Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Tim Scott’s 2024 ambitions face skepticism
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As Scott moves closer to a formal presidential run, members of his own party are casting doubt on his candidacy amid low polling and a likely crowded field.
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© Associated Press/Charlie Neibergall
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South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott moved closer to formally announcing a presidential bid this week with the formation of a presidential exploratory committee. The Republican rolled out a video on Wednesday, laying out his reasons for why he’s considering a run.
“I know America is a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression. I know it because I lived it,” Scott says in the video. “That’s why it pains my soul to see the Biden liberals attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb. If the radical left gets their way, millions more families will be trapped in failing schools, crime ridden neighborhoods and crushing inflation. Not on my watch.”
When asked in an interview with CBS News whether he would endorse former President Trump if he is the 2024 GOP nominee, Scott said he plans on being the nominee.
Scott would be the highest-profile figure to jump into the GOP primary field since Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, announced her bid in February.
But many Republicans are expressing skepticism about a likely Scott candidacy, pointing to his standing in the polls.
A Winthrop University poll of registered South Carolina Republican voters released on Wednesday shows Scott polling at 7 percent in his home state, trailing Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Haley.
“The lane for him is fairly complicated,” one GOP operative told The Hill’s Al Weaver. “It’s either him or Pence at the end of the day. … The non-grievance politic. The getting-back-to-the-basics-of-being-a-Republican kind of stuff. Now is there a huge appetite for that? Not at the moment. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be.”
Scott is in the midst of an early state swing, making stops in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina this week.
On Thursday, Scott made news in an interview with WMUR in New Hampshire, when he said he would sign a 20-week abortion ban if he was president.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, we’re Julia Manchester and Stephen Neukam. Each week we track the key stories you need to know to stay ahead of the 2024 election and who will set the agenda in Washington.
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Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage:
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An array of progressive campaign groups is teaming up with the Latino Victory Fund to set up a candidate training camp ahead of the 2024 election. The two-day “Path to Victory” program will take place in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, and will teach prospective candidates the basics of how to run a successful political campaign. The training will include a cybersecurity component implemented by Google …
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Alex Bruesewitz, a GOP consultant aligned with former Presiden Trump, is planning to launch a bid for Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district if Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) decides to challenge Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) for her seat next year, according to a person familiar with the plans. Bruesewitz isn’t expected to run for the seat if Gallagher mounts a reelection campaign. Still, he has family ties to the district and …
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Two House Democrats made the extraordinary move on Wednesday of calling on one of their own party’s most senior figures, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), to resign over her health. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the former Speaker, suggested Thursday a double standard was being applied because Feinstein is a woman, noting she has never seen a man in that position face similar calls. Feinstein, who is 89 years old, …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 184 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
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208 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals
- 572 days until the 2024 general election
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Calls for Feinstein to resign rattle Senate
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Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) became the first Democratic lawmakers to publicly call for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to resign as she battles health issues at home in California.
The situation leaves Democrats in a delicate place, with the health of Feinstein, 89, who is widely respected and seen as a trailblazer in her 30-plus year career in the Senate, drawing concerns recently that she can’t adequately complete her official duties.
While Feinstein has already said she will not seek reelection in 2024, and Democrats have already started to line up for the seat, her immediate health issues have raised questions about her remaining time in the chamber, and what it means for Democratic priorities.
Feinstein’s absence stunts Democratic efforts to confirm judges
The California senator sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and her absence has ground committee votes on judicial nominees to a halt.
Her time away from the panel leaves an even number of Democrats and Republicans, and a split vote on the panel means a judicial nominee can’t move to the full Senate floor for a vote.
The confirmation of judges is one of the key aspects that Khanna cited in calling for Feinstein’s resignation, arguing Democrats need more now than ever to confirm as many judges as possible while they have a Senate majority.
Confirming federal judges has been a priority of the Biden administration, outpacing the Trump, Obama and Bush administrations.
Feinstein’s compromise: A temporary replacement on the Judiciary
After a pair of her colleagues called on her to resign, Feinstein responded by offering a compromise: She wouldn’t resign from the Senate, but she is asking for a temporary replacement for her to be appointed to the Judiciary Committee.
She said her recovery from her diagnosis of shingles was taking longer than she initially expected, but she planned to continue serving as California’s senior senator. But she asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to allow another lawmaker to temporarily serve on the panel, which would allow Democrats to resume confirming judges.
