“Republican senators are looking for a way to avoid the political hit they took on abortion rights in the 2022 midterm election, when they suffered a net loss of one seat, as Senate Democrats ramp up to make it a top issue in 2024,” The Hill reports.
“Strategists say the issue was a major factor last year in Senate races in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania, which Democrats won.”
NBC News: “The issue will be particularly hard for Republicans to run from in the perennial battleground of Wisconsin.”
New York Times: “It’s the final Fourth of July before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary — still more than six months away, yes. But all the same, the Republicans vying for their party’s presidential nomination will be on the trail, waving to supporters from parades, shaking hands with voters and taking selfies.”
“But not the front-runner: Donald J. Trump will be conspicuously absent on the 247th anniversary of the nation’s independence.”
Mediaite: Trump starts Independence Day by sharing “Fuck Biden” meme.
CALIFORNIA U.S. SENATOR. “Rep. Adam Schiff, the target of conservative scorn and House Republican censure as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate, raised over $8.1 million in the year’s second quarter, a major haul that’s likely to put more distance between his rivals,” Politico reports.
“The record-breaking quarter places the Democratic congressman in his party’s upper echelon of 2024 fundraisers and brings to $29.5 million his cash on hand for the Senate race.”
MARYLAND 6TH DISTRICT. “Former Maryland Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox said on Tuesday that he has not filed to run for Rep. David Trone’s (D-MD) seat in the House, after a form was filed with the Federal Election Commission under his name on Monday,” The Hill reports.
ILLINOIS 12TH DISTRICT. “Darren Bailey, the former Illinois Republican state senator who lost a bid last year for governor to Democratic incumbent JB Pritzker, is now running for Congress,” Politico reports.
“He filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday to run against five-term incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Bost. Bailey is set to make a formal announcement at a Fourth of July event with 500 guests at his home in Xenia.”
NEW YORK 17TH DISTRICT. “Former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D) announced his candidacy on Wednesday for New York’s suburban 17th Congressional District, a seat the progressive previously represented but left last cycle amid an intra-party dispute,” the HuffPost reports.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) “has thus far declined getting into the 2024 presidential race,” the Daily Beast reports. “But insiders also say he’s cracked the door a bit more recently as Trump’s troubles pile up.”
New York Times: “The precise level of fund-raising by the super PAC, American Values 2024 [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s PAC], will not be known until later this month, when political action committees file midyear reports with the Federal Election Commission.”
“But Tony Lyon, the super PAC’s co-chair, said that the $10.25 million included two ‘very large’ donations that each exceed $1 million, and that the contributions came from a ‘right down the middle’ mix of Republicans and Democrats.”
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) said he felt misled by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after viewing a recent ad from the governor’s presidential campaign that said Donald Trump as more supportive of LGBTQ issues, The Messenger reports.
Santos, who is gay, said he felt “used” by the Florida governor: “I used to think he was a great governor. Now, I’m starting to think differently.”
“The White House wanted South Carolina to vote first in 2024. The Democratic National Committee obliged. It hasn’t gone according to plan,” the New York Times reports.
Reuters: “The withdrawal of bankrollers like Weiser reflects the high price Republicans in the battleground states of Michigan and Arizona are paying for their full-throated support of former President Trump and his unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.”
“The two parties have hemorrhaged money in recent years, undermining Republican efforts to win back the ultra-competitive states that could determine who wins the White House and control of the U.S. Congress in next November’s elections.”
John Ellis: “The reason Trump’s support has never wavered since he lost the 2020 presidential election is that his support in rural and exurban America has never wavered. Indictments have been handed down, allegations of wrong-doing have surfaced (a lot of them), countless crazy rants have been posted (by Trump) on social media in the wee hours, Trump-endorsed candidates have lost key races…….you know the litany. It goes on and on (and on).”
“Through it all, Trump’s Jacksonian, rural-exurban base has remained loyal. And the more Trump comes under attack, be it from the mainstream media or the Biden Justice Department, Ron DeSantis or Chris Christie, the stronger that loyalty holds fast. Each and every attacker is running headlong into a central tenet of Jacksonian America, which says you never cut and run on one of your own.”
Politico: “A top spokesperson for Ron DeSantis’ super PAC is sounding a decidedly dour note on the Florida governor’s presidential prospects, saying his campaign is facing an ‘uphill battle’ and is trailing badly in the key nominating states. Steve Cortes, who previously supported Donald Trump, also heaped praise on the former president, calling him a ‘runaway frontrunner’ and ‘maestro’ of the debate.”
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