Matt Gaetz becomes the latest Kevin McCarthy defector to draw a primary challenger: From the Politics Desk
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics teamâs latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.
In todayâs edition, national political reporter Bridget Bowman notes how four House Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker are now facing primary challenges. Plus, senior political editor Mark Murray breaks down how voters have a rosier view of Donald Trump’s presidency than Joe Biden’s.
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Gaetz becomes latest McCarthy defector to draw a primary challenger
By Bridget Bowman
The decision nearly seven months ago to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker has already had lasting implications on Capitol Hill. Now that move is making its way to the campaign trail, looming over several primaries that could help shape the GOPâs future in the House.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz became the latest House Republican who voted to remove McCarthy to draw a primary challenger. Aaron Dimmock, a former Navy aviator, according to the Pensacola News Journal, filed to run against Gaetz on Friday, just ahead of the deadline to enter the race.Â
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Gaetz, McCarthyâs chief agitator, wasted little time attempting to tie Dimmock to the California Republican, posting on X that McCarthy âwould be getting a puppet of his to run.â
Gaetz also said in a statement to NBC News: âIâm excited to welcome Missouri-based DEI instructor Aaron Dimmock to the campaign. Aaron is not in Kansas City anymore. This is Trump Country. Our pronouns are USA and MAGA.â Â
Dimmock did not respond to a request for comment. Although he put a Florida address on his campaign filing, the form of identification was listed as a Missouri driverâs license.
Of the eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy last year, six are seeking re-election. And four of them are now facing primary challengers: Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia, Eli Crane of Arizona, and Gaetz. All four seats are in Republican territory, so the winner of the primary will be favored in the general election.Â
Earlier this month, an outside group tied to a McCarthy ally went up on the airwaves with ads targeting Mace, Good and Crane. Gaetz and Crane wonât face their primaries until late summer, while Mace and Good have their primaries in mid-June.Â
They arenât the only incumbents facing primaries this year. Gaetz himself has backed challengers looking to take down his own GOP colleagues, endorsing Republicans running against Reps. Tony Gonzales of Texas and William Timmons of South Carolina. He also endorsed former state Sen. Darren Bailey, who lost a primary race against Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois last month.
Itâs not unusual for more centrist lawmakers, like Gonzales, to face primary challengers from the right. But the fact that some of the hard-right Republicans are also facing intraparty opposition shows that the Republican establishment is gearing up for a fight over the direction of the party.Â
And neither side is backing down.Â
These are the poll numbers that should worry Biden the most
By Mark Murray
The recent 2024 polls have been all over the place. But taken together, they still confirm just how competitive â and relatively stable â the contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump remains with nearly six months to go until Election Day. Â
CNNâs latest national poll found Trump up by 6 points (though still within the margin of error). NBC Newsâ survey had Trump ahead by 2 points, while Marist had Biden leading by 3 points (both within the margin of error). And polls from Quinnipiac University and the Pew Research Center showed essentially a tied race.
And the battleground state polling â especially in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin â is just as close.Â
No matter the survey you pick, the new polls underscore that voters continue to have fonder memories of Trumpâs presidency than they do of Bidenâs â and that maybe should concern Bidenâs re-election campaign more than any horse-race result out there.Â
Take the CNN poll, for example, which finds 55% of Americans saying that Trumpâs presidency was a success, versus 39% who said the same of Bidenâs presidency. Â
More strikingly, 61% in the CNN poll believe Bidenâs presidency has been a failure, compared with 44% who say that about Trumpâs presidency.Â
Or look at last weekâs national NBC News poll, which showed Trump holding a 7-point lead over which candidate had the stronger record of accomplishment (46% of voters chose Trump, while 39% chose Biden).
Or consider the Pew poll, which found 42% of voters saying Trump was a good or great president, versus 28% who said the same about Biden.Â
Or even take the CBS News battleground poll of Michigan, which had Biden ahead by 2 points among likely voters in the state, but also showed 62% saying the condition of Michiganâs economy under Trump was very or fairly good, compared with 38% who say the same of Michiganâs economy today.Â
The glass-half-full-news for Biden is that he has a strong story to tell voters â with the unemployment rate at a historically low level and hundreds of thousands of jobs being created each month.Â
Team Biden can also remind voters about the millions of jobs lost during Trumpâs final year as president, when Covid wrecked the labor market. The Biden campaign has aired TV ads attacking Trumpâs handling of the economy.Â
Still, voters consistently say they have sunny perceptions of Trumpâs presidency and cloudy views of Bidenâs. Thatâs more revealing than any horse-race poll.
đď¸ Todayâs top stories
- đş Media diet: The latest NBC News poll reveals yet another split among Biden and Trump voters: where they get their news. Biden is the clear choice of voters who consume newspapers and national network news, while Trump does best among voters who donât follow political news at all. Read more â
- đ Graduation season: With pro-Palestinian demonstrations growing on college campuses, the White House is planning for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to have a minimal presence at commencements this spring. Meanwhile, the administration is facing pressure to step up its response to antisemitic incidents on campuses. Read more â
- đľ An indictment and a promotion: The Arizona GOP has selected state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a âfake electorâ indicted last week and accused of working to overturn Bidenâs 2020 win in the state, as a national committeeman for the Republican National Committee. Read more â
- â RFK Jr.âs ballot access push: The New York Times looks at the âsurprise tactics and legal threatsâ that make up, in part, Kennedyâs push to appear on ballots nationwide. Read more â
- đ Youâve been served: Hunter Bidenâs lawyers plan to sue Fox News âimminently,â according to a letter sent to the network and obtained by NBC News. Read more â
- đŹ And ⌠action: Famed director Steven Spielberg is working with Biden’s campaign to provide strategy for the Democratic National Convention. Read more â
Thatâs all from The Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback â likes or dislikes â email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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