Big Week in the GOP Presidential Nomination Chase in the Kickoff Caucus State

With apologies to Cedar Rapids-based Janda Motor Services’ old TV commercial, make no mistake: this week is a big one for GOP presidential contenders in the Hawkeye State.

Almost all of the candidates seeking the GOP nomination — the long shots and the lions — are scheduled to attend the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner Fundraiser on Friday evening in Des Moines. 

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Arizona Legislative District 17’s Freedom Team Endorses Donald Trump for President

The Arizona Freedom Team of Legislative District 17 has announced their official endorsement of former President and current presidential candidate Donald Trump in his run for United States President in 2024.

On Thursday, State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) and State Representatives Cory McGarr (R-Tucson) and Rachel Jones (R-Tucson) released a joint statement officially giving their full and total endorsement for United States President to Trump.

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DeSantis, Trump Lead in Fundraising Gains by the 2024 Republican Presidential Hopefuls

Presidential candidates filed their second quarter totals on Saturday, which provided a glimpse into how much hard cash the 2024 GOP hopefuls have heading into the third fundraising period.

Candidates had until the end of day Saturday to file their Q2 totals with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump reporting the highest receipts among the crowded field of GOP contenders. The cash on hand totals provided a clearer picture as to how many hard dollars the respective campaigns have going into the fall, and indicated South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott sits just behind the former president, according to the FEC filings.

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Commentary: Who’s Up, Who’s Down, and Who’s Out After Tucker Carlson’s Blow-Out Interviews in Iowa

Who won the Republican blow-out interview lalapalooza with Tucker Carlson in Iowa Friday night? Besides Tucker himself—who was on the Q side of this extended Q & A—the participants were South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Let me say straight off that the biggest beneficiary was probably Tucker himself. He is a master interviewer, outgoing and friendly in manner, informed about the issues, unrelenting in his questioning. Some of his hosts at the Family Leadership Summit, which with Blaze Media sponsored the event, were so impressed with his performance that they suggested to the audience that Tucker himself should run for president. It’s an idea that has been in circulation for a while and it got a notable “trending” uptick as the evening unfolded. Tucker himself has dismissed the idea in no uncertain terms, but it is worth noting how widespread his support is among the politically mature.

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Pence Battles Boos, Tucker Carlson’s Tough Questions at Iowa Family Leadership Summit

Former Vice President Mike Pence has long been a standard bearer for the evangelical Christian movement in American politics.

On Friday, before a gathering of hundreds of Christian faithful at the 12th Annual Family Leadership Summit in downtown Des Moines, it felt, to some degree, that the GOP candidate for president had lost a good portion of that faithful base.

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Tucker Carlson Grills GOP Candidate Senator Tim Scott on War in Ukraine, Biden’s Cluster Bombs

U.S Senator Tim Scott said there shouldn’t be American military “boots on the ground” in Ukraine. But the South Carolina Republican campaigning for president  remains supportive in the U.S. providing the weapons and resources Ukraine needs to push back Russia’s invasion. 

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson hit Scott with tough questions on Ukraine, the border and more at Friday’s Family Leadership Summit, which included a cattle call of GOP presidential candidates. 

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New Morning Consult Poll Shows Trump Dominating, Ramaswamy Rising

Former President Donald Trump continues to crush the competition, but political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy is swiftly rising in the crowded field of Republican presidential candidates, according to a new Morning Consult poll.

Trump is polling at 56 percent, distantly followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, at 17 percent, according to the poll of more than 3,600 potential Republican primary voters.

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Commentary: GOP Field Braces for Tucker Carlson Iowa Inquisition

More than one Republican presidential campaign expressed surprise, even trepidation, when RealClearPolitics broke the news in March that Tucker Carlson would moderate a presidential forum hosted by the Family Leader.

In the spring, several candidates accepted Bob Vander Plaats’s invitation to address his influential group of social and religious conservatives. None knew Carlson would be waiting for them on stage in the summer. “This isn’t prepping for an interview,” said a senior aide to one presidential candidate. “It’s an interrogation.”

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Stumping in Iowa, Trump Calls the 2024 Presidential Race ‘The Final Battle’

Calling the 2024 presidential race the “final battle,” former President Donald Trump pledged to “expel the war mongers” and “demolish the Deep State” during a campaign rally Friday afternoon in western Iowa.

Campaigning in the shadow of a federal indictment and mounting legal troubles, the Republican Party frontrunner sounded as defiant as he takes on the political fight of his life.

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Pence Says Trump and DeSantis Are Wrong on Ukraine and America’s Role as Arsenal of Democracy

Former Vice President Mike Pence says his “former running mate,” among others in the Republican Party presidential nomination chase, are missing the significance of the U.S. coming to the aid of Ukraine.

