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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Delaware, Sen. Tom Carper announced this morning that he’ll retire at the end of his current term, wrapping up a lengthy career in public service, rather than seek a fifth term. He’s the fourth Democratic Senate incumbent to make this announcement as part of the 2024 cycle, following Maryland’s Ben Cardin, California’s Dianne Feinstein, and Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow.
* As part of his retirement announcement, Carper appeared to endorse Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester as his successor. Rochester, who was elected to Congress in 2016, has a long association with the incumbent senator: She started as an intern in his U.S. House office. The congresswoman’s 2024 intentions are not yet clear.
* Sen. Tim Scott officially filed the paperwork on his Republican presidential campaign late last week, and the South Carolinian held a kickoff event in his home state this morning.
* On a related note, Donald Trump’s supporters have been circulating a 2021 report which quoted Scott saying he would “of course” support the former president if Trump ran again.
* Up until last week, the only Republican presidential candidate to receive senators’ endorsements was Trump. That’s no longer the case: Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota threw his support behind Tim Scott last week, and now, Senate Republican Whip John Thune, also of South Dakota, is backing the South Carolinian, too.
* In North Carolina’s gubernatorial race, right-wing Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson appears to be the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, but he isn’t running unopposed: Former Rep. Mark Walker launched his statewide bid over the weekend. Walker also ran a failed U.S. Senate campaign last year.
* And ahead of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch, he’s been traveling quite a bit, and as a New York Times report noted, it’s not at all clear who’s picked up the tab for the Floridian’s excursions.