Campaign Report
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Campaign Report
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Republicans get ready to rumble in Milwaukee
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The majority of the Republican presidential contenders will descend on Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the first presidential primary debate of the cycle Wednesday on Fox News. The Hill’s Julia Manchester is on the road to Milwaukee to cover the forum.
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The Republican National Committee released the full list of participants, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Despite claiming he qualified, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez didn’t make the cut.
But the most notable absence of the evening will be former President Trump, who announced in a Truth Social post on Sunday that since he is leading in the GOP primary polls, he will not be participating. The New York Times has reported that Trump has instead recorded an interview with conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson, who was ousted from the network earlier this year.
The Hill’s Niall Stanage maps out the pros and cons of Trump not attending. And while Trump may not be physically present in Milwaukee, The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports that his campaign and surrogates will still have a major presence on the ground at the forum.
And as the Trump counter-programming begins, the other candidates are looking forward to their chance to be in front of their biggest national audience yet this cycle. They argue that while Trump is dominating the field in polling, they still have enough time to make their case ahead of the Iowa caucuses in January.
An NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll released on Monday found that 52 percent of likely GOP caucus goers say they have NOT made up their mind on a 2024 candidate.
Still that same poll showed Trump leading the field with 42 percent, while DeSantis trailed at 19 percent. Julia reports on the candidates that stand to benefit the most from Trump’s absence. The stakes are the highest for DeSantis as he struggles to right the ship in his struggling campaign.
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Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, we’re Jared Gans, Julia Manchester and 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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2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins a “petulant teenager” in a Tuesday post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in response to a Monday interview where she pressed him about topics including his recent comments on 9/11. “Hilarious interview with @CNN last night,” Ramaswamy wrote in his post. “Felt like I was talking to a petulant teenager.” In the interview Monday, Collins …
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Vivek Ramaswamy is seeking to clean up comments he made that appeared to cast doubt about the origins of the 9/11 attacks as part of an interview released just before the first GOP presidential debate. Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old upstart GOP presidential candidate who had been riding a hot streak, said The Atlantic misquoted him and that he was referring to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and not the Sept. 11, 2001, …
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GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd on Tuesday knocked the Republican National Committee (RNC) over a “lack of transparency and confusion” surrounding candidate requirements for the party’s first primary debate. “The lack of transparency and confusion around the RNC’s debate requirements is antithetical to the democratic process. The polling standards are arbitrary, unclear, and lack consistency. This is an unacceptable …
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Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
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- 53 days until Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary
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77 days until Kentucky and Mississippi’s gubernatorial generals
- 440 days until the 2024 general election
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Trump meanwhile announced on Monday that he will turn himself in following his indictment last week in the probe into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, which is led by District Attorney Fani Willis (D).
“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
The former president and the 18 other co-defendants in the case have until Friday at noon to turn themselves in. A Georgia bail bond business owner became the first of the defendants to turn themselves in, court records revealed Tuesday morning.
A judge approved a $200,000 bond for Trump on Monday and set stricter rules for his conduct during the case than those for his co-defendants. The judge’s order prohibits Trump from intimidating any co-defendants or witnesses while he awaits trial and from contacting any of them at all, except through their attorneys.
The order clarifies that the rules concern any social media posts and an “indirect threat of any nature.”
Trump has been warned following indictments in New York and in federal court against intimidating anyone involved in the case but has repeatedly criticized judges and witnesses.
Trump will turn himself in just a day after the first GOP debate that notably will not include him.
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
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Republican presidential candidates Perry Johnson and Larry Elder announced Tuesday they are suing the Republican National Committee (RNC) for not allowing them on the stage at the upcoming primary debate. “I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is,” Elder posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “For some reason, the establishment leaders …
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Most Republican presidential candidates are preparing to descend on Milwaukee for the first GOP primary debate Wednesday night. The event, hosted by Fox News, will be one of the clearest opportunities yet for candidates to separate themselves from the pack in a race that has largely been dominated by former President Trump. Trump has said he won’t attend Wednesday’s event, instead sitting for an interview with former …
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Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections:
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Biden campaign releases ad touting his economic record as Republicans gear up for Milwaukee debate (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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Michigan’s Perry Johnson excluded from GOP presidential debate; claims ‘corrupt’ process (Detroit Free Press)
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Election news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
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New district lines will scramble key New York House races (Politico)
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Pence trots out the ‘let voters judge’ line to defend his former boss (The Washington Post)
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Key stories on The Hill right now:
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Former President Trump joked about fleeing to Russia after his bond was set at $200,000 in the Georgia case over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who is overseeing the case, “insisted” on … Read more
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The Biden administration officially launched the new income-driven student loan repayment plan for borrowers Tuesday, ahead of repayments restarting this fall. The official launch of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan comes just weeks before interest will begin to accrue on student loans for the first time in more than three … 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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