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A military veteran-turned governor, and a lawmaker-turned governor who became an ambassador.
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis sport some serious resumes.
But as Allan Smith reports for NBC News, Haley has struggled so far to separate from the pack, while DeSantis is only “sparingly” leaning on his military service in his own bid, NBC’s Henry J. Gomez writes Thursday as well.
Haley and her allies tell Smith they aren’t worried, and that her opponents have counted her out before during her political career, to their detriment. And Gomez reports that DeSantis’ campaign is going to feature that military experience more in the coming months.
But so far, both strong resumes have been overshadowed by the resume that, so far, appears to matter most to GOP voters: former president.
In other campaign news…
The enemy of your enemy: Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined House Republicans during a hearing Thursday to accuse Democrats of trying to censor him.
DeSantis’ reset: NBC News’ Dasha Burns scooped Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan for a campaign reboot that focuses more on retail politics, leaner expenses and trading the focus on his Florida accomplishments to a more national message.
Meanwhile, back in Florida’ DeSantis is asking state officials to review its holdings of AB InBev assets amid conservative anger about Bud Light, and the state Board of Education approved controversial school standards that include noting how slaves learned some skills that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Try that on the campaign trail: Former Ambassador Nikki Haley and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy both played country star Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” during events Thursday. The song is facing criticism both for its lyrics and the music video, which displays a Tennessee courthouse where a lynching took place in the 1920s.
Manchin banks one voter: Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski told PBS that if presented with a presidential election between Biden and Trump, “I would go with Joe Manchin.”
Abolish the G-men: NBC News’ Emma Barnett also caught up with Ramaswamy in New Hampshire and discussed his plan to shutter a handful of government agencies, including the FBI, if elected.
Small dollars, big problems: Candidates of all stripes struggled to secure small-dollar donors last quarter, a potential canary in the coal mine of political fundraising, Politico reports.
A poll before Ohio heads to the polls: A new poll shows more than half of Ohio registered voters oppose a constitutional amendment, which they’ll vote on in August, that would raise the threshold for any future amendment to pass.
What’s next for Pelosi? Politico reports on a looming question in Washington D.C.: What’s next for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?
Map mania: In Alabama, Republicans proposed congressional maps that do not include a second majority-Black district, despite the fact that a recent Supreme Court order requires them to do so.