Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Despite his unannounced presidential campaign’s recent troubles, the news for Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t all bad: In Iowa, the first caucus state, the Florida Republican picked up endorsements yesterday from two of the state legislature’s top GOP officials.
* Speaking of DeSantis, a Trump-aligned Super PAC launched a new ad this morning, slamming the far-right governor for having supported a massive new national sales tax during his tenure in Congress. This has the benefit of being accurate.
* Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also hasn’t yet launched a Republican presidential campaign, but he’s nevertheless taking steps to position himself as a leading intra-party opponent of Donald Trump. Yesterday, for example, Christie responded to the former president’s town hall event by saying Trump is “a puppet of Putin,” adding, “There’s no other conclusion to come to.”
* Speaking of the Garden State, ahead of his re-election campaign next year, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is still facing a corruption investigation, and NBC News reported that another round of federal grand jury subpoenas went out this week as part of the probe.
* In the state of Washington, where Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee is retiring after a lengthy career, a Democratic field is taking shape: Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz kicked off her statewide bid this week, joining state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the race.
* As part of his longshot bid for the GOP’s presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy wants to amend the U.S. Constitution to prevent Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 from voting — unless they enlist in the military, work as a first-responder, or pass a “civics test” given to immigrants seeking citizenship. This won’t happen, though it does reinforce Republicans’ concerns about young people voting.
* And in Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp had ruled out a national campaign in 2024, but the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that the governor “wasn’t as unequivocal” about the possibility this past weekend. Instead, the article added, “he said his final decision will be up to him and his family.”
