“A PAC aligned with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) is going up with new ads Monday bolstering GOP senators in Ohio and Florida,” Axios reports.
“The group will spend half a million dollars between the two states. It’s another sign of Republican leaders moving early to try to sway voters ahead of next year’s midterm elections.”
As they gear up for special elections next fall, appointed Sens. Jon Husted (R-OH) and Ashley Moody (R-FL) are facing easier paths than some had initially expected, NBC News reports.
Crowded primaries haven’t materialized, both have proven strong fundraisers and their states are trending redder.
“Senate Republicans are thrilled that Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee co-chair, is being floated as a potential replacement for Sen. Marco Rubio if he is confirmed as secretary of state,” NOTUS reports.
“And for her would-be colleagues in the Senate, that she’s President-elect Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law doesn’t hurt.”
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“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) intends to hold interviews and “extensive vetting” to help him decide who should replace Marco Rubio in the Senate,” Politico reports.
“The person he picks will remain in the role until at least 2026, which is when a special election to finish the final two years of Rubio’s term would be held. There would then be a regularly scheduled election in 2028 for a full term.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) has talked with RNC co-chair Lara Trump about her interest in filling the Senate seat set to be vacated by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) — and is now pushing for her selection, Axios reports.
Lara Trump is among those on the short-list to fill Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) seat after he’s confirmed as Secretary of State, PBS Newshour reports.
Meanwhile, Axios reports Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) is publicly calling for Trump to be chosen to fill the seat — “a sign of Trump allies potentially rallying around the pick.”
A new New York Times/Siena poll in Florida finds Sen. Rick Scott (R) leading challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), 49% to 40%.
A new Marist poll finds Scott leading Mucarsel-Powell by a smaller margin, 50% to 48%.
A new The Hill/Emerson College poll in Florida finds Sen. Rick Scott (R) barely ahead of challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), 46% to 45% with another 9% still undecided.
“Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the former U.S. House Democrat now challenging Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott for the Senate, has launched a new campaign on WhatsApp to reach voters and attack a sea of disinformation,” NPR reports.
“The direct messaging operation is part of a broader attempt to close the gap in a race that has grown increasingly tight. Democrats face an uphill battle undoing Republican gains in the state in recent years, particularly in an election where former President Trump is expected to add to GOP turnout in the state. However, Democrats think they can move the needle, particularly with Latino voters, through smartphones.”
A Florida Atlantic University Poll in Florida shows Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) barely ahead of challenger Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), 45% to 43%, within the survey’s margin of error.
“A few weeks ago, very few Democrats were thinking about the Senate campaigns in Florida and Texas, the only credible offensive targets for the party in 2024,” The Messenger reports.
“Then West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin retired, all but guaranteeing Democrats will lose the seat next year.”
“That decision has ratcheted up the pressure and expected attention on the two top Democratic campaigns in Florida and Texas. Assuming Democrats lose West Virginia, the party will either need to protect all of its incumbents – including two in states that have elected Republicans to most other statewide positions – or oust Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas or Sen. Rick Scott in Florida to keep hold of the Senate in 2024.”
Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-FL) primary challenger, Keith Gross, was once kicked off the ballot in Georgia after a judge examining allegations that he lied about his eligibility to run for a statehouse position said he was “troubled” by his testimony, NBC News reports.
Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) announced Tuesday she will challenge Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), a former two-term Florida governor viewed as the favorite in 2024, NBC News reports.
“Mucarsel-Powell has talked to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — which conducted a poll on her behalf — and says she anticipates having enough support to mount a serious campaign, even as national Democrats must defend seats in Wisconsin, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Montana and Arizona.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told NBC News that he’s running for re-election.
“Scott also promised to push a controversial conservative plan that brought bipartisan condemnation last year. Scott released his plan, nicknamed ‘Rescue America,’ when he led the National Republican Senatorial Committee and packed it with red-meat conservative proposals on welfare, immigration, gender, crime and education.”
A new Florida Atlantic University poll finds Sen. Marco Rubio (R) leading challenger Val Demings (D), 48% to 42%.
A new Mason-Dixon poll in Florida finds Sen. Marco Rubio (R) leading challenger Val Demings (D), 47% to 41%.
A new Spectrum News/Siena College poll of likely Florida voters finds Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has an 8-point lead over Charlie Crist (D), 49% to 41%.
In the race for the U.S. Senate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) leads challenger Val Demings (D) by seven points, 48% to 41%.
A new University of North Florida poll in Florida finds Val Demings (D) leading Sen. Marco Rubio (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 44%.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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