Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is back in Iowa this week to make her case to GOP voters that she’s the best choice to take on President Joe Biden.
She kicked off her visit Monday in northwest Iowa, campaigning with GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra, per the Sioux City Journal. And she argued that she’s the most electable candidate, telling the crowd that Republicans should be “looking at who can win a general” election or else they’ll risk re-electing Biden, per Real Clear Politics.
Haley’s Iowa swing, which includes a trip to Des Moines later this week, comes as Haley’s team is attempting to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump following his arraignment last week in a hush money probe.
Like other GOP presidential hopefuls, Haley has criticized Trump’s indictment as politically motivated. But her campaign also warned that a Trump candidacy will be plagued by “drama,” according to a memo from Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney that Axios obtained.
“Donald Trump had a pretty good Q1, if you count being indicted as ‘good,’” Ankney wrote, referring to the first quarter fundraising period.
“Still, it’s increasingly clear that Trump’s candidacy is more consumed by the grievances of the past and the promise of more drama in the future, rather than a forward-looking vision for the American people,” she later added.
In other campaign news…
Trump online: Trump’s campaign ramped up spending on digital ads ahead of his recent indictment, and he’s outspending Haley and DeSantis on digital platforms, per Axios.
What’s next on the Florida docket? The New York Times reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is backing a state legislative push for tougher immigration policies.
An appeal to a higher power: Trump is appealing a federal court decision that ordered his former vice president, Mike Pence, to testify in the special counsel’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
McCormick watch: Responding to Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s decision to run for re-election, Republican Dave McCormick, who is considering a Senate bid himself, released a statement panning Casey as “a vote for Biden and Schumer” and criticizing him on immigration, energy, crime and border policy.
Republicans readying for Senate primaries: CNN reports that the Senate GOP campaign arm is taking a “more hands-on approach to primaries,” as the party tries to balance Trump’s influence and leadership’s push for candidates who won’t jeopardize the party’s general election chances.
His heart is in Ohio: NBC News’ Henry Gomez reports that Republican businessman Bernie Moreno has filed paperwork for another Ohio Senate bid, this time against Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, and will make a formal announcement next week.
Thinking about it: Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is considering running for Senate, per the Detroit News. Craig was considered a frontrunner in last year’s GOP gubernatorial primary, but he failed to make the ballot due to forged signatures on his petitions.
On the airwaves: Commonwealth PAC, a super PAC aligned with Kentucky gubernatorial candidate Kelly Craft, is up with a new TV ad tying state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg ahead of next month’s GOP primary, per AdImpact.
She’s running: Former GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell announced Monday at an event featuring Speaker Kevin McCarthy that she is running for her old New Mexico House seat.
