Campaign Report — Hurricane presents test for DeSantis

Welcome to The Hill's Campaign newsletter

View Online Campaign Report Campaign Report The Big Story  Hurricane presents test for DeSantis Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has remained in the spotlight in the 2024 GOP presidential race, even as he has been off the campaign trail and focusing on the state's response to Hurricane Idalia. © Stephen M. Dowell /Orlando Sentinel via AP DeSantis has received favorable coverage for his response to Hurricane Idalia, which tore through Florida on Wednesday.   On Thursday, the White House released a readout of President Biden's call with the governor, in which he told DeSantis that he "signed a Major Disaster Declaration and ordered all available federal resources to help with the continued response to Tropical Storm Idalia. The President reiterated that the people of Florida have his full support as they recover from the storm."   Biden even offered praise for DeSantis on Wednesday.   "I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help. And I trust him to be able to suggest that this is not about politics, this is about taking care of the people of the state," Biden said.   DeSantis was later asked about Biden's remarks and noted that the two were putting first response over politics.   "We have to deal with supporting the needs of the people who are in harm's way or have difficulties," DeSantis said. "And that has got to triumph over any type of short-term political calculation or any type of positioning." While DeSantis has been focused on recovery efforts in Florida, his Republican primary rivals have been visiting early primary states and taking swipes at each other in the media.   And while DeSantis is literally doing the job he was elected to do in Florida, the storm has presented him with an opportunity. DeSantis is running for an executive position, the presidency, and currently holds an executive position as Florida governor.   With local, state and national media attention on the storm and its aftermath, DeSantis can give voters a look at his executive leadership style and how he would respond in a crisis.   And this isn't the first time DeSantis has done this during an election. Last year, DeSantis was widely praised for his response to Hurricane Ian. At the time, he was running for reelection against former Gov. Charlie Crist. DeSantis was widely expected to win his reelection bid, but the response to Ian certainly gave him a boost. Welcome to The Hill's Campaign Report, we're Caroline Vakil, Julia Manchester and Jared Gans. 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.  Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  Key election stories and other recent campaign coverage: ESPN's Stephen A. Smith says he would support a 2024 White House bid from Gavin Newsom ESPN host Stephen A. Smith suggested he would support a 2024 bid for the White House from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), praising him for being "forceful" against the right. Smith called the Democrat Party "stupid" for relying on President Biden to lead the party in next year’s presidential election, suggesting that his age could put Democrats at a disadvantage. Instead, he floated the idea that Newsom could be the …  Full Story Trump fires back at WSJ editorial, argues his tariff policies were a success Former President Trump argued Wednesday that his administration's tariff policies were a success, after The Wall Street Journal's editorial board warned against the 10 percent tariff the former president proposed on the campaign trail. "Even after being proven spectacularly and totally wrong in all their past predictions regarding my historically successful trade policies, the die-hard globalists at the editorial board still …  Full Story Comer on future Senate run in Kentucky: 'I don't know what'll happen' House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R) is not ruling out a future Senate run in his home state of Kentucky as others are questioning whether Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is fit for office after he froze up at a podium for the second time. "I can't predict the future. I don't know what'll happen," Comer told NBC News this week. His comments, NBC noted, came before McConnell froze …  Full Story The Countdown  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: 44 days until Louisiana's gubernatorial primary 68 days until Kentucky and Mississippi's gubernatorial generals 432 days until the 2024 general election 2024 Race Watch  Long shot Republicans face rising pressure © Photo Credit The pressure is on for the GOP presidential candidates who have polled near the bottom of the pack to try to qualify for the second primary debate late next month.   Miami Mayor Francis Suarez became the first Republican to drop out of the race on Tuesday after he failed to make the stage for the first debate last week. His short-lived run demonstrates the obstacles facing the lower-tier candidates in trying to break through.   With the Republican National Committee raising the polling and fundraising thresholds for qualifying for the next debate in Simi Valley, Calif., candidates like radio host Larry Elder and businessman Perry Johnson will need to step up their campaigns having not qualified for the first debate.   It could also put former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in more difficult positions after they both made the first debate but have had difficulty gaining traction.   Strategists said other poor-performing candidates might not necessarily drop out imminently as Suarez did, but they might take the upcoming weeks to evaluate their candidacies and what they want to accomplish with their time in the race.   Meanwhile, the editorial board for the conservative magazine The National Review called on Hutchinson to drop out to help the non-Trump vote coalesce around a more viable candidate.   "It's not as though Hutchinson's 1 percent support in the polls is going to provide a big boost to anyone else, but every bit counts and it will be good to establish the precedent of flagging candidates' being willing to step aside for the greater good," the board said. In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Tudor Dixon says Trump advised her to 'talk differently about abortion' in Michigan governor's race Former GOP Michigan gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon said former President Trump advised her to "talk differently about abortion" in her race for governor. Dixon interviewed the former president in her latest podcast episode that aired Wednesday, where she told Trump that he was "absolutely right" about the way she should have discussed abortion in her 2022 bid for Michigan governor. "I just want you to know that — and I’ll … Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines regarding campaigns and elections: Pa. is one step closer to having an earlier 2024 presidential primary election (The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette) Hours before McConnell froze in Kentucky, Daniel Cameron brushes off Senate interest (Lexington Herald Leader) What We're Reading  Election news we've flagged from other outlets: Blake Masters Plans to Enter Race for Kyrsten Sinema's Senate Seat  (The Wall Street Journal) GOP donors fret over Scott's single status (Axios) Emulating Trump, Ramaswamy shows a penchant for dispensing with the facts (The New York Times) Elsewhere Today  Key stories on The Hill right now: First Proud Boy sentenced to 17 years in prison after seditious conspiracy conviction Proud Boy Joe Biggs on Thursday was sentenced to 17 years in prison, the second-highest sentence handed down to anyone convicted in connection with the Capitol attack.  Biggs was convicted of sedition and other serious felonies earlier this year after being accused of leading members of the right-wing extremist group to the Capitol … Read more Clarence Thomas discloses multiple trips accepted from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has disclosed three trips he accepted from billionaire Harlan Crow last year, according to documents made public Thursday. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing in accepting the trips, two of which were to Dallas and one to the Adirondacks in New York. For one of the trips, Thomas said he flew private … Read more What People Think  Opinions related to campaigns and elections submitted to The Hill: 2 ways Democratic prosecutors could be botching the Trump indictments Vivek Ramaswamy's no good, very bad week Republicans face a Catch-22 on a national abortion ban   You're all caught up. See you next time!  Check out The Hill's Campaign page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.