Maddow Blog | Friday’s Campaign Round-Up, 1.17.25: Ohio governor to announce JD Vance’s successor

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

* Gov. Mike DeWine is poised to announce his choice to fill the Senate vacancy left by Vice President-elect JD Vance, and NBC News reports that the Ohio Republican will appoint Lt. Gov Jon Husted to fill the seat.

* A progressive organization called 314 Action is launching a new digital ad campaign that urges senators to vote against confirming Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

* In Virginia’s gubernatorial race, the latest statewide poll from the Wason Center at Christopher Newport University found Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger leading her likely Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, 44% to 39%. (Click the link for additional information on the survey’s methodology and margin of error.)

* Axios reported this week that Donald Trump’s post-election fundraising operation is “being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by summer — even though he can’t run again.”

* In Georgia, the state Ethics Commission voted unanimously this week to penalize the New Georgia Project Action Fund, a nonprofit organization founded by Stacey Abrams, following allegations that it improperly supported the Democrat’s gubernatorial candidacy in 2018.

* For those keeping an eye on Monday’s inaugural festivities, former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are expected to attend Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, but they’re not going to the president-elect’s traditional inaugural lunch.

* And now that former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is no longer a member of Congress, what is the Arizona independent up to? She’s reportedly launching “a roundtable for business leaders,” with hopes of raising $5 million this year.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com