Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.

* Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has long described herself as a proponent of reproductive rights, but after the senator’s votes to confirm Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominees, who ultimately voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, some of her former allies have turned against her.

This week, for example, Planned Parenthood’s political action committee announced a new ad campaign targeting Collins in her home state. The $600,000 investment is the largest investment Planned Parenthood Votes has made in any state this election cycle.

Around this time nine years ago, Planned Parenthood gave the Maine senator an award in recognition of her support for women’s health, but as Collins’ critics keep arguing, things have changed quite a bit since 2017.

* Though the details are still taking shape, Harmeet Dhillon, the controversial assistant attorney general who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told Bloomberg News this week that the DOJ intends to deploy roughly 1,000 election monitors to local precincts this fall.

* Though it’s extremely unusual to see prominent political staffers work for officials and candidates from different parties, Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico has hired Jacob Smith, who worked for Republican Sen. John Cornyn for five years. Smith will reportedly serve as a deputy policy director for Talarico’s campaign.

* In Alaska’s closely watched U.S. Senate primary, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is shaking up her campaign operation, letting go of several top aides, including her campaign manager.

* With one week remaining before South Carolina’s special Senate runoff primary, Donald Trump is so determined to get appointed Sen. Darline Graham across the finish line that the president will headline an event on her behalf in Myrtle Beach on Friday.

* House Speaker Mike Johnson began this week boasting that he’s “absolutely convinced” that House Republicans will actually gain seats in this year’s midterm elections, despite all the evidence pointing to likely Democratic gains.

* And it’s going to be a busy day for election watchers, not only because of the congressional special election in California, but also because of the primaries in Alaska, Florida, Pennsylvania and Wyoming, which include competitive contests up and down the ballot.

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