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Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, I’m Tara Palmeri, reporting from Manchester, where I’m getting the vibe that next week’s New Hampshire primary might not provide Nikki Haley with the results she needs to grab the momentum going into her home state of South Carolina—where, of course, Trump is dominating her by 30 points.
Meanwhile, the Democrats also have their primary on the same night, even though the D.N.C. is not acknowledging the delegates. And while Joe Biden hasn’t made it to the Granite State, and neither the White House nor the campaign are officially involved in the write-in effort, they have surely been sending a lot of surrogates: Nine Biden cabinet members have visited New Hampshire in as many weeks, and big-name surrogates like Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have either visited or plan to visit to support the effort.
🎙️ On my podcast Somebody’s Gotta Win, I spoke with New Hampshire political insider Drew Cline about how the Biden surrogate stampede could depress support for Haley among unaffiliated Democratic voters who might be inclined to vote for her as a protest against Trump. After all, if you believe the polls, Haley would be a much tougher opponent for Biden than Trump. (Since this email comes a day before my usual Thursday send, subscribe here, before the episode drops tomorrow.)
💰 Also, if you haven’t already, make sure to check out my partner Teddy Schleifer’s exclusive reporting yesterday on next month’s Mar-a-Lago high-dollar fundraiser, an event that Trump’s team is not-so-subtly messaging as a last chance for reticent mega-donors to get on the right side of history before he runs away with the nomination. “I don’t know if there’s a deadline where we won’t accept your money,” one Trump fundraising source told Teddy. But “if you want to be a kitchen cabinet person, that’s a cutoff.” The gauntlet has been thrown down…
Tonight, news and notes on the DeSantis death march post-Iowa. But first, here’s Abby Livingston with the view from Capitol Hill…
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| In Washington today, there was an undeniable sense of relief that Capitol Hill will avoid a government shutdown, at least for now: Mike Johnson and Chuck Schumer have unveiled... |
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| The DeSantis Fugue State |
| Despite having spent several days on the campaign trail this week, I’ve struggled to find a single DeSantis voter who can articulate his path forward. So what is the candidate accomplishing in his forced march past New Hampshire, besides torching his remaining political capital? |
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| After an underwhelming performance in Iowa, Ron DeSantis might have pivoted to face-saving measures to prevent the narrative, now taking form in Washington and Tallahassee, that he’s a Scott Walker-style political loser. DeSantis, who is only 45, could easily embark on a path that would set him up for a viable career in the Senate, say, or a cushy posting atop a conservative think tank, or perhaps another presidential run in 2028. Instead, his team is assuring donors and supporters that he’s taking his death march onward to New Hampshire, South Carolina, and then Super Tuesday, unfazed by the prospect of further tarnishing his political brand. DeSantis is either munching his normal pills or simply falling victim to political delusion. Even his wife and confidante, Casey, seemed to... |
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| FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT |
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