Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Republicans at odds over DeSantis attacks against Trump
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While former President Trump is awaiting potential charges over his possible role in hush money payments during the 2016 election, attacks between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are ramping up – and Republicans are at odds over the governor’s criticisms.
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© Associated Press-Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press-John Locher
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As The Hill’s Al Weaver reports, DeSantis, who was careful not to fire back at Trump when the former president at times lashed out at him, has now waded into the possible Trump indictment and also tried to contrast himself with the former president.
During a press conference earlier this week, he said he didn’t “know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair” while also criticizing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a “Soros DA.”
In an interview with Fox News’ Piers Morgan, he contrasted his leadership style with that of Trump, saying “I also think just in terms of my approach to leadership, I get personnel in the government who have the agenda of the people and share our agenda.”
“You bring your own agenda in, you’re gone. We’re just not gonna have that. So, the way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board,” he added.
But as Al reports, some within the GOP are unsure whether DeSantis’ decision to invoke Trump’s character is the right one and comes as other high-profile Republicans, including presidential and speculated ones alike, have come to Trump’s defense over the possibility of an indictment.
“The attacks from this week are too cute by half and come off as childish,” one GOP operative told Al. “What’s happening this week, the party thinks it’s wildly unfair and the way President Trump is being treated is a total joke, and they’re rallying around him — and that’s from a lot of people who love him, people who hate him who think he’s being treated unfairly.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) put it another way to Al, saying, “it’s gutsy.”
“He’s stepping into a big arena. It’s a big arena. He’s probably calculating that if he’s going to be in that arena, you can’t just take all the blows. You have to land a couple yourself.”
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, I’m Caroline Vakil. 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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Kristina Karamo, the chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, has doubled down amid backlash surrounding a tweet her party posted in which they compared gun reform to the Holocaust. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Karamo defended her party’s Holocaust-related social media posts, saying that people get “way too offended” by tweets and adding that the posts weren’t intended to be controversial and its purpose …
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Chicago’s closely watched mayoral race is shining a spotlight on the racial divisions that have long characterized the city. Brandon Johnson, a progressive Black man, and Paul Vallas, a moderate white man, have largely seen their support fall along racial lines. Johnson, former Cook County commissioner, has managed to secure support from predominantly Black neighborhoods, running on an agenda of education and police reform. …
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) salvo targeting former President Trump’s character this week has been met with questions from corners of the GOP over the effectiveness of his latest message as the world waits to see whether Trump will be indicted over a hush money payment to an adult film actress. DeSantis has yet to announce his expected presidential bid and had been muted in his response to the flurry of barbs Trump …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 12 days until Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election and Chicago’s runoffs
- 205 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
- 229 days until Kentucky’s and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals
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593 days until the 2024 general election
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Racial divisions front and center in Chicago mayoral race
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© AP Photo (Nam Y. Huh/Paul Beaty)
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With less than two weeks to go until Chicago’s mayoral runoff between Democrats Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, racial divisions have become front and center in the election, as The Hill’s Cheyanne Daniels writes.
Vallas, a former CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), is running against Johnson, a Cook County commissioner. While racial divisions are apparent in the race – Vallas is white and Johnson is Black – the divisions are creeping up both in how candidates are speaking about issues of education and crime in the race and in which demographics are placing their support behind each candidate.
Key quote: “While Johnson may use the words Black and Latino or equity and things like that, Paul Vallas isn’t using those words, per se, but he is definitely alluding to racial concepts,” Twyla Blackmond Larnell, associate professor of political science at Loyola University Chicago, told Cheyanne.
“He’s using that coded language that white conservatives use, like when he talked about bringing schools back to the neighborhoods and bringing schools back to the parents.
One key demographic politicos are watching will be the Latino vote, which operatives say could swing the election either way this April.
“In the past, Latinos have been that swing vote, and I think that’s going to happen here,” political operative Victor Reyes told Cheyanne. “You’ll see way more attention being paid to the Latino vote in the last two weeks of the election.”
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Which races to watch for ahead of next month
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© Associated Press/Charles Rex Arbogast
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If it’s Tuesday, there’s likely an election somewhere – and it’s certainly true in April. April 4 will host several key local elections in Chicago, Wisconsin and Denver. Here’s a quick recap of what to watch for next month:
Chicago mayoral election: Democrats Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson are running to be the next mayor of Chicago. Vallas is the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Johnson is a Cook County commissioner. Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) lost reelection during the initial February race.
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly – seen as the liberal and conservative candidates respectively – are vying to fill the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court with the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. The high court has a 4-3 conservative partisan tilt currently, but with Roggensack’s retirement, the election will determine whether conservatives retain a majority on the court or if it will flip toward liberals.
Denver mayoral election: Seventeen (yes, you read that correctly) candidates are running to be the next mayor in the Mile High City. If no one wins at least half of the vote in the race, the two top vote-getters will head to a runoff in June.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Democrats from across the Midwest are urging President Biden to support Chicago’s bid to become the location for the 2024 Democratic National Convention. A group of 34 senators, House members, governors and mayors from the Midwest signed a letter addressed to Biden and Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison in which they called for the upcoming convention to be held in Chicago, arguing that the Midwest is …
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The CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition blasted an “offensive” tweet from the Michigan State Republican Party on Wednesday that used a photo from the Holocaust to criticize gun safety efforts. “This tweet by @MIGOP is absolutely inappropriate and offensive and should be taken down immediately,” Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks wrote on Twitter. The Michigan Republican Party’s official Twitter account posted …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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In Chicago Mayor’s Race, a Former Teacher Rises With Union Support (The New York Times)
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Sinema Trashes Dems: ‘Old Dudes Eating Jell-O’ (Politico)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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California lawmakers voted on Thursday to advance a bill that would penalize oil companies for “price gouging” — a first-of-its-kind legislation pushed forward in recent months by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The SBX1-2 bill, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D), received the approval of the California State Senate in an Extraordinary … Read more
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) called demands from House GOP leaders to force his testimony an “unlawful incursion” on his ongoing probe into former President Trump’s role in a hush money scandal. The Thursday response from Bragg comes as lawmakers, led by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), demanded the DA … 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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