If it’s TUESDAY … President Joe Biden meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at 1:15 pm ET … the House holds a vote on a resolution expressing support for Israel … White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs at 1:30 pm ET … Biden expands his campaign staff … N.H. GOP Gov. Chris Sununu says he won’t endorse a No Labels ticket … Former Congressional Black Caucus aides launch a new effort to flip the House … and an Iowa judge temporarily blocks the state’s new six-week abortion ban.
But FIRST … No Labels is starting to make its case for a potential third-party presidential bid.
The group took a major step into the spotlight on Monday, with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman holding a town hall in New Hampshire to highlight the group’s “Common Sense” policy proposals. And No Labels founder and CEO Nancy Jacobson recently sat down with NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard and Dan Gallo to lay out their plans.
But, so far, we have more questions than answers.
How will the group decide whether to stand down?
Jacobson “repeatedly declined” to detail specific metrics for how the group could decide if it will abandon a third-party bid, Hillyard and Gallo write.
She did say, “We will not spoil for either side. The only reason to do this is to win,” and that the group would assess its standing next year after Super Tuesday and the Florida primary in March.
Who could be on the ticket?
Hillyard and Gallo report that the group “has no plans to hold traditional primaries or caucuses in which voters select a presidential nominee,” so it’s not clear how the group could select its ticket. Manchin said Monday he is “not taking anything off the table.”
Where is the evidence that voters want this?
No Labels has cited polling that shows voters do not want a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. And, sure, many voters seem open to the idea of a third-party candidate.
But when given an actual third-party option, voters rarely take it. In March 2016, 46% of voters said in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that they would consider supporting a third-party candidate. But just 6% actually did — although that small share did have an outsized impact on the race.
Is No Labels a political party now?
The group is working to get on the ballot in all 50 states, registering as a political party. But Jacobson denied the group is acting as a party, telling NBC News, “That’s just language. That’s not — you know, we are not functioning — we are one ticket, one time.”
What would a No Labels candidate support?
No Labels released its “common sense” policy platform, but with some vague political stances.
Asked on Meet the Press NOW about the murky language on abortion, former North Carolina GOP Gov. Pat McCrory, a No Labels co-chair, said, “We’re not going to do a manifesto for the candidates. They are going to have to also determine where they stand.”
Who is funding the effort?
The group’s effort is estimated to cost $70 million, but Jacobson said No Labels is not obligated to reveal its donors.
“There’s nothing nefarious going on here,” she said.
Headline of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … $8.8 million
That’s how much Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, raised in the second quarter for his campaign to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2024. Cruz raised just $3.4 million, meaning Allred was one of just two Senate challengers who outraised an incumbent senator in a competitive race this fundraising period.
The other challenger, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is running to unseat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent. Sinema hasn’t declared yet whether she’ll run for re-election, but she raised almost $1.7 million from April through June. Gallego raised $3.1 million in the same period.
For more on the fundraising landscape in Senate battlegrounds, check out the Meet the Press Blog.
Eyes on 2024: How presidential candidates are spending their money
The latest campaign fundraising reports gave us a look at how presidential hopefuls have been spending their campaign cash, and their priorities.
So we broke down the top spending categories for each candidate. Here’s what we learned:
Who’s focusing on ads: Advertising and media placement were the top categories for three GOP hopefuls as they try to boost their name recognition: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. Burgum and Ramaswamy are both self-funders, helping them hit the airwaves early. And Scott started his race with a sizable amount of cash from his Senate campaign.
Who’s focused on fundraising: Trump’s top spending category was on “digital consulting, online advertising and list rental,” and it was a $1.8 million payment to Campaign Inbox LLC, an email fundraising firm founded by former Trump campaign alums.
Several other candidates’ top spending category was on credit processing fees as they fill their campaign coffers: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. President Joe Biden’s campaign also saw its top-spending category as “service fees,” which were mainly paid to the Democratic online fundraising firm, ActBlue.
Who’s focused on staff: Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley spent the bulk of her money on payroll, paying her nearly two dozen staffers. But she did not have the most staff of the presidential contenders. That was DeSantis, who listed 92 staffers on his payroll.
Who’s focused on the road: Former Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign only spent $74,000 in the three weeks that he was in the race before the books closed on June 30. More than a third of that went to “travel” which consisted mostly of a payment to Mecum Auctions, which specializes in collector cars and motorcycles. Pence’s campaign did not respond to a question about the payment.
In other campaign news…
Biden begins to shore up fundraising staff: CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports that President Biden’s re-elect has hired a finance chair, brought on former Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond as a co-chair, and tapped a DNC official to lead fundraising at the Biden Victory Fund.
Thanks but no thanks: Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp’s name keeps coming up in stories about Republican hand-wringing ahead of 2024. But Kemp told CNN,”I got a great job right now. I personally feel like having more people in the race does not help us win and beat Joe Biden. So, you know, I’m certainly not running for president. But there’s always doors opening in politics depending on how things play out, and we’ll see what happens,” Kemp said he will endorse his party’s nominee, even if it’s Trump.
The future is now: The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down is launching a new TV ad in Iowa that uses artificial intelligence to mimic Trump’s voice, per Politico.
Presenting the judges for the jury: Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy put out a list of possible Supreme Court and circuit court nominees he would choose from if he’s elected president (but said he could add more to the pool), per NBC News’ Jonathan Allen.
Florida man: Democrat Phil Ehr, a retired Navy commander and a former Republican, announced Monday that he is running against Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott, per the Tampa Bay Times.
New “eight-figure” push to mobilize Black voters for Dems: NBC News has learned that former Congressional Black Caucus’ aides are launching a new group to help flip the House for Democrats, and make Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries the new Speaker.
Voting changes in the Tarheel State? North Carolina lawmakers are considering a rash of new election law changes, including restrictions on same-day registration and voting by mail, as well as an overhaul of election boards, NBC News’ Jane C. Timm reports.
Back to the drawing board? Republican lawmakers in Alabama are backing a congressional map with just one majority Black district despite the Supreme Court striking down the map last month after concerns it discriminated against Black voters.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging them to investigate Tesla and its board of directors.
Georgia’s Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s attempt to block the Fulton County district attorney’s probe into whether the former president and his allies interfered in the state’s 2020 presidential election.
The New York Times reports on how Trump and his allies plan to transform the presidency to give Trump more power if he wins in 2024.
