Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has faced backlash this week over a video targeting former President Trump for comments made in support of the LGBTQ community. The controversy came as one of his top allies warned the governor faced “an uphill battle.”
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Among those furious with DeSantis were Republicans in the LGBTQ community. As The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Brooke Migdon reported, they were turned off by the video, which touted the Florida governor’s actions like establishing a ban blocking transgender people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. The video also blasted Trump for saying, “I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens.”
“This was the final nail in the coffin,” former New Hampshire state Rep. Yvonne Dean-Bailey (R) said. “At this point, I can’t see myself voting for DeSantis.”
But the Florida governor doubled down on his comments Wednesday night, calling the criticism of Trump “fair game.”
“I think, you know, identifying Donald Trump as really being a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, where he was having men compete against women in his beauty pageants, I think that’s totally fair game because he’s now campaigning saying the opposite, that he doesn’t think that you should have men competing in women’s things like athletics,” DeSantis said on OutKick’s “Tomi Lahren is Fearless.”
At the same time, DeSantis has struggled to make headway in the polls, trailing Trump by as much as double digits in some cases.
“It’s the climb” 🎶: Steve Cortes, an adviser and spokesman to Never Back Down, acknowledged that Trump is the “runaway front-runner” even as the former president has seen several indictments pile up.
“Look right now in national polling, we are way behind,” Cortes said during a Twitter Spaces event Sunday night. “I’ll be the first to admit that. I believe in being really blunt and really honest. It’s an uphill battle, I don’t think is an unwinnable battle, but clearly, Donald Trump is the runaway front-runner, particularly since the indictments.”
Still, he asserted in an email to The Hill that DeSantis had a “strong path to nomination” and that he believed the Florida Republican would “outperform expectations.”
And the controversies apparently haven’t hurt his fundraising so far. On Thursday, his campaign announced he had raised over $20 million in the second quarter.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, we’re Caroline Vakil and Jared Gans. 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, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and their fellow Republican candidates vying for the White House in 2024 will have to pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee in order to get on the primary ballot in the Sunshine State, the state GOP said. “The pledge – which is the word-for-word the same language as the RNC pledge – was requested and passed by our members to ensure maximum unity heading into …
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Adam Frisch, the Democrat who came close to beating Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) in last year’s midterms, has raised more than $2.6 million in the second fundraising quarter as he runs again to challenge the Colorado Republican, his campaign said. Frisch’s campaign said the $2.6 million raised in the second-quarter FEC filing breaks the record “for the largest quarterly fundraising for a U.S. House challenger in …
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Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride (D), who could become the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, has raked in more than $414,000 in the early days of her campaign, she announced Thursday. “In just the first five days of this campaign, we raised more than $414,000, including the generous support of almost 550 Delaware donors from every corner of this state,” McBride said on Twitter, sharing an infographic on …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 100 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
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124 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial elections
- 488 days until the 2024 general election
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Trump’s eye-popping $35M fundraising haul
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Former President Trump brought in a massive fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2023, with his campaign and political action committee raising more than $35 million. The Federal Elections Commission’s second quarter filing deadline will be the first time many of Trump’s GOP competitors will need to publicly report their fundraising totals.
The deadline is not until July 15, but several other notable candidates have already released their numbers. In addition to Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also announced a big haul, raising over $20 million in the first six weeks of his campaign.
On the Democratic front, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who is looking to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R), raised $6.2 million during the first two months of his campaign. Allred faces a steep climb against Cruz if he becomes the Democratic nominee, but he has expressed optimism about winning in the deep-red state.
By comparison, Beto O’Rourke, Cruz’s 2018 opponent, needed nine months to raise the amount that Allred did in two, according to The Texas Tribune.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) will likely have a tough reelection campaign ahead of him as well in a state Republicans will see as a key pickup opportunity, but his campaign announced Thursday raised more than $5 million during the second quarter. That is his best performance for a second quarter outside of election year, according to the campaign.
Sen. Bob Casey (D), running for his fourth term representing Pennsylvania, raised $4 million.
Meanwhile, California Rep. Adam Schiff (D), coming off of a censure by House Republicans last month, raised more than $8.1 million during the second quarter as he runs in what will be a hotly contested race to succeed the retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D).
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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“Rival Republicans need an early victory to knock Donald Trump off his path to the nomination. Is New Hampshire the place to do it?” (The Boston Globe)
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“Georgia ranked as a top state for early voting turnout” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
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“Democratic AG candidate not licensed to practice law in KY, but campaign says she will be soon” (Lexington Herald-Leader)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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“Kingmaker California? US House control could hinge on district battles in famously liberal state” (The Associated Press)
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“On the campaign trail, Mike Pence faces skepticism over his Jan. 6 break with Trump” (NBC News)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Former Vice President Mike Pence defended his actions presiding over Congress’s certification of the 2020 Electoral College results to a pro-Trump voter during a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday. Pence was holding a campaign event in Sioux City, where a participant told him that Biden should not be the president and asked if he … Read more
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Justice Department officials and Hunter Biden’s attorneys are ramping up their pushback against Republican claims the president’s son received preferential treatment during the investigation into his failure to pay taxes. Republicans released a transcript from an IRS whistleblower who questioned the integrity of the Biden tax probe just … 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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