Jury selection is underway in the first of Trump’s four criminal cases, where he faces 34 felony counts over allegations related to falsifying business records when reimbursing a hush money payment to former porn star actress Stormy Daniels leading up to the 2016 election. As Trump sits in the courtroom this week, 31% believe Trump’s alleged actions were “unethical, but not illegal,” 14% argue he did “nothing wrong” and 19% said they “don’t know enough to say,” according to an AP/NORC poll.

Additionally, only 31% of Americans are “extremely” or “very confident” that the prosecution in New York is treating the former president fairly, the poll found. Roughly 20% are “extremely” or “very confident” that jurors, judges or the Supreme Court, respectively, can be “fair and impartial” in the cases against Trump.

On the first day of the selection process, more than 50 potential jurors were let go for not being able to be impartial, according to pool reports.

“It’s very obvious political persecution,” 46-year-old Christopher Ruff, an independent from Sanford, North Carolina, told The Associated Press. “I’m no fan of Trump in any way, shape or form. Didn’t vote for him, never will. But it’s obviously all political.”

However, 50% of Americans would consider Trump not fit for office if found guilty in the New York case, as well as roughly half in each of the other cases against him, according to the poll.

Trump continues to narrowly lead President Joe Biden in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 rematch. The only battleground state that Biden is currently advantaged in the RCP average for is Pennsylvania by just 0.1 point.

The AP/NORC poll surveyed 1,204 American adults nationwide from April 4 to April 8 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9%.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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Lake and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego are likely to compete for Sinema‘s seat in November after months of speculation as to whether the independent would seek another term. National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Steve Daines hosted the fundraiser, and Senate GOP Conference Chairman John Barrasso, Senate Minority Whip John Thune and Texas Sen. John Cornyn were in attendance, Lake’s campaign told the DCNF.

“Kari Lake raised [$330,000] at one event for one hour. Republicans are excited about her campaign,” a spokesperson for the campaign told the DCNF. “Her opponent, Ruben Gallego is Far-Left, supporting open borders, sanctuary cities, and high taxes. He votes with Biden 100 percent of the time. Arizonans won’t be fooled by Gallego’s extreme record.”

Other prominent Republican senators who were at the fundraiser include Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Roger Marshall of Kansas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, according to the campaign.

The NRSC officially endorsed Lake on Feb. 13.

Gallego’s campaign announced just hours earlier that he brought in over $1 million from nearly 24,000 donors in the 24 hours following Sinema’s announcement. The haul was the campaign’s “most prolific fundraising day,” according to Gallego’s team.

The congressman, who has been in the race for over a year, raised $13. 2 million this cycle with $6.5 million cash on hand, according to the latest data from the Federal Election Commission. Lake’s campaign reported topping $2 million since her October launch, and entered 2024 with just over $1 million in the bank.

The Senate race has already become much more competitive in Sinema’s absence, with polling suggesting she would’ve lost in a three-way race.

A late February poll from Rasmussen Reports/The Bull Moose Project found Lake leading Gallego by three points in a head-to-head matchup, while an earlier Emerson College/The Hill survey indicated the congressman would win by seven points.

Sinema’s seat is in the “Toss Up” category for 2024, along with races to oust Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana, according to The Cook Political Report.

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(DCNF)—Hundreds of voters packed themselves into a Nikki Haley campaign rally on the eve of the first-in-the-nation primary Monday. Among the crowd was Mary Ellen Stergiou, a 62-year-old registered Democrat who plans on voting for Haley in the primary in protest to Trump, and due to President Joe Biden’s absence from the ballot.

“I feel better voting for her than for him,” Stergiou told the Daily Caller News Foundation in the company of her husband, Chuck, an undeclared voter. “We have just seen this disintegration of cultural norms, of common decency, respect, kindness. It is terrifying to me, as a mother, as a father, we have seen it disappear. And I always say [Trump] opened a Pandora’s box.”