Schumer said he plans to grant Feinstein’s request.
But is a temporary replacement for Feinstein possible?
Schumer does have the ability to appoint a temporary replacement for Feinstein on the committee, but there is a possible problem with the plan: It needs Republican support.
A replacement for Feinstein on the committee would need 60 votes in the Senate, meaning at least nine Republicans would need to vote to allow for a temporary replacement. It is unclear whether that many Republicans would be willing to support a move that would ultimately lead to Democrats being able to push through more judicial nominees.
Khanna said the uncertainty over whether Republicans would even support a plan for a replacement is another reason why he thinks Feinstein should step down.
“It’s a step, but as has been reported, it’s not that simple,” Khanna said in an appearance on CNN Thursday. “Any Republican senator can object to that … we have to see if that’s even possible.”
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On the Not-Yet Campaign Trail
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DeSantis set to travel to D.C.
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© Mark Pynes/The Patriot-News via AP
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will head to Washington next week as he moves closer to a 2024 White House bid, meeting with a number of lawmakers who have already endorsed the governor in a presidential primary he has yet to enter.
On the trip to Washington, which was first reported by Politico, DeSantis will hold a policy discussion hosted by a pro-DeSantis nonprofit, with Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), according to a copy of the invite obtained by The Hill. Roy and Massie have already endorsed DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primary.
DeSantis’s packed travel schedule
The trip to Washington next week is just part of the Florida governor’s dense travel plans over the last couple of weeks. As he weighs what many think is a likely presidential bid, he has visited important states that are early in the primary calendar, like Iowa and Nevada. He is also slated to visit New Hampshire on Friday.
He is also expected to travel to Israel, strengthening his international bona fides.
The travel plans for DeSantis are similar to other declared and potential 2024 GOP candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.) and former Vice President Mike Pence, who continue to make rounds through the early primary states.
D.C. Republicans have started to line up for Trump
The trip to D.C. by DeSantis is notable, though, as a number of Republican lawmakers have started to endorse the former President Trump in the 2024 primary.
While DeSantis has picked up the endorsements of Roy and Massie, Trump racked up his seventh endorsement from a U.S. senator on Thursday, with Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) announcing he would back Trump. Along with the endorsements in the Senate, Trump has garnered the support of 39 House Republicans, according to The Hill’s endorsement tracker.
But many GOP lawmakers have steered away from weighing in on the race so far. While Trump is seen as the favorite, polling suggests that DeSantis is the former president’s strongest rival if he were to run.
Who else have Republicans in D.C. endorsed?
Outside of the endorsement for Trump and DeSantis, only two other candidates — one declared and one potential — have picked up the backing of congressional Republicans, according to The Hill’s tracker.
Haley has been endorsed by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.). Pence, who has not declared whether he would run or not, picked up the endorsement of his brother, Rep. Greg Pence (R-Ind.)
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will head to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as he nears a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis will meet with congressional Republicans and participate in a policy discussion hosted by And to the Republic, a political nonprofit launched earlier this year that is backing the governor’s political ambitions. Among the lawmakers attending the event are Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), …
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Former President Trump picked up the endorsement of Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) on Thursday, moving the total to seven sitting senators that have backed the former president for his 2024 White House bid. “Just a few years ago America was strong, but now under Joe Biden, we are a nation in decline,” Budd said to Breitbart. “That’s why I endorse Donald J. Trump for President. Hardworking, everyday families need a return of the America …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Rep. Justin Jones expulsion updates: Council reappoints, Jones retakes oath of office (The Tennessean)
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GOP attorney Eric Early announces Senate campaign (Los Angeles Times)
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Mitt Romney takes first step toward 2024 Senate reelection campaign (Salt Lake Tribune)
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Nikki Haley, eager to carve a lane, courts women voters, talks abortion during Iowa trip (The Des Moines Register)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Jack Teixeira, an airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested Thursday in Massachusetts in connection with the leak of classified documents shared in a group he managed on a website popular with gamers. Teixeira oversaw Thug Shaker Central, a group on Discord where more than 100 classified documents on topics ranging from … Read more
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Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was arrested Thursday over his alleged role in leaking secret files from the Pentagon that have embarrassed U.S. allies and cast doubt on Ukraine’s ability to succeed in its war with Russia. The arrest came hours after President Biden said on Thursday said the U.S. is “getting close” in the investigation … Read more
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Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill:
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You’re all caught up. See you next time!
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