Eyes on 2024: DeSantis goes all-in on Iowa

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign is making its first major ad buy in Iowa, signaling that DeSantis views the Hawkeye State as crucial to his presidential bid, NBC’s Dasha Burns reports. 

The campaign is planning to reserve $2 million worth of airtime in Iowa beginning in mid-November and running through the Jan. 15 caucuses, which is a significant chunk of the campaign’s funds, per Burns. 

“We are in this for the long haul, and this media buy is another demonstration to early-state voters that we are going to aggressively work to earn their support,” DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier told NBC News.

Outside groups have been dominating the airwaves in Iowa and across the country, with Sen. Tim Scott, R-.S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum being the only two candidates whose campaigns have spent on ads in the Hawkeye State. Scott’s campaign has been the only one on the air since September, according to the ad tracking firm AdImpact.

Read more about DeSantis’ ad spending on NBCNews.com.

In other campaign news…

Making it official: President Joe Biden has taken a significant step in formally running for re-election, submitting paperwork for the first time to appear on the primary ballot in Nevada, per NBC’s Mike Memoli.

Mitt’s message: Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, told a group of his donors this week that it is important to help winnow the GOP presidential primary field, per the Washington Post. 

Pritzker’s pitch: Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who recently criticized the White House’s handling of migrants, touted Biden’s age as an asset at a fundraiser with Wisconsin Democrats, NBC’s Natasha Korecki writes. 

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For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between killed New York Times executive and wife

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

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FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

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Republican worries: Trump’s recent disparaging comments and escalating rhetoric about undocumented immigrants are raising concerns among immigrant and civil rights groups, per the Washington Post. 

New Biden challenger: Cenk Uygur, who founded The Young Turks, a progressive online broadcast, announced Wednesday that he is jumping into the Democratic presidential primaryto take on Biden, per Axios. Uygur, who is a naturalized citizen, said during the broadcast that he believes he can still run, even though the Constitution stipulates that the president must be a natural born citizen, saying “the case law is completely on my side.” 

Building a war chest: Rep Colin Allred, D-Texas, will report raising $4.7 million from July through September for his Senate campaign, per a release. His opponent, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, said earlier this week that his campaign raised $5.4 million in the same period.

Santos saga: A group of House Republicans is introducing a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos, who faces federal charges of wire fraud, money laundering and more, from the House.

Skepticism from the bench: Supreme Court justices on Wednesday seemed skeptical that South Carolina Republicans unlawfully considered race when drawing congressional maps, as civil rights groups allege in a lawsuit. 

A test case: Conservative activists view Virginia’s upcoming legislative elections as a dry run ahead of 2024’s elections across the country, the New York Times reports. 

Taking the lead: EMILY’s List, an organization that seeks to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, announced Wednesday that Jessica Mackler will be the interim president, after the group’s former president, Laphonza Butler, was tapped by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill a Senate vacancy last week.