Our latest book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. The early stages of the 2024 race have begun.
Dasha Burns, Matt Dixon, Jonathan Allen and Allan Smith at NBC:
Ron DeSantis is trying to reassure donors and activists that his campaign only looks stalled.
A confidential campaign memo obtained by NBC News lays out what the Florida governor’s presidential campaign sees as its path forward: focusing on the early states, refusing to give up on New Hampshire, not yet investing in “Super Tuesday” battlegrounds, zeroing in on DeSantis’ biography and sowing doubts about his competitors — particularly Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
“While Super Tuesday is critically important, we will not dedicate resources to Super Tuesday that slow our momentum in New Hampshire,” the memo states. “We expect to revisit this investment in the Fall.”
The document, dated July 6, is labeled a “confidential friends and family update” and makes clear that it’s “not for distribution.” Its details about the campaign’s strategy are far more in-depth than what has been shared publicly.
Ron DeSantis’ campaign is blitzing Iowa at a frantic pace six months before the Republican caucuses there, trying to boost his flagging challenge of former President Trump, the GOP front-runner.Daniella Diaz at Politico:
Why it matters: DeSantis' push comes as polls suggest the more voters know about the Florida governor, the less they like him — and amid reports that GOP influencer Rupert Murdoch, an early DeSantis supporter who owns Fox News, is losing faith. Murdoch privately is telling people he'd like to see Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin enter the race, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
That latest tranche of lawmaker nods has served to highlight Trump’s overwhelming lead in the endorsement derby, which prompted us to ask the Hill’s DeSantis Devotees: After months of hype, why is the governor’s bandwagon still so sparsely populated? No member has endorsed him since May 23, when Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) jumped aboard.
Your Huddle host asked five of the six — where you at, Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.)? — in the hallways on Wednesday:
- Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.): “I don’t have any comment on whether somebody else has endorsed him. … If you look at the job that he did in Florida, that’s the model for what we want to be done for the country.”
- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.): “There’s part of the Republican Party that was moved by the indictments. So I joke, I say we got to figure out some way to get DeSantis indicted.”
- Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.): Ignored your Huddle host
- Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas): “I think most people in this conference support Gov. DeSantis. I think there’s a default in the conference to go with the former president.”
- McCormick: “I think most people are being very careful because obviously it’s no fun to be on Trump’s dark side. And most people who’ve ever experienced that could tell you about that.”
