Eyes on 2024: GOP hopefuls make their pitches to the Iowa faithful

Several current and potential presidential candidates headed to Iowa over the weekend for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s spring kickoff. They made their pitches to evangelical voters by focusing on social issues such as abortion and limiting transgender rights, NBC News’ Allan Smith, Ali Vitali and Emily Gold report from the Hawkeye State. 

Former President Donald Trump only appeared via a video, but Smith writes that Trump spoke extensively on abortion, calling himself “the most pro-life president in American history,” despite a recent spat between Trump and activists over his calls for the issue to be decided in the states. 

Abortion provided former Vice President Mike Pence with an opening to draw a contrast with his former boss, telling reporters that he does “not agree with the former president who says this is a ‘states only’ issue,” and expressing support for a 15-week abortion ban. 

Pence also told Vitali and Gold that any “serious” candidate needs to announce by June. Asked if there’s a chance he might not run, Pence demurred, saying “I promise when we have anything to announce, I’ll let you know, but I will tell you: we’re getting a tremendous amount of encouragement.”

Other potential contenders also attended the confab. Former Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, told Insider as he weighs a run that he was in the Hawkeye State “to see if Iowa agrees that we’re better together.” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who recently announced a presidential exploratory committee, was also in Iowa for the event. Asked about Friday’s Supreme Court ruling allowing an abortion pill to remain available, Scott said, “I have confidence in our judiciary. We’ll let it play out.”

In other campaign news…

Top job: President Joe Biden is expected to tap Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior adviser to the president and the director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, to manage his re-election campaign, NBC News’ Jonathan Allen reports. Her grandfather is the late labor organizer Cesar Chavez. 

The endorsement race: Trump has continued to rack up endorsements from state officials and members of Congress, leveraging relationships from his past runs for president, NBC News’ Henry J. Gomez, Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon report. But members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, who were some of Trump’s top allies during his presidency, have not yet weighed in on the presidential race, per NBC News’ Allan Smith and Scott Wong. 

PAC play: Never Back Down, a super PAC backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ expected presidential bid, reserved $3.1 million in airtime in Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina, per AdImpact. The group launched a minute-long ad detailing DeSantis’ bio. And former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a Trump ally, is joining the PAC (Laxalt and DeSantis are also close — they were roommates during naval officer training).

DeSantis in Utah: DeSantis traveled to Utah over the weekend to address the state GOP convention, where he also easily won the straw poll of nearly 1,200 delegates with 55% of the vote, per the Deseret News.

For Subscribers

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

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

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

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

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

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

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

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

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

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

GOP goes global: DeSantis is traveling internationally this week, sitting down with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday. DeSantis is also traveling to Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would meet with the Florida governor. Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin is also traveling to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to discuss trade, per NBC News’ Gary Grumbach. 

Mountaineer Justice: Politico reports that West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice is slated to announce his Senate bid this Thursday. Meanwhile, the Duty and Honor non-profit affiliated with the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC booked more than $1 million in ads in the state (per AdImpact), launching a new spot praising Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin as “our commonsense senator.” 

A Civil War debate — sort of: Fox News reports that Ohio Republican businessman Bernie Moreno, who is running for Senate, questioned why descendants of white Civil War soldiers aren’t getting reparations for fighting to free the slaves. Moreno’s campaign told Fox he was making a point about “Democrat hypocrisy.”

Tar Heel tussle: North Carolina Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson jumped into the gubernatorial race over the weekend in a long-awaited announcement that has some Republicans worrying the controversial politician might cost them a winnable race, per Politico. 

“A blessing and a curse”: The Associated Press looks at how Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s Senate bid leaves her party in a tough spot defending one of the tightest House districts in the country. 

Let the states, and not us, decide: CNN reports on how House Republicans are, by-and-large, not embracing the push to pass a federal abortion ban as the issue continues to be a problem for their party politically. 

The concrete jungle where majorities are made of: Politico reports on how New York will again be a central battleground in the fight for the House majority.