Abortion wasn’t the only front where Trump and DeSantis clashed this week. On Wednesday, Trump slammed the Florida governor after DeSantis’ preferred candidates lost in Tuesday’s elections.
Trump slammed DeSantis in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, writing in one post, “Ron’s magic is GONE!” and in another, “DeSanctimonious lost Jacksonville and Kentucky last night. Not good!!!”
The Trump campaign also blasted out a press release with a string of headlines that noted that DeSantis’ preferred candidates were unsuccessful.
While Trump gloated on Tuesday, it’s worth remembering that his preferred candidates had a mixed record in the 2022 midterms. At first glance, his win record appears overwhelming, but that’s because many of his preferred candidates were not in competitive races.
In competitive contests, 33 Trump-backed candidates lost (almost all of whom echoed his false election fraud claims), while 46 won. Those losses were also in some of the most high-profile contests — such as the GOP Senate defeats in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, as well as pivotal gubernatorial races in Pennsylvania and Arizona.
In other campaign news…
DeSantis leans into the culture wars: GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis signed four bills on Wednesday aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights, including a bill barring transition medical care for minors and a bill barring instruction on sexual orientation or gender in pre-K through eighth grade.
Ron is ready: The Wall Street Journal reports that DeSantis will officially jump into the presidential campaign next week (we’ve been watching the clock since NBC News’ Matt Dixon reported DeSantis’ nascent campaign opened its offices Monday, giving them 15 days to announce a bid under federal election law).
Ready for Doug?: CBS News reports that North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum is staffing up for a possible presidential bid.
Haley to Hochul: Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley called on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, to pardon a man who put a homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a fatal chokehold on the subway. Penny has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
A pork tenderloin with mustard sauce: ABC News reports that South Carolina GOP Sen. Tim Scott is the latest GOP presidential hopeful to RSVP to Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s “Roast and Ride” cattle-call in Des Moines.
If you’re not first, you’re last: Politico reports on the deadlock between national Democrats and New Hampshire that continues to threaten the fate of its Democratic presidential primary.
For the calendar: New York officials are considering holding their presidential primary on April 2, Politico reports.
So long: An attorney representing Trump in the probe into the former president’s handling of classified documents has left Trump’s legal team.
Kari’s case: A trial over former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s last 2022 election claim began Wednesday as Lake considers a run for Senate in Arizona.
Young voter surge: NBC News’ Scott Bland reports on a new 2022 midterm analysis from the firm Catalist, which found that young voters eclipsed their record-breaking 2018 turnout in the most recent midterm elections.
