Political Wire: “Vice President Kamala Harris will kick off a bus tour through south Georgia on Wednesday that will culminate with a Thursday evening rally in Savannah as she tries to sustain the momentum from her party’s nominating convention,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports. “The Democratic nominee will be joined on Wednesday by her running-mate, Minnesota Gov….

Yahoo! News: “Rep. Destin Hall, a 37-year-old Republican from Caldwell County, is not yet North Carolina House speaker, but he has already stepped into one of the position’s most important election-year roles: fundraising. And he’s pulling in big donations. Hall, who has gained the support of top leaders in the House Republican Caucus to replace…

NY Times: “The most rural of the battleground states this year is North Carolina. About 3.4 million people, or roughly a third of the state’s population, reside in a rural area, more than in any other state besides Texas. Democrats have seen their support slip in rural areas, ceding ground to Republicans. As such, rural voters…

Talking Points Memo: “Election truthers in Georgia got their latest win this week when the Republican-controlled Georgia State Election Board approved another rule that gives county election officials a new way to potentially delay certification. It’s the second time this month that the Trump-friendly board has passed a rule of this type, a particularly worrying development…

WaPo: “Transgender Texans can no longer change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses to match their gender identity, according to a state policy rolled out this week. Advocacy groups say the new rule further harms a vulnerable community already targeted by anti-trans efforts in the state and around the country.”

Political Wire: “The Arkansas Supreme Court blocked an abortion-rights initiative from appearing on the state’s ballot this fall, upholding a July decision by the secretary of state to reject the measure for not following rules related to paid signature gatherers,” NBC News reports. “The decision means Arkansas will not be among the handful of states where voters…

The 19th: “Sixty years ago this week, Hamer gave a speech ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that helped shift the conversation around race and representative democracy in America. It was August 22, 1964, and Hamer was addressing the credentials committee of the DNC in Atlantic City, New Jersey, when she delivered brief but powerful…

North State Journal: “The members of the Republican presidential ticket criticized Vice President Kamala Harris over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and America’s place on the world stage during a visit to Asheboro on Wednesday. The event, which took place outside the North Carolina Aviation Museum, marked former President Donald Trump’s first outdoor campaign event…

AL Political Reporter: “An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals that Alabama experienced the sixth largest decrease in union membership among all 50 states between 2013 and 2023. As of 2023, only 156,000 workers in Alabama are members of a union — a 23.2 percent drop from 203,000 in 2013. The greatest decrease…

WUSF: “Former University of Florida president Ben Sasse’s office spent $17.3 million in his first year, more than triple that of what Sasse’s predecessor spent in his last year. According to an investigation by The Independent Florida Alligator, Sasse — a former Nebraska senator — hired six former staffers and two former Republican officials at salaries…