Pence said he recently paid a call on the war-torn European nation and its president to see firsthand “the results of the extraordinary, unprovoked invasion by Russia” as well as the “tenacity and toughness” of the Ukrainian military.

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Florida’s First Lady, Republican Presidential Hopefuls Mike Pence and Doug Burgum Campaign in Iowa This Week

Florida’s first lady is scheduled to launch her “Mamas for DeSantis” effort as she campaigns Thursday in Iowa for her husband and Republican presidential hopeful Governor Ron DeSantis.

Casey DeSantis’ stop is part of a busy Fourth of July holiday week for presidential campaigns in the Hawkeye State, with former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum returning to Iowa, as well. 

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Trump, Biden Dominate Latest Granite State Poll, but Many Don’t Want to See a Re-Match

Former President Donald Trump has upped his support over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the Granite State and President Joe Biden leads his Democratic Party challengers by more than 50 percentage points, according to a new poll conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

But the latest poll also finds that a majority of New Hampshire voters believe a repeat of 2020 presidential candidates in 2024 would mark a “broken” U.S. political system.  

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Trump’s Lead Expanding, Ramaswamy Rising in Latest Morning Consult Poll

A new Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump widening the gap against his closest competitors, while former Vice President Mike Pence and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy make some noise among the crowded field of Republican Party presidential hopefuls. 

The poll, conducted June 23-25, finds frontrunner Trump at 57 percent, nearly 40 percentage points up on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (19%), his closest rival. 

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Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer Testifies During Third Day of Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman

The third day of the State Bar of California (SBC) disbarment trial of Trump attorney John Eastman took place on Thursday, with the SBC calling Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer and Jonathan Marks, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions in Pennsylvania, as witnesses. Richer is a Republican who started a PAC for election fraud-denying Republicans, and Marks was appointed to the position under then-Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Kathryn Boockvar, a Democrat.

Attorneys for Eastman and the SBC conducted direct and cross-examination of the two witnesses. Shortly into the direct examination of Richer, as he began testifying about his confidence regarding Dominion voting machine tabulators, Eastman’s attorney Randy Miller expressed his concern to the SBC disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland that she was allowing the SBC’s witnesses like Richer to present one side but not allowing Eastman’s witnesses to testify on the same topic. He said it was “quite prejudicial,” only “getting half the story.” Roland did not change her mind. 

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State Bar of California’s Star Witness at Disbarment Trial of Trump Attorney John Eastman Helps Eastman

John Eastman

The second day of the State Bar of California’s (SBC) disbarment trial of Trump attorney John Eastman on Tuesday featured mostly direct and cross-examination of the prosecution’s star witness, former Pence attorney Greg Jacob. Jacob was put on the witness stand by the SBC to debunk Eastman’s advice that Vice President Mike Pence did not have the authority to reject electoral slates from states suspected of going to Joe Biden due to election fraud, but Jacob gave testimony to the contrary several times. 

Eastman’s attorney Randy Miller asked Jacob about a memo he wrote where he stated that “scholars disagree” whether it’s the vice president’s responsibility to substantively deal with accepting electoral slates. Jacob admitted, “There is a section in the Constitution that is at best ambiguous whether the vice president can reject electoral slates.” He cited three legal scholars who wrote articles arguing that the vice president has somewhat of a substantive role in that area. He said this question was “debated and disputed” in law review articles.

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State Bar of California Begins Trial to Disbar Trump’s Attorney John Eastman Over 2020 Election

The State Bar of California (SBC) began a trial on Tuesday seeking to disbar conservative legal scholar John Eastman over his role advising former President Donald Trump and state legislatures on challenging the 2020 election results. The proceedings arose out of a complaint against him made by the States United Democracy Center (SUDC). SUDC is run by a former Obama appointee, Norm Eisen, and its advisory board includes former Arizona governor and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The SBC charged Eastman with 11 ethics violations in January. Eastman filed a 100-page response containing thousands of attachments, and published a rebuttal on his Substack. He said the SBC’s complaint “is filled with distortions, half truths, and outright falsehoods.”

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GOP Presidential Hopefuls Commit to Family Leadership Summit, Important Faith-Based Stop on the Road to the Iowa Caucuses

After a bit of a lull in Iowa’s parade of presidential candidates, the summer campaign season will soon start to heat up again in the kick-off caucus state. 

U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) on Tuesday announced he’ll speak at next month’s FAMILY Leadership Summit in Des Moines, billed as “the Midwest’s largest gathering of Christians seeking cultural transformation in the family, Church, government, and more.” 

