Democrats announce huge fundraising haul for state legislative race efforts
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has raised more than one-third of its $60 million goal for 2024 races and will use some of the cash to target Democratic pickup opportunities in special elections over the coming weeks in Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, according to a memo outlining the group’s strategy this year.
The memo by the national Democratic arm in charge of funding candidates for state legislative races — shared with NBC News ahead of its release this morning — comes after the group announced last year that it would plan to spend $60 million during the 2024 election cycle.
The DLCC said today that it had already raised $21 million, a sum that would allow it to stay on track to fulfill the goals it set in an array of states with competitive legislative races.
Iowa GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra to stay neutral in presidential race
GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa has decided not to endorse a candidate ahead of his state’s caucuses next week, saying today that taking sides in the race would be “disingenuous.”
Feenstra interviewed multiple candidates last month as he considered taking sides, even as the rest of the state’s congressional delegation remained neutral.
“The best thing for me to do is just be an ambassador to Iowa,” Feenstra said in a brief interview at the Capitol. “They’re all in Iowa right now. They’re all working their tail off. And it’d be disingenuous to endorse one over the other. And I’m just thrilled that we get this once once every four years to put Iowa on the map and show everybody what Iowa has to offer.”
After an event last month in his district, Feenstra interviewed Haley, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and pastor Ryan Binkley. Feenstra said Trump was invited to the event but declined.
Asked what ultimately pushed him to stay neutral in the race, Feenstra said: “Just talking with all of them and how passionate each one is. I mean, from from Haley to Vivek to DeSantis to Trump, they all have their merits. And what happens is it disenfranchises a lot of people if I were to endorse somebody. And I just felt it’s best for me to be an ambassador to all of them.”
Feenstra did deny a Politico report that he was tempted to endorse Haley.
“I don’t know where they got that from,” Feenstra said. “Honestly, I’m staying neutral.”
Pressed again why he ultimately is staying neutral, despite past comments that he was interested in endorsing a candidate, Feenstra said, “Just excited to be an ambassador, everybody,” before ducking back onto the House floor.
It’s not clear if Feenstra’s endorsement would have made a difference in the race, given Trump’s commanding lead. An NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll from December found Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds’ endorsement did little to boost DeSantis.
That poll did find Feenstra, who represents the conservative 4th District in northwest Iowa, is relatively popular among likely Iowa caucusgoers, although 44% were not sure how they felt about him. Of those who did have an opinion about the two-term congressman, 40% viewed him favorably and 16 percent viewed him unfavorably.
Judge in N.Y. fraud trial will not allow Trump to deliver part of closing arguments himself
The judge overseeing Trump’s civil fraud case will not allow the former president to speak during tomorrow's closing arguments after Trump refused to say that he’d stick to the facts of the case and not engage in any attacks.
Trump had requested to deliver part of the arguments himself, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. But Judge Arthur Engoron denied the request Wednesday after a contentious back-and-forth with Trump’s lawyers about certain preconditions the judge wanted him to meet.
Katie Porter launches first TV ad of California Senate campaign
In a new TV ad from Rep. Katie Porter that hit the California airwaves today, a narrator urges voters to "shake up the Senate with Democrat Katie Porter."
Porter is running in a contentious Senate primary that includes fellow Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. California's all-party, top-two primary is on March 5 — Super Tuesday.
Porter is well known for using a whiteboard as a prop in congressional committee hearings and on TV.
In the ad, the first of her Senate campaign, a narrator highlights this, calling it "not just any whiteboard," and then adding, "Katie Porter: never taken corporate PAC money, never will. Leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. And the only Democrat who opposed wasteful earmarks that fund politicians' pet projects."
Christie says Sununu is a 'liar' for suggesting his campaign is on its last breath
Christie rejected calls from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to drop out of the presidential race, saying that any suggestion that his campaign is on its last breath is simply false.
“It pains me to say this, but Gov. Sununu is a liar,” Christie said in an interview with WMUR, an ABC affiliate.
During an interview on CNN yesterday, Sununu, who has endorsed Haley, had suggested there are ongoing discussions within Christie’s campaign about whether to drop out of the race: “I would say this: I think members of his leadership team here in New Hampshire are having those discussions with him and that’s the right folks to do it there. He has no ground game. He’s not even trying, even in the next two or three days, he could be here doing 10 events a day — he’s doing like two.”
“There’s no real emphasis of his own campaign here. He’s running out of resources, he’s not campaigning in any other state. I think those discussions are happening,” Sununu added.
Asked how he knew about those discussions, Sununu said he spoke with members of Christie’s steering committee, some of whom had already left the campaign.
“I think that’s just the kind of the writing’s on the wall because I’m talking to the folks on his steering committee and they’re all saying the same thing,” Sununu said. “I know a lot of those folks are having those conversations.”
