Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Though much of his party’s base has turned against U.S. support for Ukraine, former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine this morning. As NBC News’ report noted, he’s the first Republican presidential candidate to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the campaign.
* In Montana, powerful Republican insiders are scrambling to clear the field for Tim Sheehy, in the hopes that he’ll be the party’s U.S. Senate nominee in 2024. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, also a Montanan, has already endorsed Sheehy, and this morning, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte threw his support behind him, too.
* On a related note, Montana Democrats have welcomed Sheehy into the race by launching the Transplant Tim website, drawing attention to the GOP candidate’s relatively recent arrival to the state.
* While most major polls of late have shown Donald Trump with big leads over Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the Republicans’ 2024 presidential nomination, a new Marquette University Law School Poll found the former president with the smallest of advantages over the Florida governor in Wisconsin, where Trump leads, 31% to 30%. Pence was a distant third in the poll with 6% support.
* Trump received better polling news out of Pennsylvania yesterday, where a new Quinnipiac University poll found him leading DeSantis, 49% to 45%. Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were tied for third with 5% support each. * Though DeSantis and Florida’s GOP-led legislature are effectively always on the same page, the governor yesterday vetoed a popular criminal justice bill that was written in large part by his own allies. As NBC News’ report on this noted, “The move amplified his efforts to move to the right of former President Donald Trump on a range of issues, including on crime prevention.” * And in Arizona, where Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego is slated to take on independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema next year, the congressman has picked up a prominent ally: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be the special guest at a Gallego fundraising event tonight.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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