RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A pair of northeastern North Carolina legislative districts can remain intact, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting Black voters’ claims that state Republicans illegally manipulated the boundaries to prevent them from electing their favored candidates.

The former South Carolina lawmaker is running yet again for the state Senate seat representing Greenville and Spartanburg counties that he lost in 2016.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, is jumping into the Senate race in Texas, joining a competitive primary battle between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hunt told the Associated Press in an interview that he believes that polling indicates "people want an alternative, and I’m going to give it to them."

Oberacker was first elected to the state Senate in 2020 but spend much of his career in the food industry before that.

More than 86,000 River Valley area residents will be without representation in the state Legislature until next June -- and that's about three months longer than average in Arkansas when a vacant seat prompts a special election.

ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will testify to a special Senate committee investigating her, the committee's chair announced Friday.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills is planning to launch her Senate campaign Tuesday, according to an internal team document obtained by Axios. Why it matters: A campaign kickoff by Mills, a battle-tested two-term Democratic governor,