Midterm campaign updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

Arkansas GOP gubernatorial nominee and former Trump White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared in a statement on Friday that she'd been diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this month but is now "cancer-free" following a surgery in Arkansas on Friday.

"This experience has been a reminder that whatever battle you may be facing, don't lose heart. As governor, I will never quit fighting for the people of our great state," the daughter to former Arkansas GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a statement.

The surgery removed her thyroid and surrounding lymph nodes, she said. Her surgeon, John R. Sims, noted in a statement released by her campaign that he didn't anticipate this health scare slowing Sanders down ahead of the November general election.

"I expect her to be back on her feet even within the next 24 hours. This is a Stage I papillary thyroid carcinoma which is the most common type of thyroid cancer and has an excellent prognosis," he said.

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Friday that the undocumented migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard came from Texas -- not Florida.

He defended his actions, noting that he transported the migrants -- who he said had plans to come to Florida -- with a portion of $12 million allocated in the state's budget to relocate undocumented migrants out of the state.

"They went from Texas to Florida to Martha's Vineyard," DeSantis told reporters in Daytona Beach. "I have 12 million for us to use, and so we are going to use it and you're gonna see more and more. I'm going to make sure that we exhaust all those funds."

DeSantis also took a swipe at President Joe Biden -- suggesting he has lured people out of their countries with the "false promise" that the borders were open, then leaving them "high and dry."

The White House on Friday lashed back, arguing that the Florida governor and Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott -- who routinely transports undocumented immigrants to blue states -- engage in the practice as "cruel" political theater.

"These were children. They were moms. They were fleeing communism. And what did Governor DeSantis and Governor Abbott do to them? They use them as political pawns, treated them like chattel in a cruel, premeditated political stunt," White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said.

DeSantis ended his presser by responding to Gov. Newsom's request for the DOJ to investigate Florida and Texas' moves.

"The governor of California sent a letter to the Department of Justice saying, 'you need to prosecute the Texas and Florida governors' and all I can say is: I think his hair gel is interfering with his brain," DeSantis said.

–ABC News' Miles Cohen

If the point was to make a point, the mission has already been accomplished.

That's not the same as saying the midterms look any different than they did before a few prominent Republican figures made major political moves that sure look like stunts, even if they carry significant messaging and human impact.

It is to say that they are trying to establish a new set of narratives. This week was marked by efforts from several Republicans -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham -- aiming to put their party on offense.

For Graham, it was a bill banning almost all abortions after 15 weeks nationwide, a move that drew praise for its clarity from anti-abortion groups and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others. But pushback also came from inside Graham’s party -- from lawmakers and candidates who want abortion rights figured out state by state and would rather be talking about high inflation anyway -- and also well outside of it.

Read more here.

-- ABC News' Rick Klein

On Friday, Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker lauded the move by Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to send migrants to Martha's Vineyard.

The Trump-endorsed former NFL running back, following a tour of the Port of Savannah with the president of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd, told ABC News that DeSantis' decision brought attention to the border after he said the Biden administration "did absolutely nothing."

"You weren't talking about it yesterday. Nobody wanted to talk about it. Now he got someone's attention," Walker said. "We know that we have a problem at the border. So something has to be done. So, I'm saying hey, right now, something's gotta be done. So, if they have to send people all over the country, do that."

-- ABC News' Lalee Ibssa in Savannah