Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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What to know about the Nevada Republican primary
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Former President Trump and Nikki Haley will appear in dueling Nevada elections this week. Haley will compete in Tuesday’s primary, which means she won’t face off against Trump in Thursday’s caucus.
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Nevada Republicans can go to the polls twice this week to cast their ballots in the presidential nominating contest. The Silver State is holding a primary Tuesday and caucuses Thursday; however, only one of those ballots will actually matter.
Here’s why:
The state of Nevada decided to set up a primary system after decades of caucuses, but the Nevada GOP decided to stick to the old caucus system, where people gather in gymnasiums and other public spaces to argue for their candidates.
Former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the last two major Republican candidates left in the race, will not be on both, so they won’t face each other. Haley’s on the primary ballot, while Trump’s aiming for a caucus win.
The Nevada GOP will only recognize the caucus. The winner of that contest will receive all the delegates.
Haley’s top competition in the primary is an option of “none of these candidates.” Her campaign has accused the state party of trying to rig the results in Trump’s favor by creating the dueling system.
Because of the two-tiered system, polling has been unreliable in the Silver State. Trump currently holds a 56.9 percent lead among Republicans nationally, with 72.5 percent to Haley’s
15.5 percent, based on 549 polls analyzed by The Hill / Decision Desk HQ.
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Welcome to The Hill’s
Campaign Report, I’m Liz Crisp. 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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Former President Trump will appeal a court ruling that he is not immune from criminal prosecution, his campaign said Tuesday, setting up a likely fight at the Supreme Court. “Prosecuting a President for official acts violates the Constitution and threatens the bedrock of our Republic. President Trump respectfully disagrees with the DC Circuit’s decision and will appeal it in order to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution,” …
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Republican National Committee (RNC) chief of staff Mike Reed told colleagues Tuesday that he would be serving his last month in his official post before transitioning into the private sector. “About a year ago, I told the chair I needed to move on for a variety of personal reasons, and we agreed that I would serve as chief of staff until the 2024 Winter Meeting,” Reed told RNC staff, according to a person familiar with …
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he was focused on getting former President Trump elected to the White House when asked to respond to speculation he could be Trump’s pick for vice president. Trump mentioned Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) when Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo asked him about his top picks for the vice president. Scott responded to the comments on Monday, telling Fox News Digital he is set on ensuring …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 18 days until the South Carolina Republican primary
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272 days until the 2024 general election
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RNC shakeup? Trump plans to weigh in
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Former President Trump says he has a plan for “GOP Growth” that could include national party leadership changes, but the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination is waiting for the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24 to unveil his proposal.
It’s unclear what it could mean for embattled Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s future in the party.
“Ronna is now Head of the RNC, and I’ll be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth,” Trump posted on Truth Social this week.
The post came a day after Trump, in a Fox News interview, suggested that McDaniel “did OK initially in the RNC” but he thinks there “will
probably be some changes made,” after Republicans have struggled with finances and trailed Democrats in fundraising.
On Tuesday, Politico reported McDaniel’s chief of staff
Mike Reed will step down at the end of the month to focus more time on his family.
In an email that Politico quoted, Reed downplayed speculation about the GOP’s future.
“I know the timing of this
news comes as many rumors in the press swirl and we prepare to merge with the presumptive nominee. I assure you, the RNC is in an incredibly strong position,” he wrote.
Trump handpicked McDaniel, who previously incorporated her maiden name Romney in her professional moniker, to run the RNC after his election in 2016. She won reelection to the post in a landslide last year.
McDaniel is the granddaughter of late Michigan Gov.
George Romney (R) and the niece of frequent Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah).
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2024 politics could spell doom for border proposal
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© Associated Press file photo
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GOP heavy hitters including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, the Chamber of Commerce and the Border Patrol Union are backing the
bipartisan immigration proposal that was unveiled this week.
But it’s on thin ice, as former President Trump and his allies have vowed to tank the proposal.
“Donald Trump thinks it’s bad for him politically,” President Biden said in a public address Tuesday. “He’d rather weaponize this issue than solve it.
“He wants a
political issue to run against me on,” Biden added.
Sen. James Lankford, a Trump-endorsed Oklahoma Republican who helped broker the agreement, said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” this week that
Republicans are avoiding an issue they’ve long sought to highlight.
“Are we, as Republicans, going to have press conferences and complain the border is bad and then
intentionally leave it open after the worst month in American history in December?” Lankford said. “Now we’ve got to actually determine, are we going to just complain about things or are we going to actually address and change as many things as we can?”
Trump has deemed the bill a “great gift to the Democrats” and a “Death Wish for the Republican Party.”
“It takes the
HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans,” Trump wrote.
Biden cited support from the Chamber, Border Patrol Union and The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board in his speech Tuesday.
“If Republicans reject this bill, they will hand Democrats an argument that the GOP wants border chaos that they can exploit as a campaign issue,” The WSJ’s board wrote in a piece this week. “The chaos will continue for at least another year.”
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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President Biden’s age and health and former President Trump’s legal woes are serious issues of concern for voters, according to a new poll ahead of a potential November rematch between the two. The latest NBC News poll found 76 percent of voters had major or moderate concerns when asked whether Biden, 81, has “the necessary mental and physical health to be president for a second term.” Another 13 percent said they …
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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is sounding the alarm, claiming a second term for former President Trump would create a “huge personnel problem” in the White House. “One, it’ll be a huge personnel problem of people who have no business being in senior positions in the federal government,” Christie told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos in a recent interview. “And then secondly, …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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- Trying to ‘stay relevant,’ DeSantis keeps bashing
Biden, D.C. ‘ruling class’ (Orlando Sentinel)
- Cash-strapped
Michigan Republican Party gets $120K boost from Trump, other presidential hopefuls (Detroit Free Press)
- Bad blood: Newsom calls GOP conspiracies about
Taylor Swift ‘sad and pathetic’ (A. Times)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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- The inside story of the
DeSantis super PAC’s failure (The Bulwark)
- How Trump Uses the Power and Imagery of His Presidency (New York Times)
- ‘Don’t stop!’ Nikki Haley‘s supporters urge her to carry on as she’s down big in S.C. (NBC News)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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A ruling by a federal appeals panel Tuesday determining former President Trump is not protected by presidential immunity in his election subversion case also propels the legal battle to get to the Supreme Court within days. The ruling’s design essentially forces Trump to file an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court by Feb. 12 if he … Read more
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Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) unveiled a resolution Tuesday that declares former President Trump “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.” The resolution — which spans one page and has more than 60 GOP co-sponsors — comes as groups across the country try to disqualify Trump from appearing …
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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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