Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is launching a new ad campaign this week focused specifically on Social Security. The initial run is targeting two incumbent Republican senators who are seen as vulnerable in the 2026 election cycle: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
NEWS — The DSCC is up with its first digital ads of the 2026 campaign, targeting Thom Tillis and Susan Collins on Social Security.
— Stephen Neukam (@stephen_neukam) April 15, 2025
Senate Democrats are planning to make safeguarding social safety net programs a central part of their midterm strategy.
These ads hitting Meta… pic.twitter.com/vDUp5saHEx
* In New York, the latest Marist poll offered discouraging news for Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul: The incumbent governor, weighing her options about a possible re-election bid next year, has a 39% approval rating, and 57% of New Yorkers do not want her to seek another term.
* Democratic officials have long hoped to recruit a competitive rival for Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, and they appear to have found one: Nathan Sage, a military veteran, a local play-by-play announcer and the executive director of the chamber of commerce in Knoxville, Iowa, kicked off his statewide candidacy this week.
* Speaking of Senate races in the Midwest, former Rep. Mike Rogers launched another Senate campaign in Michigan this week. It will be the Republican’s second effort, following a competitive campaign that fell a little short last year.
* Meanwhile, in Michigan’s crowded gubernatorial race, former state Attorney General Mike Cox kicked off a Republican campaign this week. Cox, who left office in 2011, ran a failed gubernatorial campaign in 2010.
* In Colorado, former Rep. Yadira Caraveo just barely lost her re-election bid last year, and this week, the Democrat announced that she’s seeking a rematch against Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who eked past Caraveo by fewer than 2,500 votes.
* And in Texas, former Rep. Mayra Flores, following failed campaigns in 2022 and 2024, announced this week that she’ll try again next year in a different district: This time, the Republican is challenging Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar. (Hours after the former congresswoman launched her campaign, Flores’ aides said she’d been hospitalized for reasons they did not disclose.)