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New Polls Show Trump with Significant Lead over DeSantis, Republican Presidential Field in Iowa, Nationally, Despite Latest Indictment

The federal indictment against former President Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be eroding his support among conservatives. New polling shows “Teflon Don” continues to hold a substantial lead over his closest Republican presidential nomination rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in Iowa — the first-in-the-nation caucus state — and the rest of the nation.

A poll by Victory Insights shows Trump leading DeSantis by 23 points in Iowa, 44.3 percent to 21.3 percent in a full-ballot contest. When the field is narrowed to just Trump and DeSantis, the spread between the two candidates decreases, but not by much.

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Pennsylvania Representatives Blast Biden on Quality-of-Life Issues Ahead of His Philadelphia Visit

One day before Joe Biden heads to a Saturday Philadelphia rally, U.S. Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14) and Dan Meuser (R-PA-9) excoriated him in a press call over quality of life issues. 

Joined by Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas, the two lawmakers blasted the president for seeking reelection in 2024, insisting Biden has made life worse for Americans on virtually every facet affected by public policy. They mentioned that inflation rages, real wages slump, energy production languishes, gas prices rise, fentanyl use spreads, reading and math scores tumble and crime swells. 

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Trump and DeSantis to Join Full Lineup of GOP Presidential Candidates at Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Dinner

Most of the GOP presidential candidates have committed to attending next month’s Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

The annual fundraiser, scheduled for July 28, is a must-attend event for those vying for the Republican Party nomination in the first-in-the-nation caucus state.

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Kari Lake Speaks to Packed Georgia GOP Convention, Defends Trump

Kari Lake gave the keynote speech at the Georgia Republican Party’s annual convention last week after Mike Pence controversially withdrew. Multiple people complained after Pence was announced and after Lake was announced as the replacement, 900 purchased tickets, more than twice as many who bought them last year.

Lake’s speech focused on election fraud and the indictment of Donald Trump. “The two states that have been fighting the hardest to get our sacred vote are Arizona and the peach state of Georgia,” she opened. She thanked Pence for not showing up, “He’s the reason I’m here tonight.” She said when asked if she could fill his shoes, she responded, “I’m more than willing and able to fill Mike Pence’s shoes,” in a subtle reference to possibly being chosen to be Trump’s running mate in 2024 instead of Pence.

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DeSantis, Pence Stay in ‘Safe Lanes’ on Trump at Greensboro GOP Convention Appearance

Republican presidential rivals chose a safe lane while delivering keynote speeches at the annual North Carolina Republican Convention in Greensboro on Friday and Saturday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was clear in an analogy to reference former President Donald Trump and his legal troubles though he didn’t mention his name, and former Vice President Mike Pence urged patience and prayer.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Hold Varying Positions on U.S. Involvement in Ukraine

Republican Party Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy recently laid out a plan that he says would end the war in Ukraine while breaking up Russia’s  growing alliance with China.

Newly minted presidential candidate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum says, “Support for Ukraine is important to stop empowering countries like Russia in the first place by selling US energy to our allies.”

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Pence Launches Presidential Campaign in Iowa, Skewering Former Running Mate in Partial Break from Trump

Former Vice President Mike Pence launched his long-anticipated run for the White House Wednesday in suburban Des Moines by taking aim at his old boss, former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate in the race for the Republican Party presidential nomination. 

Pence laid out his vision for America, but he also used his campaign launch in Ankeny to differentiate himself from Trump — and to explain to conservative voters why he believes the former president let him and the country down on Jan. 6, 2021. 

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GOP Presidential Candidates, Sans Trump, Descend on Iowa for Senator Joni Ernst’s Annual Roast and Ride

In many ways, the start of the 2024 presidential election year began Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines — with Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s annual Roast and Ride. 

Eight Republican presidential hopefuls assembled all under one roof, making their case to some 750 Iowans on why they’re best suited to lead the most powerful nation in the world. 

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GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Makes the Cut for the GOP Debates

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has risen in the polls to a top 5 candidate. Now the Ohio businessman and political outsider has secured a spot on the Republican National Committee debate stage. 

In fact, Ramaswamy’s campaign crossed the RNC debate stage criteria threshold in May, several months before the debates are set to take place, according to the candidate’s camp.  

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Biden DOJ Won’t Charge Mike Pence over Classified Docs

The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to charge former Vice President Mike Pence for classified documents found at his home, according to a DOJ letter obtained by the New York Times.

The DOJ sent Pence a letter Thursday night informing him that “no criminal charges will be sought” in connection with the department’s investigation into classified documents found at his Indiana home, per the NYT. One of Pence’s lawyers found the documents at Pence’s home in January, alerting the National Archives, CNN reported.

