Ronald Brownstein: “Since 1980, almost every incumbent president won a higher share of the vote among Latinos in their reelection campaign than they did in their first race. (The sole exception was George H. W. Bush, whose vote share fell when he sought reelection in a three-way race during the economic downturn of 1992.) Compared to the other incumbent presidents, Trump’s gains from 2016 to 2020 were about average or a little better than average, depending on which data source you use.”

Said Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ): “Latinos will always vote for an incumbent at a higher rate than they did last time. It’s driven by respect for authority, a certain level of patriotism, too, and a belief that we don’t want to change ships in the middle of a crisis.”

“Mike Pompeo is leveraging relationships with House Republicans to stay front and center with GOP voters as the former secretary of state mulls a 2024 presidential bid,” the Washington Examiner reports.

“On Wednesday, Pompeo joined the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of House conservatives, to promote legislation cracking down on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The news conference, in the shadow of the United States Capitol, attracted liberal Code Pink protesters who used a bullhorn to interrupt the former secretary’s comments and advocate for President Joe Biden’s bid for Washington to rejoin the Iran deal vacated by former President Donald Trump.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is seriously considering running for president in 2024, Axios reports.

“While Christie isn’t saying anything publicly about his thinking — besides telling radio host Hugh Hewitt he’s not ruling it out — people close to him have an early sense of the rationale and outlines of a potential candidacy.”

“Christie, whose 2016 bid for the nomination was short-lived, has told friends that he’d be the only person in the 2024 field with executive experience who has run a presidential race before. That’s a clear shot at one potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s enjoying a surge of popularity from Republican voters.”

Nikki Haley met with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez yesterday, Politico reports.

“The sitdown was arranged with the explicit goal of allowing Haley to gauge the 43-year-old Republican as a potential running mate in 2024.”

“Suarez, a rising star in Florida politics, is Cuban American and an influential voice with the largest bloc of conservative Hispanic voters in the battleground state. Along with voters with roots in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Colombia, Cuban Americans shifted hard right during the Trump era as Democrats struggled with the embrace of ‘socialism’ by the left wing of their party.”

“Another source told us that while a joint ticket wasn’t explicitly discussed, it hung over the entire conversation.”

“Donald Trump continued Monday to tease another presidential campaign in 2024, saying he is studying the idea but declining to make a commitment one way or another,” USA Today reports.

Said Trump: “I am looking at it very seriously, beyond seriously. From a legal standpoint, I don’t want to really talk about it yet, it’s a little too soon.”

The Hill: “Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will join the Republican Study Committee this week at a news conference on Iran. And Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio are expected to meet with the group in the coming weeks and months. Welcome to the 2024 RSC primaries.”

“The early face time with rank-and-file conservatives allows these possible candidates to test out their campaign messaging and policies while cultivating relationships that could lead to valuable political endorsements and fundraising connections down the road.”

Ross Douthat: “DeSantis’s career has been a distillation of this Florida-Republican adaptability. Born in Jacksonville, he went from being a double-Ivy Leaguer (Yale and Harvard Law) to a Tea Party congressman to a zealous Trump defender who won the president’s endorsement for his gubernatorial campaign. A steady march rightward, it would seem — except that after winning an extremely narrow victory over Andrew Gillum in 2018, DeSantis then swung back to the center, with educational and environmental initiatives and African-American outreach that earned him 60 percent approval ratings in his first year in office.”

“Combine that moderate swing with the combative persona DeSantis has developed during the pandemic, and you can see a model for post-Trump Republicanism that might — might — be able to hold the party’s base while broadening the G.O.P.’s appeal. You can think of it as a series of careful two-steps. Raise teacher’s salaries while denouncing critical race theory and left-wing indoctrination. Spend money on conservation and climate change mitigation through a program that carefully doesn’t mention climate change itself. Choose a Latina running mate while backing E-Verify laws. Welcome conflict with the press, but try to make sure you’re on favorable ground.”

