With the GOP presidential field continuing to take shape, two governors took different paths over the weekend as they weighed their own runs for the White House.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, announced he won’t seek the GOP presidential nomination, arguing that his candidacy could contribute to a Trump victory in the primary.
“To once again be a successful governing party, we must move on from Donald Trump,” Hogan said in a statement. “There are several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead. But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.
Another Trump critic, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, is still weighing a run for president. He told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that there “will be plenty of time” to make his decision, and he stressed that Trump is “not going to be the nominee; that’s just not going to happen.” But he did say he would support the nominee, whoever that may be.
“Thank you for your service. We’re moving on,” Sununu said of Trump. “I just don’t believe the Republican Party is going to say that the best leadership for America tomorrow is yesterday’s leadership.”
In other campaign news…
A bridge to a second term?: NBC News’ Peter Nicholas and Scott Wong report on how President Joe Biden appears to be banking that his administration’s infrastructure push will help him at the ballot box next year.
Biden gives Dems a clear signal on crime: And another story from NBC News’ Alex Seitz-Wald and Carol E. Lee looks at how Biden’s decision to let Congress block the Washington D.C. city council’s attempts to change the city’s criminal code is a clear message about how he thinks his party should handle crime.
Back-up plan: While Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker told CBS News that no “serious” Democrat will run against Biden in the primary, the New York Times is out with a new profile on how “the Democrats’ SOS candidate keeps his options open.”
Seizing the means of party production: Nevada Democrats voted out their democratic socialist leadership over the weekend, including nixing state Chair Judith Whitmer in exchange for state Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno.
He’s legislating: Politico reports how DeSantis and the Florida legislature are posturing ahead of a pivotal legislative session where Republicans are expected to deliver their governor even more legislative victories as he readies a possible presidential bid.
She’s running: Author Marianne Williamson on Saturday announced she’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination again.
He’s messaging: When asked by CNN about his timeline to decide whether he’s running for president, former Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that “March is a message month” while “April is a decision time.”
He’s in: Shawn Wilson, the former secretary of Louisiana’s Transportation and Development Department, became the first high-profile Democrat to jump into the governor’s race on Monday.
He’s trying to win the Senate: The Washington Post reports on the careful tightrope that Montana Republican Steve Daines, the chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, is walking as he looks to channel his party’s united energy toward flipping the Senate majority.
