Party chairs buckle up for 2024

Jan 30, 2023

Top Line

New party leaders were elected all across the country over the weekend, stepping into positions that will have significant roles in the 2024 elections.

Much of the attention has been on the contentious race for chair of the Republican National Committee, a battle that’s been going on publicly for the last two months following a lackluster midterm performance for Republicans nationwide. Incumbent Chair Ronna McDaniel won reelection to a fourth term, prevailing over her main challenger, RNC’s California national committeewoman Harmeet Dhillon, with 111 votes to 51.

But a number of state parties also held their elections over the weekend, putting in place new leaders who will recruit candidates and fundraise ahead of 2024. Among the newly elected, a common thread emerged: It’s time to unite and rebuild.

In Arizona, Jeff DeWit was elected the new head of the state Republican Party. DeWit worked on Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns and was appointed by the former president to serve as NASA’s chief financial officer. He also served as treasurer of Arizona.

DeWit had the backing of Trump and Kari Lake, the defeated gubernatorial candidate.

The Arizona Republican Party’s previous chair, Kelli Ward, was a key ally during Trump’s effort to subvert the 2020 election. She chose not to run again, amid calls for her to step down after big losses in the state last year.

Arizona Republicans saw losses in major statewide races in November, including governor, attorney general and Senate. In 2024, they’ll be looking to claim the Senate seat held by independent Kyrsten Sinema — a race that has the potential of being a three-way, should she choose to run for reelection. The state has also become a hotbed of election-related litigation and denialism, which was reflected in state party members rejecting a resolution recognizing the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

That puts Yolanda Bejarano, the newly elected chair of the state Democratic Party, on the defensive. Bejarano, a union organizer, received backing from Sen. Mark Kelly, Attorney General Kris Mayes, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Reps. Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego.

Iowa Democrats also elected new leadership this past weekend after then-Chair Ross Wilburn said he wasn’t seeking another term. Rita Hart, a 2020 congressional candidate and former state senator, will head the party. She most previously was a county party chair. During her run for IA-02, she lost the open seat to Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks by just six votes.

Iowa Democrats had a difficult showing last cycle as Republicans swept all of the congressional races, including flipping IA-03 from then-Rep. Cindy Axne. On top of that, Hart will have to deal with leading the party in the state amid challenges with the national party following the proposal to strip the state of its early status on the presidential nominating calendar.

Prior to her win, Hart said that Iowa Democrats should “continue to fight that fight for first-in-the-nation status and then be very practical about how we move forward.” Iowa code says its caucuses must be held “not later than the fourth Monday in February” and at least eight days earlier than any other caucuses. State parties that don’t comply with the DNC could face sanctions, including automatically losing half their delegates.

The DNC is set to vote on the early primary calendar later this week.

And in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state, Chris Ager was elected head of the state’s Republican Party. Ager, who was the state’s national committeeman on the RNC, said he’s committing to a stronger role in recruiting candidates, especially following the midterm elections where Republicans in the state failed to flip any congressional seats.

Elections for party chairs are continuing across the country in the coming weeks, including a crowded race for the Michigan GOP in February.

It’s Monday, Jan. 30. Send tips to mfernandez@politico.com and @madfernandez616.

Days until the VA-04 special election: 22

Days until the Kentucky primary: 106

Days until the Mississippi primary: 190

Days until the Louisiana primary: 257

Days until the 2023 election: 281

Days until the 2024 election: 645

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Presidential Big Board

— Donald Trump kicked off the year with his first formal campaign events in New Hampshire and South Carolina over the weekend. On Saturday, Trump took his sharpest swings at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to date, accusing the governor of “trying to rewrite history” over his response to the Covid-19 pandemic, POLITICO’s Meridith McGraw reports.

— “DeSantis’s political team has already identified multiple potential hires in early primary states such as New Hampshire and Iowa,” The Washington Post’s Hannah Knowles writes. A Republican with knowledge of the conversations “said that Phil Cox and Generra Peck — two key members of DeSantis’s 2022 reelection team — are involved in ongoing talks about 2024.”

… Meanwhile, Trump is staffing up, with a focus on New Hampshire. Outgoing New Hampshire GOP Chair Stephen Stepanek will serve as a senior adviser focused on New Hampshire for Trump’s campaign, my colleague Lisa Kashinsky scooped. Stepanek was a state co-chair for Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 28 in Columbia, S.C. From left, Rep. Russell Fry, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Trump, and Sen. Lindsey Graham.

… Trump announced his South Carolina leadership team, which includes Gov. Henry McMaster, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Reps. Joe Wilson, William Timmons and Russell Fry.

… But Trump “hasn’t hired an Iowa campaign team yet, making his pursuit of the first-to-vote state more leisurely as he strives to conserve money,” Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs writes.

— In recent days, Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, called Trump and suggested she would be announcing her decision to enter the presidential race soon. “She called me and said she’d like to consider it. And I said you should do it,” Trump told reporters, noting that Haley once said she would not get in the race if Trump runs again.

