Happening this Tuesday: President Biden travels to Florida, where he hits two campaign fundraisers… Donald Trump’s top campaign advisers release memo arguing Nikki Haley has no real viable path to GOP nomination… Haley was targeted in two swatting incidents in the last month, while a pro-Haley super PAC airs a new TV ad in South Carolina… And House Republicans hold hearing on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
But FIRST… Consider how bizarre it would be if the remaining two major Republican presidential candidates were competing in two different contests in the same state — on two different dates.
And consider if Republican voters could participate in BOTH contests.
Well, that’s precisely what’s happening in Nevada next week, when former President Donald Trump will be competing in the state’s GOP caucuses on Feb. 8 (which will be awarding delegates for the presidential nomination), while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is on the ballot for the state’s Feb. 6 primary (which will not).
Confused? Here’s a helpful explainer to make sense of next week’s dual contests in Nevada:
As part of the national Democratic Party’s push to reorganize its primary calendar, the Dem-led state government at the time enacted a law requiring that Nevada hold a presidential-preference primary — instead of its usual caucuses.
But the state GOP — controlled by Trump’s allies — pushed back on that Democratic effort and decided to hold caucuses on Feb. 8. That is the only contest the national Republican Party has recognized for awarding delegates.
Trump is the only major GOP presidential candidate competing in the caucuses, while Haley is the only major GOP presidential candidate on the Feb. 6 primary ballot. (President Joe Biden will also be on the Feb. 6 ballot on the Democratic side.)
Bottom line: Trump is expected to win the vast majority — if not all — of the state’s 26 delegates.
Oh, and get this: Republican voters can participate in both contests — with one hitch.
The state-run primary is open to registered Republicans (and those who register on primary day as Republicans). And since the GOP caucuses aren’t governed by state law, there’s no prohibition against voting in both, as long as a voter registers as a Republican.
But the state GOP announced a Jan. 9 deadline for voters to change their registration to Republican in order to participate in the caucuses. So anyone who changes their party affiliation after that date isn’t eligible to vote in the caucuses.
Got all of that?
The number of the day is … $9,000
That’s how much Republican groups and candidates have spent on campaign ads in Nevada ahead of the state’s upcoming GOP primary and caucuses since Dec. 1, per AdImpact. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money spent in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of those Republican caucuses and primaries.
In the two months leading up to the Iowa caucuses (Nov. 15 — Jan. 15), Republican groups and candidates spent a whopping $55 million on campaign ads in Iowa. And in the two months leading up to the New Hampshire primary (Nov. 23 — Jan. 23) GOP groups and candidates spent $39 million.
The entire $9,000 in Nevada was spent by Trump’s campaign, which used the money for a digital ad buy.
Headline of the day
Eyes on November: Fundraising time
The three remaining major presidential contenders are hitting the fundraising circuit this week as they look to fill their campaign coffers.
President Joe Biden will be in Florida on Tuesday, appearing at two fundraisers in the Sunshine State. Politico reports that tickets cost as much as $250,000, but Biden’s appearances at private, rather than public, events are raising questions about Democrats’ commitment to actually competing in Florida.
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is in New York for fundraisers, and CNBC reports thatHaley has “more than 10 high on high-dollar fundraisers scheduled in the coming weeks, several of which will be in New York City on Monday and Tuesday.”
Haley joined CNBC on Monday and drew a contrast with Trump on trade, continuing her media blitz as she raises money. Just Tuesday morning, Haley is set to make appearances on CBS This Morning, Hugh Hewitt, Fox and Friends and The Breakfast Club with Charlemagne tha God, per Haley’s campaign.
Trump, meanwhile, is also looking to line up more donors. The former president is courting one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ former supporters, per Politico, which also reports that Trump is meeting with “more than two-dozen” big-dollar donors in Florida on Thursday.
In other campaign news …
Hey, big spender: The main pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, is launching a $250 million ad buy, per the New York Times. The sum is “the largest single purchase of political advertising by a super PAC in the nation’s history,” writes the Times.
Haley’s home state headache: Haley’s struggles in South Carolina come as she is still well-liked in her home state. Her problem, though, is that many South Carolina Republicans like her but love Trump, per the Associated Press.
GOP drama: The Republican National Committee is holding its winter meeting in Las Vegas this week, and Politico reports that GOP grassroots activists are frustrated with the party heading into this election year.
Targeted: Haley’s South Carolina home was the target of two “swatting” incidents on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, NBC’s Aaron Gilchrist and Zoë Richards report.
Meeting in Michigan: Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., met with Biden’s campaign manager last week as the campaign hopes to repair relationships over Biden’s stance on Israel, Politico reports.
Stepping in: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court asked a state elections board on Monday to respond to Minnesota Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips’ complaint that he was left off the Democratic presidential primary ballot unlawfully.
A 2028 preview? Donald Trump Jr. and GOP Govs. Brian Kemp and Glenn Youngkin will headline Washington and Lee University’s Mock Convention in February, an event that has often hosted future presidents and presidential candidates in the past.
Off to the races: The Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC backing Republican Senate candidates, is making its first major ad buy of 2024 in Montana, spending nearly $50 million on ads there for the fall.
Harkening back: A GOP California state Assembly candidate named Carl DeMaio will launch a campaign ad this week that pays homage to Gov. Pete Wilson’s controversial ad about immigration from 1994, Politico reports.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world
House and Senate lawmakers are renewing calls for Biden to ask Congress for new authorization for strikes in the Middle East, which the Biden administration says it already has, NBC’s Sahil Kapur and Kate Santaliz report.
An IRS contractor who leaked the tax records of former President Donald Trump and billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday.
The office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was among the government systems hit by a cyberattack over the weekend. Willis is leading the prosecution of Trump on election interference charges.