Politico: “Major givers across the country are lining up to support the governor’s 2022 reelection effort, with some committing to hosting fundraising events and others plowing funds into his campaign bank account. In the past two-plus months alone, Ron DeSantis has received six-figure contributions from Republican megadonors including Bernie Marcus, Paul Tudor Jones and Steven Witkoff, who in March held a high-dollar fundraiser at his lavish Miami Beach home.”

“The surge of attention illustrates how the GOP donor class is beginning to look beyond former President Donald Trump. While the former president would almost certainly lock down vast donor support should he wage a 2024 comeback bid, the lack of clarity about his plans has opened the door for other would-be candidates to get a look.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) told Fox News that she won’t support Donald Trump even if he’s the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday said she would back her onetime boss, former President Donald Trump, if he decides to run for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination again in 2024 and not mount a bid against him, CNN reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Mr. DeSantis has burnished his brand with a Covid-19 response that has enthused the voter base of former President Donald Trump while—in Florida, at least—also impressing the kind of moderate and suburban voters who turned away from Mr. Trump in 2020.”

“As the GOP looks to rebuild after losing the presidential election last year, that formula could give Mr. DeSantis an advantage over rivals who similarly are trying to forge their own path in the shadow of Mr. Trump.”

Said DeSantis: “We are an oasis of freedom in a nation that’s suffering in many parts of the country under the yoke of oppressive lockdowns. Florida got it right, and the lockdown states got it wrong.”

New York Times: “Nearly three years and a pandemic later, Mr. DeSantis’s inclination to keep his own counsel and drive hard at reopening Florida has made him perhaps the most recognizable Republican governor in the country and a favorite of the party faithful. In turn, he has become a polarizing leader in the resistance to lengthy pandemic lockdowns, ignoring the advice of some public health experts in ways that have left his state’s residents bitterly divided over the costs and benefits of his actions.”

“Now, with Florida defying many of the gloomy projections of early 2020 and feeling closer to normal as the pandemic continues to dictate daily life in many other big states, Mr. DeSantis, 42, has positioned himself as the head of ‘the free state of Florida’ and as a political heir to former President Donald Trump. Mr. DeSantis owes a mightier debt than most in his party to Mr. Trump, who blessed his candidacy when he was a nobody congressman taking on the staid Florida Republican Party.”

First Read: “We are still 578 days away from Election Day 2022, but we already have a good idea of what the battle lines will be.”

“Democrats are concentrating on the economy and recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, while Republicans are fixated on the culture wars.”

“And the midterms will be a fascinating political experiment to see what message resonates more with American voters.”

Geoffrey Skelley: “Yet the mounting opposition to Iowa and New Hampshire voting first might not be enough to actually depose them. Ultimately, state parties and/or governments decide the timing of their caucuses or primaries. And while the national party can encourage these decision-makers to schedule their contests on certain dates, it cannot unilaterally impose its will on the primary calendar.”

“Moreover, because Republicans seem intent on keeping the two states in prime position for the 2024 campaign, it might be even more difficult for Democrats to make any changes.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence launched Advancing American Freedom, a policy and advocacy organization “to promote the pro-freedom policies of the last four years,” Axios reports.

The organization has an advisory board of prominent Republicans, presumably ones who don’t want to hang him.

Miami Herald: “Rick Scott is laying the groundwork for a potential 2024 presidential run, and his path — if successful — will look a lot like his three statewide races in Florida. In 2010, 2014 and 2018, Scott outspent the competition.”

“But $150 million won’t buy the presidency in 2024 … If he wants to outspend the 2024 competition, he’ll need help from national donors.”

“Democratic Party leaders are considering overhauling the 2024 presidential primary calendar, a transformation that would include ousting Iowa and New Hampshire from their cherished perches as the first states to vote,” Politico reports.

“Senior party leaders and Democratic National Committee members are privately exploring the idea of pushing South Carolina and Nevada to the front of the primary election schedule, as well as the possibility of multiple states holding the first nominating contest on the same day.”