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

* The National Republican Congressional Committee exists to help elect as many House GOP candidates as possible, and leading the NRCC is not an easy task. Not only does the chair have to oversee recruiting and training, but he or she also has to direct resources and monitor polling, all while doing the job of a full-time member of Congress.

In this year’s midterm elections, it was Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina who took on the challenge, knowing that previous NRCC chairs who did well used the gig as a springboard to bigger and better things.

The trouble is, Hudson, while focusing on several dozen key races nationwide, ended up facing a tougher-than-expected challenge in his own conservative district.

On Thursday, The Associated Press called the race: In an outcome that proved surprisingly emblematic of the entire election cycle, the sitting chair of the NRCC narrowly lost his own re-election bid in a district that Donald Trump won by 16 points in 2024.

* On a related note, North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District proved to be the most expensive U.S. House race in American history, but the Republican spending was for naught: The incumbent Democrat, Rep. Don Davis, prevailed. This is the same district GOP officials in the state redrew specifically to defeat Davis in a failed gerrymandering scheme.

* The state of Indiana apparently has a new political party called the Lincoln Party. As NBC News reported, “The party’s first candidate, former two-term Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, won more than 3% of the vote in the Indiana secretary of state’s race Tuesday, according to initial results. Under state law, if a candidate wins at least 2% of the vote in that race, his or her party secures ballot access for the next four years.”

* In Los Angeles’ mayoral race, City Council member Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist, successfully defeated Mayor Karen Bass, a former Democratic member of Congress.

* In Iowa, Democrat Eric Armstrong had to suspend his state House campaign in September due to health issues. This week, the AP reported that he won anyway, defeating his Republican rival by roughly 9 points, and Armstrong will take office in the new year.

* Speaking of Iowa, after Democratic Gov.-elect Rob Sand won, a new round of chatter began about whether Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley might retire. A spokesperson for the 93-year-old incumbent insisted Thursday, however, that the senator will continue to serve.

* And in upstate New York, the AP announced Friday morning that Republican Anthony Constantino has prevailed in the state’s 21st Congressional District. This is the same Constantino who delivered a bizarre rant on election night, which was captured on video, in which he publicly condemned journalists who covered his campaign in vulgar terms.

The post Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 11.6.26: In a sign of the times, even the NRCC chair lost appeared first on MS NOW.

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