.

Less than a week ago, Foushee and her supporters were getting badly outspent by allies of Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. But a super PAC called Jobs and Democracy, which has ties to the AI company Anthropic, just poured in another $1.3 million to boost Foushee in Tuesday’s election, on top of the nearly $300,000 it had already spent to help her.

Unlike other major players in the industry, Anthropic had positioned itself as a supporter of AI “safety.” Just this week, however, the company abandoned a key plank of its safety platform, saying it had hampered its ability to remain competitive with rivals.

In addition, a mysterious group called Article One PAC, which hadn’t previously been involved in the race, jumped in with a late $600,000 ad buy. The PAC’s only prior expenditure came last month, when it deployed $350,000 on behalf of former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way’s unsuccessful special election bid for New Jersey’s 11th District.



https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-a-vulnerable-house

Poppy Family - Which Way You Goin' Billy (1969)

OR-GOV: Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session

Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey on Friday chided the chamber’s sole gubernatorial candidate, Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio, for violating self-imposed House rules by collecting campaign donations during this year’s short legislative session.

In a letter of correction sent to Diehl on Friday, the Eugene Democrat urged Diehl to return the money and refrain from accepting further contributions during the session, which must end by March 8.

But while Fahey said future violations of House rules will be “dealt with accordingly,” she acknowledged that there is some uncertainty around the rule’s legal viability. A Jan. 23 legal opinion legislative attorneys have put forth suggested the rule violates free speech rights and would likely be struck down in court.

“The exact manner of enforcement of this has never been made an issue. It was well understood that the House members would not want to be engaged in conduct that might cause reasonable people to be suspicious of their motives for performing the duties of their office,” Fahey wrote on Friday. “Consequently, it has always been a matter of voluntary compliance. It appears that this agreement has been broken by you in this case.”



https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/oregon-house-speaker-reprimands-republican-gubernatorial-candidate-for-fundraising-during-session/

Several Georgia races shed candidates as qualifying week looms and races take shape

This past week – the last before candidates officially qualify to run – brought plenty of news about who won’t be appearing on the ballot this year.

Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman suspends gubernatorial campaign, pivots to state Senate run
Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Duluth Democrat, announced this week she is dropping out of the campaign for governor, saying that she will instead run for an open seat in the Georgia State Senate District 7.

Romman said the race’s financial landscape changed recently, pointing to recent “dark money” entering the race and grassroots funding moving to other states like North Carolina and Texas, and that the move to the open state Senate seat would help protect and build on the movement she’s helped build. The move, she said, allows her to build a more sustainable political infrastructure.

“My main priority is to make sure the movement that we have built does not completely disappear. I want to make sure that we are building a sustainable movement outside of one person and one individual,” Romman said in an interview Thursday.




https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/02/28/several-georgia-races-shed-candidates-as-qualifying-week-looms-and-races-take-shape/

TX-35: Redrawn to favor GOP, Texas' 35th Congressional District attracts competitive primaries in both parties

WASHINGTON — Voters in Texas’ new 35th Congressional District on Tuesday will cast their ballots in a pair of wide-open primaries to decide the Democratic and Republican nominees in the San Antonio-area seat, one of five overhauled last year to be more favorable for the GOP.

There are 11 Republicans and four Democrats running in the primaries for the 35th District, both of which could go to May runoffs between the top two finishers if nobody wins a majority of the vote. The area’s current representative, Democrat Greg Casar, was drawn out of his seat and is now running in the solidly blue 37th District.

The new 35th’s boundaries contain less than 10% of its former constituency and now cover parts of San Antonio and outlying eastern areas in Bexar, Guadalupe, Wilson and Karnes counties. If the updated lines had existed in 2024, the district would have gone to Donald Trump by about 10 points, though the nonpartisan Cook Political Report gives congressional Republicans a four-point advantage. Democrats have set their sights on overcoming the GOP gerrymander that created the Hispanic-majority district, believing they could capitalize on a leftward shift of Hispanic voters since Trump took office........

In the Democratic primary, Marine Corps veteran and policy analyst John Lira and Bexar County sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia have emerged as front-runners against two other candidates: housing justice organizer Maureen Galindo and gun club owner Whitney Masterson-Moyes.


https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/28/texas-35th-congressional-district-republican-democratic-primaries-trump/

Cap Times to host public Madison School Board candidate forum

Two Madison School Board seats will be decided by voters on April 7, and the Cap Times will bring together the candidates for each seat in a public forum on Wednesday, March 11, at La Follette High School.

The moderators will be Cap Times education reporter Erin Gretzinger and Taylor Kilgore of the Simpson Street Free Press, which provides journalism and writing training for Dane County students in grades 3 through 12.

