Politico: “President Joe Biden and his team are hoping to spend the spring and summer months drawing sharp distinctions with Republicans, one in particular. They still plan to push forth revived pieces of stalled agenda. But they’re also eagerly awaiting potentially explosive findings from the Jan. 6 select committee and hope those discoveries can inflame a battle brewing within the GOP over former Trump’s legacy and power.”

“The goal of turning the election into a contrast may be straightforward. But the execution is another matter entirely. Previous efforts to reframe the conversation have failed, as the White House has been overtaken by outside forces, leaving the president unable to stay on message and Democrats frustrated with a lack of direction coming from the West Wing. And a number of outside groups and Democratic advisers have been baffled by a lack of coordination on key issues. Four Democrats close to the White House said that officials there do not frequently provide surrogate talking points — a key component for any political operation to stay on message.”

Ahead of the Ohio Republican U.S. Senate primary this week, Donald Trump fumbled J.D. Vance’s name at a rally Sunday.

Trump called Vance “J.P.” — then settled on “J.D. Mandel,” swapping his last name with that of his top primary opponent, Josh Mandel.

Politico looks at the “four-week stretch of primaries” where “Trump-endorsed candidates are slogging through difficult races” or “running far behind.”

“The losses Trump is poised to take this month could still do significant damage to him — providing the first ballot-tested, post-presidential confirmation that Trump, while the most important animating factor in the GOP, is not the only force moving primary voters.”

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) won’t say whether he’ll run for president, but he’s starting to acknowledge that his road to the White House might hinge on a big re-election win this year,” NBC News reports.

“For months, Florida Capitol insiders and Republicans familiar with the governor’s thinking have speculated that a resounding victory in November would strengthen his national bona fides as a top GOP presidential contender — even if his political benefactor, former President Donald Trump, decides to run again.”