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Georgia GOP Convention Replaces Mike Pence with Kari Lake

Kari Lake will be the keynote speaker at the Georgia Republican Party’s annual convention, replacing Mike Pence who was originally scheduled. Former President Donald Trump will also be speaking at the convention. The state party Chair David Shafer sent an email to delegates stating that Pence canceled “because of a televised national town hall at which he will be making an announcement regarding his future plans.”

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Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Lays Out Peace Deal to End War In Ukraine, Sever Russia’s Partnership with China

Speaking at a campaign event Friday in New Hampshire, Ohio businessman and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy laid out his plan for peace in Ukraine by opening up Russia. The 37-year-old political outsider, who has often said political leaders need to “think on the timescales of history, not on two-year election cycles,” believes a Nixon approach to Russia would curtail the looming threat of communist China.

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Trump’s Message to Iowa Voters on Latest Campaign Trip: ‘We Have to Win. It’s Not a Game’

Former President Donald Trump stormed back into Iowa Thursday with an urgent message for voters in the kickoff caucus state: I’m here to win. 

The frontrunner Republican — by far — in the Republican presidential nomination chase made several campaign stops in the Des Moines metropolitan area. But this latest swing through Iowa found Trump eschewing his usual massive campaign rallies for more intimate venues with smaller crowds, perhaps recognition that winning in the first-in-the-nation caucus state will require the kind of face-to-face retail politics Iowans have grown accustomed to. 

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Mike Pence Expected to Launch 2024 Presidential Campaign Next Week

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning on launching his 2024 presidential campaign next week, setting him up to face off against his old boss, former President Donald Trump, for the Republican nomination.  Pence is likely to launch his campaign on June 7, his birthday, at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa, according to multiple news reports. Later that day, he is scheduled to speak at a CNN town hall at Grand View University.

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Trump and DeSantis Heading Back to Iowa for Another Clash of Campaigns

The two titans in the race for the Republican Party presidential nomination will be back in Iowa next week, setting up a clash of campaigns that didn’t quite come to pass earlier this month. 

After announcing his bid for the White House on Twitter this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to make his first official campaign stops in the kickoff caucus state, and former President Donald Trump will follow on his top rival’s heels with a Fox News town hall even in Des Moines. 

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Exclusive: New Poll Finds Trump with Significant Lead Over DeSantis Among Republican Primary Voters

A new poll from Trump pollster McLaughlin & Associates finds the former president leading Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by nearly 40 percentage points as the chase for the GOP presidential nomination heats up. 

The poll shows Trump at 54 percent, and DeSantis with 16 percent support, as the Florida governor kicks off his campaign for the White House. 

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U.S. Senator Tim Scott Launches Presidential Campaign as Living Example of the Land of Opportunity

U.S. Senator Tim Scott made it official Monday, launching his campaign for president in the North Charleston, SC, hometown that informed his core belief: That the United States of America is “the land of opportunity, not a land of oppression.” 

Joined on stage by the single mother who raised him and the wife of the mentor who entered his adolescent life at a critical time, the Republican spoke of the opportunities that made him the man — and the presidential candidate — he is today.

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Iowa Roundup: Tim Scott’s Tennessee Champion, Joe Manchin Courts Iowans Amid Speculation of Third-Party Run

U.S. Senator and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Tim Scott has tapped a former popular Republican governor to head up his national campaign. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis gets a little help from Mother Nature on Mother’s Day weekend. And is Joe Manchin opening doors in Iowa for a third-party presidential run? 

Here’s the roundup from the Hawkeye State presidential campaign trail. 

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Millennial GOP Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Proposes Amendment to Raise Voting Age at Iowa Campaign Rally

Making the case for America-first principles, Ohio entrepreneur and anti-woke crusader Vivek Ramaswamy told a campaign rally in suburban Des Moines Thursday evening that, as president, he would seek a constitutional amendment raising the voting age to 25. 

Ramaswamy, the first millennial Republican candidate to seek the White House, has been known to shake things up on the campaign trail.

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Ramaswamy Says Carroll Case Verdict Against Trump Another Attempt to Attack Establishment’s ‘Chief Political Virus’

Former President Donald Trump’s political rivals weighed in Tuesday on a Manhattan jury’s finding that Trump is liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll in a civil lawsuit brought decades after the alleged abuse took place. 

Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who declared his campaign for president in February, agreed with critics of the lawsuit who believe it’s another politically charged attempt to diminish the GOP presidential frontrunner ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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Morning Consult Poll Shows Trump with 41-Point Lead over Declining DeSantis, Ramaswamy’s Fortunes Rising

A new Morning Consult poll shows former President Donald Trump with his largest lead yet over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, just as political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy’s political prospects rising.

The poll of nearly 3,600 potential Republican primary voters, conducted May 5-7, finds Trump with 60 percent support, followed distantly by DeSantis, with 19 percent.

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