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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is fundraising off the House Republicans’ evidence-free impeachment inquiry, which the appeals accurately describe as “ridiculous.”
* In Iowa, two new polls — one from Iowa State University, the other Emerson College — show Donald Trump dominating the Republicans’ presidential field in the first caucus state. In both surveys, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is a distant second, trailing the former president by 37 and 35 points, respectively.
* GOP entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy apparently thinks he can, if elected president, shut down the FBI, ATF, U.S. Department of Education, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services — all without congressional approval.
* While there’s still some chatter about other Republican contenders possibly jumping into the 2024 race at the last minute, NBC News reports that filing deadlines effectively rule out the possibility. The report quoted Nick Trainer, who served as Delegates and Party Organization director on Trump’s 2020 campaign, saying, “The runway for someone to realistically run for president is basically over.”
* With the next GOP presidential primary debate quickly approaching, who’s qualified for the stage? The New York Times reports that six contenders have met the thresholds, while two others who participated in the first debate — Gov. Doug Burgum and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson — are not yet eligible. The next debate is scheduled for Sept. 27, which is two weeks from today.
* While the U.S. Supreme Court has already once rejected Alabama’s racially gerrymandered district map, state officials have brought the case back to the justices for a second look.
* And in North Carolina, Republican Mark Harris ran for Congress in 2018, but an election board ordered a do-over election after an operative hired by Harris’ campaign consultants got caught organizing an allegedly illegal ballot scheme. Now, as Politico reported, Harris is giving this another try, kicking off a campaign in the 8th district this week.