Morning Digest: Why this new Senate candidate is known for machine guns and 'a dong on a drone'

_{The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.}

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Leading Off

● NM-Sen: One of the most conservative Democrats in the Land of Enchantment is now a Republican—and he's running for the Senate. Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales announced Wednesday that he would take on Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich almost four years after the senator called for his resignation.

Gonzales had an uneasy relationship with progressives even before he appeared at a White House event in 2020 when Donald Trump announced he was deploying federal agents to Albuquerque. But while the sheriff's campaign to lead that city the following year proved to be a disaster, Gonzales is now hoping that the state at large will be more receptive to his brand of politics.

However, an emerging gun conspiracy case already threatens to overshadow everything. Read more about the scandal at Daily Kos Elections—including why Gonzales' mayoral campaign may be best remembered for an incident involving a drone and a sex toy.