CA-GOV: Rep. Eric Swalwell cancels town hall in Palm Desert

(KRON) — Bay Area Congressional representative and candidate for governor, Eric Swalwell, canceled a planned town hall in Palm Desert on Thursday, KRON4.com has confirmed.

A representative from the candidate tells KRON4 that Swalwell was sick and had to cancel the event.

Swalwell has made headlines after accusations of inappropriate behavior with female staffers recently surfaced. A spokesperson for Swalwell’s campaign called the allegations a “false, outrageous rumor” spread shortly before the primary election.

However, none of the insinuations have been explicitly stated, and no news outlets, including KRON4, have verified any allegations.





https://www.kron4.com/news/california/rep-eric-swalwell-cancels-town-hall-in-palm-desert/

Elissa Slotkin calls out antisemitic dog whistles at town hall.

PA-03: Ala Stanford's (D) Congressional Campaign Used AI to Respond to a Candidate Questionnaire

“Political campaigns are increasingly using AI to power voter targeting software and other tools. But its use for crafting candidates’ statements remains controversial.”


https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/ala-stanford-campaign-ai-questionnaire-20260408.html

NJ-08: Ali (D) raises $183k for challenge to Menendez (D)

Mussab Ali, a former Jersey City Board of Education president waging an uphill Democratic primary battle against incumbent Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), has raised more than $183,000 since entering the race in January, his campaign announced today.

Ali is almost certainly the best-funded primary challenger to a New Jersey incumbent this year, but he also starts out at a substantial financial disadvantage compared to Menendez, who is seeking a third term representing the 8th district in urban North Jersey. As of the end of 2025, Menendez had raised more than $900,000 and had just over $700,000 still on-hand.

As Ali noted today, though, some of that funding has come from corporate PACs, funding that Ali has sworn off for his own campaign. Ali has also made an issue of donations earmarked through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a Menendez ally that has recently attracted quite a bit of controversy in Democratic primaries.

Two years ago, the contest between Menendez and then-Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla attracted an enormous amount of money, with both candidates raising and spending more than $2 million over the course of the cycle. Several outside groups allied with both candidates also took an interest in the race, adding millions more to the spending total.




https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/ali-raises-183k-for-challenge-to-menendez/

Hotel workers union backs Ramos, Garcia in Newark

The Hotel & Gaming Trades Council (HTC) is taking sides in the Newark non-partisan municipal elections, endorsing six-term North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, Jr. for re-election, and backing Josephine Garcia for an open at-large city council seat.

Rich Maroko, the union president, has committed to putting boots on the ground in Newark during the final weeks of the May 12 election.

“No one in Newark has been a more faithful or consistent friend to working people than Anibal Ramos. At every turn, he has put working Newarkers first,” said Maroko. “He’s been our champion on the Council, and I know he will continue fighting for a fairer, more affordable Newark — a city where HTC members can be proud to live and work.”

Maroko said Garcia, a Newark school board member, “has had a stellar career of public service in Newark.”




https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/hotel-workers-union-backs-ramos-garcia-in-newark/

Oklahoma GOP wants voters to undo Medicaid expansion that voters already approved

Oklahoma’s Republican leaders want voters to delete Medicaid expansion from the state constitution this summer—and they have a second ballot measure ready if they don’t.

The state’s GOP-dominated House approved a referendum last month for the Aug. 25 ballot to repeal an amendment expanding Medicaid that voters narrowly passed in 2020.

It would also reenact the amendment as a statute, but lawmakers could freely alter or repeal that reconstituted law. That’s precisely why supporters of Medicaid expansion pursued a constitutional change in the first place, since they feared Republicans would seek to roll back a statutory initiative.

The plan is currently being considered by the state Senate, where Republicans also hold a supermajority.



https://www.the-downballot.com/p/morning-digest-oklahoma-gop-wants

After 'false elector' charges cleared, Michigan clerk can once again run his township's elections

Stan Grot is once again in charge of Shelby Township’s elections.

Grot, the Shelby Township Clerk, was one of 16 people charged with a number of felonies connected to their role as so-called “false electors” for President Donald Trump in 2020. As a result, the state stripped Grot of his ability to run the community’s elections in 2023.

Those charges — against Grot and the others accused — were dropped in September. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel last month announced she wouldn’t appeal the dismissal of charges, after determining that her chances of success on appeal were limited.

And now, the Michigan Department of State confirms Grot is once again leading elections in his Macomb County community. The state notified Grot of the change in January, according to spokesperson Angela Benander.



https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2026/04/09/shelby-township-clerk-stan-grot-false-elector/

New Wisconsin law seeks to prevent another election certification mess

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed a bill bringing Wisconsin in line with a federal law seeking to prevent the kind of post-election chaos that President Donald Trump and his allies sowed after the 2020 election.

The Democrat also vetoed a Republican-authored bill that would have required the state election commission to hear administrative complaints against itself alleging violations of the federal Help America Vote Act, in line with a U.S. Justice Department demand for the state. That vetoed bill also would have required the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct audits for potential noncitizen voters.

The bill Evers signed updates Wisconsin’s deadlines for certifying presidential election results and casting electoral votes to match federal timelines set by Congress in 2022, after President Donald Trump claimed to have won the 2020 election and hundreds of individuals stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.

The mismatch led to a lawsuit in the 2024 presidential election, when the state’s Republican electors were uncertain which day to cast their Electoral College votes because state and federal law set the dates one day apart. The new law resolves that discrepancy.




https://www.votebeat.org/wisconsin/2026/04/09/new-law-seeks-to-prevent-election-certification-disruptions/

Gloucester County files brief challenging April 21 Virginia special election

GLOUCESTER, Va. — Gloucester County leaders are taking their concerns about a proposed state constitutional amendment to the Commonwealth's highest court.

On April 8, County Attorney Edwin N. “Ted” Wilmot filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Virginia, asking justices to find a planned April 21 special election unconstitutional.

The filing, directed by the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors, supports appellees in an ongoing case tied to a proposed amendment that would allow the out-of-cycle redistricting.

In the 10-page brief, the county argues the election is invalid for three main reasons: timing, wording and effect.





https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/local/virginia/gloucester-county-files-brief-challenging-april-21-virginia-special-election-redistricting/291-359820a8-9ac4-4500-8c8e-ee076f3c8a70

Senate passes ballot measure to overhaul Oklahoma judicial selection, but rejects Aug. 25 election

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Senate on Thursday passed a measure that seeks to give Republicans more control over a panel that assists the governor in selecting judges.

But the upper chamber fell short of the needed 32 votes to put the House Joint Resolution 1024 on the Aug. 25 ballot, which traditionally has the lowest voter turnout.

The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would remove certain restrictions, including political affiliation and prohibitions that prevent certain members from being attorneys, on the 15-member Judicial Nominating Commission.

The JNC forwards the names of three judicial candidates to the governor for appointment to vacancies.



https://oklahomavoice.com/2026/04/09/senate-passes-ballot-measure-to-overhaul-oklahoma-judicial-selection-but-rejects-aug-25-election/