The forum is free and will run 7-8 p.m. in Room 1353 at La Follette High, 702 Pflaum Road. To get to Room 1353, enter the high school through its Arts Entrance from the main parking lot, and look for signs and greeters to guide you to the room.

The moderators will choose the questions for the candidates, but there are opportunities for you to suggest questions, too. In-person attendees can submit questions via notecard, but your question will be viewed much earlier if you submit it in advance to our moderators here.



https://captimes.com/news/elections/cap-times-to-host-public-madison-school-board-candidate-forum/article_c52f3112-026d-4312-aa85-593a98562f0a.html

Wisconsin Voters Turn Against School Tax Hikes, Poll Finds

Wisconsin voters are more concerned with reducing their property taxes than increasing funding for public schools. Voters also say they’re less inclined to support a school referendum.

These findings come from the latest Marquette University Law School Poll released this week. Voters’ attitude toward public school finances comes at a time when public school advocates are pushing the state Legislature to do more for schools.

Marquette surveyed 818 registered Wisconsin voters from Feb. 11-19. Those surveyed were asked “which is more important to you: reduce property taxes or increase spending on public schools?” Sixty percent said reducing property taxes are more important while 40 percent said funding K-12 schools was more important.

Poll director Charles Franklin said the 60 percent of people who are more concerned with property taxes than school funding is the highest in 26 Marquette polls that have asked the question since 2013.





https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/02/26/wisconsin-voters-turn-against-school-tax-hikes-poll-finds/

Harris calls on Detroiters to look after neighbors, engage each other

Detroit — Former Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about everything from the Democrats' chances to flip Congress blue to her favorite things to cook now that she has more free time during a moderated discussion on Friday night.

Harris, 61, spoke for an hour, stressing the need for neighbors to look after one another, saying President Donald Trump has worked to dismantle safety nets like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and to cut the federal departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development.

The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee said those efforts are the "high-velocity" peak of a decades-long attack on the nation's most vulnerable citizens. Harris said the under Trump, the nation has grown more divided.

"It's more than 'Can I trust that I don't need to lock my front door?' It's, 'Can I trust that you are not a threat to my very existence?'" Harris said.




https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2026/02/27/harris-calls-on-detroiters-to-look-after-neighbors-engage-each-other/88878854007/

Michigan lawmaker's (R) campaign pays her son, as he faces charges

Lansing — A Michigan lawmaker has used donor money to pay her son more than $24,000 in consulting fees over the last two years, continuing to benefit him after he was charged with domestic violence in September.

The expenditures by the campaign committee of state Rep. Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown Township, were uncovered through an ongoing Detroit News investigation of legislators' campaign spending, which has previously revealed payments by other officials for Netflix, car repairs and housing.

Thompson's campaign paid her 24-year-old son, Jackson Thompson, $24,690 from August 2024 through December 2025 for canvassing and general consulting, according to disclosures filed with the Secretary of State's office. On Sept. 22, 2025, Jackson Thompson was arraigned in Wayne County on charges that included domestic violence, according to court records.

A judge ordered Jackson Thompson to obtain a GPS tether and set his bond at $50,000. A week after the arraignment, Rep. Jamie Thompson's campaign paid her son $1,220 on Sept. 29. The campaign has paid him $5,290 while the charges have been pending, records show.



https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/27/michigan-lawmaker-jamie-thompson-campaign-pays-her-son-as-he-faces-domestic-violence-charges/88845450007/

MI-AG: Murder case fuels McDonald (D) -Savit (D) feud, lawsuit in attorney general's race

Lansing — In a case of dueling Democratic prosecutors who want to be Michigan's next attorney general, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald's lawyer claims Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit masterminded a smear campaign that used a 2023 Detroit News story to accuse McDonald of letting campaign donations influence her decisions in a murder case.

McDonald filed a defamation lawsuit Feb. 4 in Ingham County Circuit Court against Lakeshore Leaders Fund, a southwest Michigan-based political action committee. According to the suit, the PAC had only $165.33 in its coffers when it received an influx of money from a political rival to try to thwart McDonald's run for attorney general.

The PAC sent text messages to voters across Michigan starting in January, along with mailers and information posted to a now-defunct website, www.whoiskarenmcdonald.com, and on social media, the lawsuit said. The PAC claimed in the text messages and postings that McDonald was the "recipient of over $80,000 in connection with the review of a murder conviction," the lawsuit said.

The postings included a photo of the May 23, 2023, Detroit News story referenced in the lawsuit. In the story, the widow of a murder victim, Genniver Jameel, expressed concerns about donations that were made to McDonald while she considered whether to ask a judge to vacate the first-degree murder sentence of the defendant, Hayes Bacall.




https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/27/murder-case-hayes-bacall-fuels-karen-mcdonald-eli-savit-feud-lawsuit-michigan-attorney-general-race/88323640007/