Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries
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It’s Election Night in America. Kentucky Republicans are competing in their gubernatorial primary as they look to oust Gov. Andy Beshear. Philadelphia Democrats are facing off in their mayoral primary. And Jacksonville voters head to the polls in the mayoral runoff.
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Most political watchers and polls are viewing Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron as the frontrunner in that gubernatorial primary. Cameron has the backing of President Trump, but his fellow Republican and rival Kelly Craft, former U.N. ambassador, has the advantage of her family’s wealth and Republican state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles has grassroots support.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, nine Democrats are running to replace Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney. However, polls show that it’s really a five way race.
And that’s not the only race taking place in Pennsylvania this evening. The state’ 163rd House district is also up for grabs in a special election, and the state Supreme Court primary is also taking place.
In Jacksonville, Florida, local news anchor Donna Deegan (D) is running against JAX Chamber CEO Daniel Davis (R ) in the mayoral runoff after the two were the top vote getters in the March 21 primary for the seat.
The Hill’s Caroline Vakil breaks down all that you need to know about Tuesday’s elections.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I’m Julia Manchester. 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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The endorsement battle between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump is reaching a boiling point. Never Back Down, the main super PAC backing DeSantis for the 2024 Republican presidential nod, rolled out a list of endorsements from more than 50 New Hampshire state lawmakers on Tuesday, including four who previously announced their support for Trump’s 2024 campaign. One of those legislators, …
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Former President Trump’s support among New York Republicans rose by 8 points in the latest hypothetical GOP primary poll compared to one taken two months prior. The poll from the Siena College Research Institute found 60 percent of New York Republicans said they want Trump to become the GOP nominee, 32 percent said they want the nominee to be someone else and 8 percent were unsure. That is an improvement from the …
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) went after former President Trump over his stance on abortion restrictions, saying Tuesday that Trump dodged questions about whether he would sign a bill similar to the six-week abortion ban signed by DeSantis. Trump said this week in an interview with The Messenger that “a lot of people don’t even know if he knew what he was doing,” when asked about DeSantis’s decision to sign the six week …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 150 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
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182 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals
- 541 days until the 2024 general election
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How the pandemic turned Florida red
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The Hill’s campaign team is out with the second piece in its five part series “How Florida got so conservative.”
Today, The Hill’s Julia Manchester looks at how Florida’s coronavirus policies accelerated the state’s shift to conservatism – emboldening Gov. Ron DeSantis and turning the state into a destination for those looking to escape lockdowns and coronavirus restrictions during the height of the pandemic.
“What happened was you had anyone who could relocate to a place that was open like Florida did,” said Sal Nuzzo, senior vice president at the Florida-based, free-market think tank The James Madison Institute.
“What they found was a lifestyle and a political atmosphere and a culture that just agreed with them a lot more than where they came from.”
According to Florida’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, more than 300,000 people moved to Florida between April 2020 and April 2021. Move.org found more people moved to Florida than any other state in 2020, followed by Texas, California, and Colorado. And in 2022, Florida became the fastest-growing state for the first time since 1957, according to the Census Bureau.
But it’s still too early to draw any firm conclusions about the extent of the role the pandemic played in the state’s political transformation, and some have expressed skepticism that COVID-era migration alone was enough to have a major impact.
Read the latest in the five part series here and be on the look out for the latest installments in the series this week.
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Trump-DeSantis endorsement battle rages
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Speaking of DeSantis…the Florida governor picked up more endorsements on Tuesday.
The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down rolled out a list of over 50 endorsements from New Hampshire Republican leaders, including four New Hampshire Republican legislators who previously endorsed former President Trump this cycle. Those New Hampshire Republicans include state Reps. Juliet Harvey-Bolia, Brian Cole, Lisa Smart and Debra DiSimone.
But Harvey-Bolia told NBC News that she doesn’t view this as a flip from Trump to DeSantis; in fact, she says, she is endorsing both candidates.
“DeSantis has a lot of promise for the future, and Trump is great now,” she told the network.
The New Hampshire endorsement news comes after Never Back Down revealed that 37 Iowa state legislators were throwing their support behind DeSantis ahead of his three day tour of the Hawkeye State.
DeSantis’ entrance into the growing GOP primary is expected to happen in the next few weeks. DeSantis has summoned his top donors to Miami on May 24 and 25 and on Monday his political operation moved out of the Florida GOP’s headquarters into a new space
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Famed musical group the Village People has sent former President Trump a cease-and-desist letter over his usage of their hit song “Macho Man.” Karen Willis, the band’s manager and wife of lead singer Victor Willis, sent Trump’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, the letter on Monday, calling into question a recent performance at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. A coverband’s recent performance of the group’s …
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is backing former U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft in the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primary as voters head to the polls on Tuesday to choose the Republican nominee to take on Gov. Andy Beshear (D). The Florida governor’s endorsement sets up a proxy war against former President Trump, who has backed another frontrunner in the race, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. “You’ve …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Florida’s top state lawmakers get behind DeSantis’ anticipated presidential run (The Miami Herald)
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Democrat Michelle Vallejo seeks rematch against U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz in 2024 (The Texas Tribune)
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Brandon Johnson inaugurated as Chicago’s new mayor (Chicago Tribune)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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DeSantis to gather top donors as presidential launch looms (Politico)
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Nikki Haley’s financial disclosures detail speaking fees, corporate board role (NBC News)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said work requirements for public assistance programs are a nonnegotiable in debt ceiling talks, laying out one of his first hard stances ahead of an afternoon meeting with President Biden and other top congressional leaders. Asked whether work requirements were a “red line” for him in debt … Read more
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Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) moved to force a vote on a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday, upping the pressure on House Republicans to take action against the GOP lawmaker who was indicted on 13 federal charges last week. Garcia — who introduced the resolution to expel Santos in February — called the … 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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