Christie told WMUR that he spoke with members of his steering committee and is unaware of anyone who is having those conversations.
“He doesn’t have to worry about the Christie campaign — he’s looking at the person who makes the decisions for the Christie campaign,” Christie said, referring to Sununu, whom he said he has not spoken to since the GOP primary presidential debate in Alabama and did not call him beforehand about his endorsement of Nikki Haley in the race.
“I wasn’t the one who went off on a fantasy trip to Iowa to pretend that I’m running for president when he didn’t have the guts to do it himself,” he added. “It’s a shame to see Chris Sununu selling himself out. But if he wants to say something to me, he’s got my number. He’s had it since he ran in 2016, and he’s never hesitated to use it when he’s needed financial help for his campaigns... so, if he’s lost it, I know he knows plenty of people who give it to him.”
Christie’s pushback of Sununu’s claims comes as he faces calls to drop out of the race and throw his support behind Haley — something he has denied will happen.
Meanwhile, Haley’s campaign touted that the Sununu family is “all in” on her campaign in an email today.
New pro-DeSantis TV ad blasts Haley for saying N.H. will 'correct' Iowa
Fight Right, a super PAC backing DeSantis, released a new TV ad in Iowa on Wednesday criticizing Haley for comments she made to a New Hampshire crowd last week.
“You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it. And then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home,” Haley joked.
In Fight Right's ad, a narrator says, “Nikki Haley told New Hampshire what she really thinks about Iowa.”
The narrator adds, “New Hampshire corrects Iowa? Nikki doesn’t respect you. She thinks New England knows better.”
The ad is similar to one that the DeSantis campaign is airing in Iowa with the first-in-the-nation caucuses just days away.
Ramaswamy accuses media of 'trying to rig' the Iowa caucus
Vivek Ramaswamy is out with a new TV ad that will run in markets across Iowa during tonight’s GOP presidential debate, his campaign said.
Ramaswamy fell short of the CNN polling requirement to qualify for the stage tonight. In the ad, Ramaswamy claims the “mainstream media is trying to rig the Iowa GOP caucus in favor of the corporate candidates who they can control” and asks viewers to turn it off in remarks that cut off abruptly in dramatic fashion at the end.
The 2024 GOP hopeful will hold his own debate counter-programming event from his headquarters in Des Moines with conservative podcast hosts Tim Pool and Candace Owens.
The new ad comes after the Ramaswamy campaign pulled TV ads from the airwaves last month. His team also started airing an ad featuring controversial former Rep. Steve King on Tuesday, who has endorsed him.
Trump wants to deliver part of closing arguments at tax fraud trial tomorrow
Trump has requested to speak at the closing arguments in his tax fraud trial tomorrow, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
The source says Judge Arthur Engoron has discretion and he has “conceptually approved” the request by attorneys for Trump. Engoron has considered it and thinks it would be beneficial, but Trump’s attorneys must meet certain conditions laid out on the scope and timing and what is considered permissible for a closing argument. Their reply to the court is due today.
Hunter Biden makes surprise appearance at House committee hearing to hold him in contempt
The president's son was on Capitol Hill today attending in person a congressional committee meeting to hold him in contempt of Congress — an unprecedented standoff on live television between Hunter Biden and House Republicans who have long sought his testimony as part of their impeachment inquiry into his father.
Hunter Biden was accompanied by his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris. He did not respond to questions and left around a half-hour after the hearing started.
House Republicans plan to hold a committee vote later today recommending that Hunter Biden be charged with contempt of Congress for defying their subpoena to testify behind closed doors. He said he would testify at a public hearing instead but Republicans insisted that he appear in a private setting first.
Controversy and close calls have defined past Iowa caucuses
It’s worth remembering that the last three election cycles in Iowa have resulted in controversy on caucus night.
On the Republican side in 2012, Mitt Romney was named the early winner, but a closer — and later — examination revealed that Rick Santorum had won by a mere 34 votes.
On the Democratic side in 2016, Hillary Clinton edged Bernie Sanders by just 0.3 percentage points, with Sanders supporters citing counting and reporting irregularities.
And in 2020, the Democratic infrastructure that counted the caucus votes crumbled, leading to complete uncertainty on caucus night, a delay in the eventual projection that Pete Buttigieg narrowly edged out Sanders and the resignation of the state party chairman. The misstep was the nail in the coffin for the caucuses’ place at the top of the Democratic Party nominating calendar.
This cycle, Trump holds a substantial lead in the Iowa polls, even topping 50% in a multicandidate field.
Still, that previous Iowa history should give us pause: Controversy and close calls have defined the Iowa caucuses over the last 12 years.