California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday continued his ongoing duel with red state governors, championing liberal policies on abortion and immigration in the face of some Republican leaders' moves on those issues.

Newsom, who is speculated to be a potential 2024 presidential contender (which he has played down), used his gubernatorial reelection campaign funds to place advertisements in six states with limited abortion rights after the Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade.

All of the Newsom-funded billboards advertise that California is ready to help residents who are seeking an abortion.

“You do not need to be a California resident to receive abortion services,” one billboard said.

In a tweet on Thursday, Newsom announced that he would be responding to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott having transported immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and to Washington, D.C. -- which DeSantis and Abbott say is in protest of Democratic border policies -- by requesting the Department of Justice investigate their efforts.

“I’m formally requesting the DOJ begin an immediate investigation into these inhumane efforts to use kids as political pawns,” Newsom wrote in a tweet, accompanied by the his request, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Newsom has shot proverbial arrows at DeSantis before -- in August sending money across the country to help Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rep. Charlie Crist defeat DeSantis this November.

-- ABC News' Isabella Murray

Two days ago, Don Bolduc won his race to be New Hampshire's GOP Senate nominee after months of making false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump the centerpiece of his campaign.

On Thursday, he made a 180-degree turn after beating the more moderate state Senate President Chuck Morse. Trump-endorsed Bolduc said he's now taking a "definitive" stance that Joe Biden's presidency is legitimate.

"I've come to the conclusion, and I want to be definitive on this: The election was not stolen," Bolduc said on Fox News, even while noting he still believes there was evidence of fraud. "Elections have consequences and, unfortunately, President Biden is the legitimate president of this country," he said.

The retired Army brigadier general said he came to his conclusion after talking to voters and doing his own research.

-- ABC News' Hannah Demissie

Continuing her rare break from her GOP border state allies on immigration, ​Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake says she's "not a fan" of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flying two planes of undocumented immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Though careful not to mention DeSantis by name, Lake told Fox host Tucker Carlson Wednesday night it is "just taking people here illegally who shouldn't be here, moving them further inland."

Even so, Lake said, she "got a kick" out of the recent stunts by DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

"Watching these liberal mayors just throw their hands up and say, 'We can't handle it,' because it's life every day for us in these border states," she said.

"My husband and I are saying that all the time, send them up to Martha's Vineyard," 80-year-old Yuma, Arizona, resident Sandy Fisher told ABC News.

-- ABC News' Libby Cathey in Arizona

What could be one of the most consequential midterm elections in recent history has seen an equally dogged primary cycle. Republicans and Democrats are sparring over every seat in the House of Representatives, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships.

The stakes could not be higher with the ups and downs of the Biden presidency, the growing investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade abortion rights and inflation running at historic highs. Candidates who support Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen will appear on ballots in nearly every state in November.

ABC News has seven reporters embedded in key swing states across the country so readers can get on-the-ground accounts of what candidates are doing and voters are saying.

Welcome to Trail Buzz, an ABC News blog that brings you all the twists and turns from the midterm campaign trail.

Get live updates on campaign news and key reads and analysis from ABC’s reporters. We’ll link to excerpts from the Hulu streaming series "Power Trip" featuring ABC's campaign embeds, the smart takes from FiveThirtyEight, our "Democracy in Peril" series and the sharp political analysis each morning in "The Note."

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump loomed large in the first, and likely only, Senate debate in the battleground state of North Carolina between Democrat Cheri Beasley and Republican Rep. Ted Budd.

During the hour-long debate, Beasley tried to distance herself from Biden while Budd embraced his endorsement from Trump, saying he is an “America first candidate.”

"It's wrong to align me with anybody unless I specifically say what my positions are, and I'm glad to talk about my positions because my positions really do support people here in North Carolina,” Beasley said when asked if she would appear with members of the Biden administration and if she wanted Biden to campaign with her.

Budd, asked if Trump's endorsement would hurt him with unaffiliated voters, emphasized that Trump won North Carolina twice and named some of the successes of the Trump administration.

Budd embraced his endorsement from Trump while also saying that Beasley was running away from any connection to Biden. But both candidates deflected when asked if Trump and Biden should run again in 2024.

The economy and abortion were top issues for voters as Beasley had to fend off attacks from Budd trying to connect her to the policies of the Biden administration. Meanwhile, Budd was pressed on his anti-abortion stance and his support of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s national abortion ban bill.

Budd was asked several times if he would support a total ban with no exception, to which he did not answer.

Beasley took advantage of the question to expand on her legal background as a former chief justice of the state.

"I know having been a former judge and chief justice that women have a constitutionally protected right to make this decision for themselves with their physician free from government interference,” she said.

- ABC News’ Hannah Demissie