WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):

1 p.m.

Donald Trump is applauding the prospect of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry mounting a primary challenge against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, saying “boy, will he do well.”

At an Austin fundraiser Tuesday, Trump was asked about Perry trying to unseat Trump’s former primary rival.

On a recording of the event released by a Democratic group, Trump says he’s been “hearing a lot about that” and isn’t sure what Perry will do. But he calls Perry a “great governor” saying, “People love him in Texas.”

Perry left office last year and was once a Trump critic, but now supports him. Perry has told associates he’s unlikely to run for Senate.

Trump’s comments, though, could be payback for Cruz refusing to endorse the billionaire businessman during last month’s Republican National Convention.

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11:45 a.m.

Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence is blaming both Democrats and Republicans for the decline of manufacturing in the United States.

The Indiana governor was addressing about 200 people Wednesday at Charlotte Pipe and Foundry in North Carolina.

He said policies by both Republican and Democratic administrations have eroded America’s manufacturing industry. Pence also said the country has been neither smart nor tough in defending U.S. jobs from international trade. He said that will change if he and Donald Trump are elected in November.

Pence, wearing a hard hat and safety glasses, toured the manufacturing portion of the plant, shaking hands with some workers.

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11:30 a.m.

Donald Trump’s new Wisconsin women coalition includes some of the most powerful politicians in the state, and two who were caught up in a highly publicized investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s county office.

The unveiling of the statewide group Wednesday comes as polls show Trump trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton overall in Wisconsin and among women.

Former Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow, state Senate President Mary Lazich (LAH-zik) and Sen. Alberta Darling, co-chair of the Legislature’s budget committee, top the coalition.

Also part of the group is Darlene Wink, who was convicted of two misdemeanors for doing work on Walker’s gubernatorial campaign while at work in his Milwaukee County executive’s office.

Another coalition member, Rose Ann Dieck (DIKE), was granted immunity to testify as part of that probe.

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9:40 a.m.

Ohio’s elections chief has cleared the way for Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson to appear on fall ballots in the critical swing state.

Johnson’s ballot access had been in question after party activists submitted paperwork and voter signatures earlier this month on behalf of a different candidate. They said they planned to swap in Johnson.

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO’-sted) has said Ohio law neither openly permits nor bars the switch, but he would allow it as long as elections boards validated enough voter signatures.

Husted’s office announced Wednesday that Johnson’s supporters have met the signature requirements.

Libertarians aren’t recognized as a political party in Ohio, so activists sought to collect enough signatures from voters to get Johnson on the ballot by way of a process for independent candidates.

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8:25 a.m.

A son of Donald Trump says it would be foolish for his father to release his tax returns.

The Republican presidential nominee has broken with precedent by refusing to release them. He says they are being audited and he can’t release them until the audit is complete.

His son, Eric Trump, said Wednesday on CNBC not much can be learned from tax returns. He said his father’s returns are massive and “you would have a bunch of people who know nothing about taxes” looking through them and making “assumptions on things they know nothing about.”

Democrats say Trump’s returns would reveal whether he was paying a fair amount in taxes and whether he would personally benefit from his policy proposals.

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7:25 a.m.

As the Zika virus continues to spread, Hillary Clinton is proposing a new fund to improve the federal government’s response to major public health crises.

The Democratic presidential nominee says the U.S. is failing to sufficiently invest in public health preparedness, not only for Zika, but health threats from potentially pandemic diseases, climate change and possible bioterrorism.

If elected, Clinton would create what she’s calling a “Public Health Rapid Response Fund” to help federal agencies and local hospital systems respond faster and more aggressively.

Her campaign did not detail the size of the fund, its annual budget or whether it would be paid for with other government revenue.