While May is expected to be an exciting month for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a presidential bid imminent, Tuesday’s election results didn’t provide him with much good news.
DeSantis’ pick in the Jacksonville mayoral runoff, Republican Daniel Davis, lost as Democrats flipped the mayorship. And in Kentucky, Republican Kelly Craft, the former U.N. ambassador whom DeSantis backed, lost too.
The Republican governor didn’t exactly go all out for either candidate — NBC News’ Matt Dixon writes that in Jacksonville, “DeSantis did not do events with Davis or put his political muscle behind his candidacy,” and DeSantis’ endorsement of Craft came in the race’s final days.
But in both races, DeSantis sided with the losing candidate. And the Kentucky endorsement isn’t the first time the Florida governor has weighed into a race last minute, choosing to go against a heavy favorite (DeSantis indirectly backed Harmeet Dillon’s Republican National Committee chair bid in that race’s final days, shortly before Dillon lost convincingly to Ronna McDaniel).
So while the “Trump defeats DeSantis in Kentucky” headlines might be a bit overblown, it’s a headline DeSantis walked into — again — with a last minute bet on a losing horse.
In other campaign news …
Some sunny news for DeSantis: The top two Republicans in the Florida state legislature, House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, said Tuesday that they were backing DeSantis’ expected presidential bid. NBC News’ Dixon writes that the endorsements are “expected to unleash a wave of public endorsements” from the Florida legislature for the governor, while Dixon, Natasha Korecki and Henry J. Gomez report on how the governor is expanding his inner circle ahead of his bid.
Border politics: DeSantis announced Tuesday that he is sending a combined 1,100 National Guard troops and state law enforcement agents to Texas to assist at the southern border with Mexico.
Shameless support for Biden: NBC News’ Mike Memoli reports that the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country has launched a new television ad narrated by actress Emmy Rossum (who starred in the television show “Shameless) that frames Biden as the defender of Americans’ freedoms on issues like abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and to escape “crippling debt.”
Let’s get digital: The Penn Program’s Andrew Arenge, who has also worked with NBC News’ elections unit, spots that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s PAC has started running digital ads in some early primary states as Suarez weighs a run for president.
Grand Canyon State divide: The outside group End Citizens United/Let America Vote, which backs candidates who support a campaign finance overhaul, announced Tuesday it is endorsing Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego in the Arizona Senate race, per a press release. And the Messenger reports that Arizona Democrats are frustrated that national Democrats have not pledged to support the party’s nominee, with Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema not yet announcing if she’s running for re-election.
Re-run time: Two Democrats who lost 2022 House races announced Tuesday that they’re running again in 2024: attorney Will Rollins, who lost to GOP Rep. Ken Calvert last year, and Michelle Vallejo, who lost to GOP Rep. Monica de la Cruz.
Going for gold: Former Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes, who won a gold medal in 2002, filed to run as a Democrat against Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y.
Santos saga: Democrats moved to force a vote to expel embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., per NBC News’ Capitol Hill team. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., introduced a privileged resolution to expel Santos, but it would need support from two-thirds of the House to pass.
Debt fight continues on the airwaves: Outside groups continue to hit members of Congress on the burgeoning debt ceiling fight, this time with Courage for America launching a new TV ad featuring a veteran criticizing Virginia Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans’s vote for the GOP debt ceiling bill.
An upset in Colorado Springs: Yemi Mobolade will become the first Black elected mayor in Colorado Springs after the unaffiliated candidate beat a Republican in the runoff in the city despite its Republican lean.
