If it’s MONDAY… Spain’s right-wing parties fall short in elections, setting stage for gridlock and uncertainty… Israeli parliament faces vote on controversial judicial-reform effort… New polls show Donald Trump way ahead in Iowa and South Carolina… Republican Kelly Ayotte announces bid for NH-GOV… And here’s how President Biden’s campaign is addressing his age.
But FIRST... Tim Scott and the super PAC supporting him have become this month’s biggest combined ad spender in the 2024 presidential race — thanks in part to that super PAC’s financial help.
From July 1 to July 24, the Scott campaign and that super PAC, Trust in the Mission, have spent a combined $3.1 million over the airwaves, according to ad-spending numbers from AdImpact.
That’s more than the $2.4 million the Club for Growth-backed Win It Back PAC has spent (mostly in attacking frontrunner Donald Trump), as well as the $1.5 million spent by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (who has been the biggest overall spender since launching his campaign on June 7).
And that pro-Scott spending is showing up in the polls, with the South Carolina senator reaching double digits in Iowa and South Carolina, per a pair of Fox Business polls — though with Trump holding big leads in both states.
Last week, NBC’s Ali Vitali and Scott Bland reported that the pro-Scott super PAC had placed a $40 million TV and digital reservation — on top of the $7 million it was slated to spend through August.
With that money, Scott certainly has the potential to be the chief alternative to the chief alternative (Ron DeSantis). And if Trump does skip next month’s first GOP debate, it could shape up to be a showdown between Scott and DeSantis.
Overall, since Jan. 1, a total of $75 million has been spent in ads in the 2024 presidential race, according to AdImpact.
And here have been the biggest spenders during that stretch:
Headline of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … 31
That’s the number of times President Joe Biden has taken a shorter set of stairs to board Air Force One, out of 37 total trips aboard the plane in the last seven weeks, NBC News’ Carol E. Lee, Peter Nicholas and Monica Alba report.
Boarding via a shorter staircase is one of the many ways Biden’s advisors may be trying to reduce the risk that the president will trip or fall, like he did at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony a few weeks ago, an event that magnified his age and the fact that he would end a second term at 86 years old.
Other numbers to know
$25 million: The estimated amount of money — in one year — that special counsel Jack Smith’s multiple probes into Donald Trump are on track to spend, according to the New York Times.
3: The number of sites across Illinois and Mississippi that will be part of a new monument to honor Emmett Till and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley, which Biden is expected to announce this week.
10: The number of labor groups planning to sign an agreement promising not to picket or cause work stoppages around the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next year, NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports.
$51 billion: The amount of new clean energy investment dollars, about 70 percent, from Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act that were distributed to counties former President Donald Trump won in 2020, the Washington Post reports.
120,000: The number of members Moms for Liberty claims, as the group’s members and other “mama bears” become highly sought-after voters for Republican presidential candidates this election cycle.
6: The number of people injured on Sunday night and Monday morning in Odesa, Ukraine, due to Russian strikes in the port city, NBC News’ Daryna Mayer and Tamsin Paternoster report.
33%: The portion of parliamentary seats in Spain’s election that were won by conservative party PP, though no party won enough seats to declare victory.
24: The number of days in a row in Phoenix with temperatures over 110 degrees.
$155 million: How much the “Barbie” movie raked in during its opening weekend, compared to the $80.5 million pulled in by “Oppenheimer,” a major movie also released over the last week.
19,000: The number of people that have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes due to raging wildfires.
Eyes on 2024: DeSantis in the spotlight
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign, his record as governor, and his background continue to face scrutiny as he remains Trump’s top challenger for the GOP nomination.
But he’s struggled to expand his base, and the New York Times on Sunday reported that DeSantis’ campaign is facing “a reboot and a reckoning."
DeSantis faced a fresh round of criticism over the weekend as Florida adopted new standards for teaching African American history, updating the curriculum per a law that DeSantis signed last year. New standards include language that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”
Vice President Kamala Harris slammed the new standards, and DeSantis said, “I didn’t do it, and I wasn’t involved in it.” But former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of DeSantis’ presidential primary rivals, criticized the Florida governor over the issue, saying his response was “not the words of leadership.”
Over the weekend, the New York Times also unpacked DeSantis’ work during the Covid pandemic, which he touts on the campaign trail, and found that his shift towards vaccine skepticism cost Floridians, and most died from the virus after vaccines became available.
And the Daily Beast reported on the transcript of a VICE documentary on DeSantis’ time serving at Guantanamo Bay, which Showtime pulled after DeSantis jumped into the race. The transcript revealed that two former prisoners and a former Naval staff sergeant alleged that DeSantis was involved in “approving and overseeing brutal measures.”
As the tough headlines for DeSantis continue, he returns to Iowa this week for a series of town halls hosted by his allied super PAC, Never Back Down.
In other campaign news ….
The candidates on Jan. 6: Former Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday that while Trump’s actions ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol were “reckless,” he’s not sure if they were “criminal.” And DeSantis said the event “was not an insurrection,” adding, “the idea that this was a plan to somehow overthrow the government of the United States is not true.”
Republican candidates take aim at Biden’s family: NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports on how the GOP presidential hopefuls have been upping their criticism on Biden’s family, particularly by goading him for not publicly referring to his son Hunter’s daughter as a grandchild.
Iowa’s abortion ban in spotlight: Iowa’s recent law banning abortions after six week all-but guarantees the issue will remain front-and-center ahead of the state’s primary, NBC News’ Adam Edelman reports.
Mail-in voting scramble: NBC News’ Jane C. Timm reports on how Florida Democrats are trying to re-contact voters after new restrictions on mail-in voting in the state went into place.
Attacked over trans issues: Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is firmly pushing back on critics who say he supports gender reassignment surgery for minors, as he heads into his re-election later this year. Beshear told the Associated Press, “I have never supported gender reassignment surgery for minors, and they don’t happen in Kentucky.”
Building out the team: Biden’s campaign announced several new members of its leadership team Monday, many with a focus on data, analytics and polling, NBC News’ Sally Bronston reports.
Debate watch: On his Truth Social account Sunday, Trump floated the idea that he would skip the first Republican debate and do an event with Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host, instead, NBC News’ Jacob Traylor reports.
Tuesday evening programming: Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will participate Tuesday in a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity, he tweeted Saturday.
The race is underway: In New Hampshire, former GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte launched her campaign for governor Monday morning, touting dozens of early endorsements, just days after GOP Gov. Chris Sununu said he wouldn’t seek another term.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
The last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator were wrongly searched for foreign surveillance data by the FBI, a court said Friday.
Biden named CIA Director William Burns to his cabinet on Friday.
