Eyes on 2024: A weekend of GOP endorsements

It was a busy weekend on the presidential campaign trail, as Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis both rolled out more endorsements. 

DeSantis picked up his first endorsement from a sitting governor, with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt backing DeSantis at an event hosted by the pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down. Most governors have stayed out of the presidential primary so far, with just two others — South Carolina’s Henry McMaster and West Virginia’s Jim Justice (also a Senate candidate) — previously endorsing Trump. 

Trump picked up endorsements from two Georgia House members as he traveled to the Peach State — GOP Reps. Andrew Clyde and Mike Collins. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson also reiterated at the North Carolina state GOP convention that he was backing Trump (Hudson first endorsed Trump back in November). That means more than 50 Republican House members are backing the former president, which is almost a quarter of the GOP conference. 

(Five House members have endorsed DeSantis, and just one has backed former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Former Vice President Mike Pence’s brother Greg, a congressman from Indiana, said before Pence launched his campaign that he would support his brother if he ran.)

And Trump made some endorsement news of his own this weekend. At the North Carolina convention, Trump shouted out controversial Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, per the NBC News team covering the convention, Sarah Dean, Nnamdi Egwuonwu, Blayne Alexander and Charlie Gile. 

“And I’m going to endorse Mark but I’m not going to tell you about it tonight, okay. We’ll save it for another time. But you can count on it, Mark.”

In other campaign news…

I’m not leaving: Trump told Politico over the weekend that he wouldn’t drop out of the presidential race even if he was convicted, and added “I don’t care that my poll numbers went up by a lot. I don’t want to be indicted. 

Rally time: President Joe Biden will attend his first political rally this week, but it’s not being held by his campaign — the rally will be hosted by local unions in Philadelphia. 

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For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSIt’s rarely been harder for people to find new jobs

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

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

On the air (kind of): The super PAC backing former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie launched its first TV ad in New Hampshire on Sunday, although AdImpact just tracked $3,500 spent on the ad in the Boston market.

Help for Harris: Politico reports that EMILY’s List, which backs women candidates who support abortion rights, plans to spend “tens of millions of dollars” to boost Vice President Kamala Harris.

Another one?: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez teased a potential presidential run during a “Fox News Sunday” appearance, encouraging viewers to “stay tuned” and adding he would be making a “big speech” this week at the Reagan Library. 

Guess who’s PAC: Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is launching a new PAC aimed at boosting the Biden-Harris ticket and other Democrats for the upcoming cycle, NBC News’ Henry J. Gomez reports. 

Thanks but no thanks: GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher, who some Republicans had been encouraging to run for Senate, announced Friday that he will not be challenging Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Justice and a perceived injustice: The Messenger reports on the strained relationship between West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Gov. Jim Justice ahead of a possible Senate bid, with Manchin criticizing the governor for firing his wife from a government post in 2018.

Democrats ready to rock n’ roll: The AP delves into how the Mississippi governor’s race is giving Democrats some hope with Mississippi Public Service Commission Brandon Presley, Elvis Presley’s second cousin, taking on GOP Gov. Tate Reeves.