… RELATED: “Nikki Haley’s Campaign-in-Waiting Starts Its Engines,” by The Dispatch’s David M. Drucker

— A New Hampshire Journal/Coefficient poll conducted Jan. 25-26 among 506 likely Republican primary voters in the state found that 43 percent would back Trump, compared to 42 percent who want “someone else.” When listing out the candidates, Trump received 37 percent, followed by DeSantis with 26 percent and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu with 13 percent. Haley has 4 percent, and former Vice President Mike Pence comes in with 3 percent.

— Sununu told CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday’s “State of the Union” that he’s considering a presidential run. Sununu said he doesn’t have a timeline for an announcement.

— As Trump is set to return to Facebook in the coming weeks, it’s to be seen if the platform will be as much of a cash cow as it was compared to his previous presidential campaigns. POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro reports: “Advertising on the social media giant has changed significantly since Trump was last on the platform. Republicans say investments in Facebook no longer translate to small-dollar donors as they once did. Campaigns are spending far less on advertising there. And while the former president has always been a unique draw for conservatives on Facebook, there are significant questions as to whether an out-of-office Trump still has the same pull that a President Trump did.”

CAMPAIGN INTEL

MEANWHILE IN MISSISSIPPI — “Brandon Presley, a Democratic candidate for governor, on Monday will deliver the Democratic response to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves’ State of the State address, likely previewing the two candidates’ messages for voters during statewide elections this year,” the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal’s Taylor Vance writes. “A member of the opposite political party from the incumbent governor typically gives a televised response to the State of the State address, but the decision to let the utility regulator deliver the official response is an early signal that Democratic leaders have coalesced around Presley as the Democratic nominee for governor.”

2024 WATCH — Former Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer has filed to run for CA-30, which Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff is vacating to run for Senate. Feuer is joining a crowded primary field.

REDISTRICTING REDUX — Republican South Carolina lawmakers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling that a portion of South Carolina’s congressional map must be redrawn because it unconstitutionally discriminates against Black voters to favor Republicans. The Post and Courier’s Caitlin Byrd reports: “In their 29-page filing, attorneys argued the order and findings by the U.S. District Court were ‘riddled with legal and factual mistakes’ and misapplied the law.”

… Speaking of redistricting: “Last year, the South outgrew other U.S. regions by well over 1 million people through births outpacing deaths and domestic and international migration,” the AP’s Mike Schneider writes. “Experts aren’t sure at this point if the dramatic pull of the South is a short-term change spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic or a long-term trend, or even what impact it will have on the reallocation of political power through redistricting after the 2030 census.”

ABORTION ON THE BALLOT — State Democracy Action Fund, a new nonprofit aligned with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, is making its first move — a digital ad campaign on abortion in Virginia, Zach reports. It’s an early example of Democrats continuing to lean into the issue after a strong midterm performance. Virginia is one of four states that are holding legislative elections this year. Members of the state House and Senate will be on the ballot in November, and the state is expected to be highly competitive.

THE CASH DASH

— “The Republican National Committee is planning to mimic a Democratic tactic in 2020, requiring a certain number of unique individual donors to get a spot on the debate stage,” Axios’ Lachlan Markay reports. “Discussions are ongoing about the precise number of donors to require, though internal talks have floated 40,000 and 50,000 as potential thresholds and the source said the numbers could change prior to an RNC vote in February.”

— “Wisconsin's next Supreme Court race is on pace to be the most expensive in state history and potentially nationwide, a distinction that underscores its stakes for a battleground state at ceaseless political war,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Molly Beck writes.“In the 2020 race between [conservative former Justice Dan] Kelly and Justice Jill Karofsky, which coincided with a presidential primary, candidates and outside groups spent more than $10 million, a high mark that broke a spending record set just a year prior. … The most expensive race for a single state judicial seat in U.S. history was in Illinois at $15 million in 2004.”

— “The Justice Department has asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement action against George Santos,” The Washington Post’s Isaac Stanley-Becker, Jonathan O'Connell and Emma Brown report. It’s “the clearest sign to date that federal prosecutors are examining Santos’s campaign finances.”

… RELATED: “Campaign finance regulator asks Santos to clarify who's in charge of his political accounts,” by POLITICO’s Jessica Piper

… MORE: “New York Republicans want George Santos gone. They know just the person to help,” by POLITICO’s Joe Anuta

— Club for Growth PAC is spending in support of Republican Rep. Jim Banks’ bid for Indiana Senate next year, per an FEC filing. It’s spent over $20,000 so far, mostly on mailers. The GOP primary field is still shaping up, but the group endorsed Banks earlier this month and said that “Club for Growth PAC and Club for Growth Action are prepared to spend whatever it takes to help Banks secure the nomination and victory.”

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STAFFING UP

— BCom has acquired Veracity Media, combining to make one of the biggest Democratic online fundraising firms. Cara Schumann is also joining as managing director for campaigns.

— Chelsea Brossard is chief of staff for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Brossard was a former regional political director for DCCC and campaign manager for California Democratic Reps. Josh Harder and Sara Jacobs. “The move by Gottheimer mirrors one by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), who hired a Democratic operative with national experience, Alex Ball, to serve as her chief of staff,” the New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein notes. “The two North Jersey Members of Congress are widely viewed as potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2025 when Phil Murphy is term-limited.”

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m more angry now, and I’m more committed now than I ever was.” (Former President Donald Trump on his 2024 presidential campaign)

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