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Kari Lake speaks at a rally in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Nov. 7, 2022.
Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake speaks at a rally in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Nov. 7, 2022.Jon Cherry for NBC News file

Eyes on 2024: Potential Senate candidates weigh their options

Candidates in multiple states with Senate races are currently considering runs.

By and

Just three weeks into the 2024 election cycle, the list of candidates moving toward potential Senate runs continues to grow. 

In Arizona, where independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has not yet said if she’s running for re-election, the Washington Post reports that the list of potential GOP candidates includes Kari Lake, who lost the race for governor last year and Blake Masters, who lost last year’s Senate race. 

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb and Karrin Taylor Robson, who lost the GOP primary to Lake last year, are also weighing runs for Senate. The Post reports that former GOP Gov. Doug Ducey is not likely to run, citing a person familiar with his thinking. 

The Post also dives into the Michigan Senate race, where multiple Democratic women are weighing runs to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Rep. Elissa Slotkin “ is moving swiftly toward a run,” per the Post, while Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is also considering a run (though she previously told Meet the Press NOW that she was focused on this election cycle “not as a candidate,” but as an election administrator.)

And in Indiana, Politico reports that former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels “appears increasingly poised” to jump into the Indiana Senate race, which could set up a brutal primary for the open seat.

In other campaign news…

Biden his time: President Joe Biden won’t announce another run for the White House before his State of the Union address on Feb. 7, NBC News’ Mike Memoli reports.

Trump pokes Facebook: NBC News’ Marc Caputo and Jonathan Allen report that former President Donald Trump’s campaign wrote a letter to Meta to ask the company to reinstate him, after two years of being banned from Facebook in the wake of the 2021 attack on the Capitol. 

Pence puts out policy papers: Former Vice President Mike Pence’s organization put out a list of legislation he supports, including a suite of bills that restrict abortion access and funding, as well as repealing the prohibition on religious groups endorsing or opposing politicians.

Stein jumps in: Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein jumped into the North Carolina governor’s race on Wednesday, using his announcement to criticize a GOP official who has not yet announced his own campaign.

Inside the Bayou baseball: The Louisiana state GOP’s chairman warned GOP Rep. Garret Graves not to run for governor, NOLA.com reports, as the state party has backed Attorney General Jeff Landry. Graves didn’t comment on the letter when asked by IlluminatorLA, adding that he did not know if he would run for governor.  

FEC sides with Google over GOP: The Federal Election Commission ruled against a GOP complaint that claimed Google’s spam filter amounted to an unreported campaign contribution to Democrats, the Wall Street Journal reports

Dolan out the cash: Ohio Republican Matt Dolan, who spent almost $11 million on his Senate bid last cycle and whose family owns the Cleveland Guardians, says he will use some of his personal wealth again. He also didn’t rule out the idea of endorsing Trump’s presidential bid, but said the party should look forward and not be “running a campaign of grievances,” per Spectrum News 1

Boy meets campaign: Actor Ben Savage, who starred in the 1990s sitcom “Boy Meets World” appears to be running for Congress, according to Deadline, in the district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, who might be eying a bid for Senate.