Stergiou, who is a retired health care worker from Manchester, told the DCNF that one of her top issues is “women’s health.” The registered Democrat, who described herself as an independent voter, said she voted for Biden in 2020 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

The Daily Caller News Foundation spoke with nine attendees of Haley’s event from New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, all of which said they would not support Trump if he’s the Republican nominee in November. Several of the attendees are registered Republicans who have or are considering supporting Biden in the general election, while others were undeclared voters.

Terri Taylor, a 69-year-old retired nurse practitioner who travelled from Maine to hear Haley speak with her husband, Richard, didn’t support the former president in the previous cycles despite being a registered Republican.

“She’s just an amazing woman leader, and she’s not going to be like men, she’s going to be like a woman. And I think she’d make a wonderful president,” Taylor told the DCNF. “We just don’t need a narcissist in the presidency again. I’m sorry, we don’t. I can’t even listen to [Trump].”

The former president handily won the Iowa caucus on Jan. 15, bringing in 51% of the vote followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 21.2%, Haley’s 19.1% and conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy’s 7.7%. Both DeSantis and Ramaswamy have since dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump.

Ernie Fredericks, who recently retired from the health care industry, is a registered New Hampshire Republican, but said he hasn’t always voted for the GOP. Though Haley is the 62-year-old’s “pick,” Fredericks told the DCNF that he’d support a third-party candidate like he did in the last two elections if Trump is the nominee.

“I’m going to hope that there is a viable third party that emerges — and it doesn’t even have to be really viable, for me,” Fredericks told the DCNF.

“I’m a left-leaning independent, but I’m pro-life — so neither party appeals to me,” Croteau told the DCNF. “I find the Democrats disgusting and the Republicans repulsive.”

Another Massachusetts voter, Susan Heider, said she’s a registered Republican who previously voted for Clinton and Biden. Heider, who is a payroll manager and aged 60, told the DCNF she’d consider voting for Biden again instead of the former president in a general, but believes Haley will be able to secure the nomination.

“I like what she has to say. I believe she’s honest. I trust her values. And I feel like any Republican except for Trump, to be honest with you,” Heider said.

A CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released Sunday found that Haley was bringing in 58% support from undeclared voters in the Granite State who plan on voting in the Republican primary, as well as 73% from those who self-identify as an independent or Democrat. Additionally, only 17% of voters who consider themselves conservative backed Haley, compared to 71% who supported Trump.

Haley addressed the support she was receiving from the voting bloc in New Hampshire during a Fox News interview with Martha MacCallum earlier on Monday, which her campaign pointed to the DCNF upon request for comment.

“You know, it’s amazing. You look at the fact we are seeing suburban women come back to us. We’re seeing young college kids come back into the fold with us. Because they want to see somebody who’s going to be a new voice, a fresh voice, a fighter for them,” said Haley. “That’s what we care about. That’s what we’ve always cared about is normal people.”

The former ambassador is currently polling 18.2 points behind Trump in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for the New Hampshire primary.

Biden isn’t participating in the New Hampshire primary due to the Democratic National Committee’s new calendar, leaving Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and other lesser known candidates to compete for the state. However, the president still holds a majority of the support in the Democratic primary through a significant write-in campaign, according to the RCP average.

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(DCNF)—Republican Rep. John Curtis of Utah, who recently jumped into the race for outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney’s seat, has raked in thousands of dollars in donations for his congressional bids from the green energy industry, according to campaign finance records.

Curtis launched a campaign for Senate on Jan. 2 after previously ruling it out shortly after Romney announced he would not seek another term in the upper chamber, adding to the primary already chock-full of prominent Republicans. The congressman, who has split from many on the right about climate change, brought in thousands from green energy organization’s and companies’ affiliated political action committees (PACs) during his four House bids, Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show.

“Congressman Curtis is one of the leaders of a small but vocal minority in the Republican Party that thinks that the Republicans need to capitulate on the issue of climate change for fear of losing younger voters, and the survey data simply just doesn’t bear that out,” Tom Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Curtis is the chair of the Conservative Climate Caucus, which states its goal is to reduce emissions while not limiting consumer choices. The caucus aims to inform members of “climate policies and legislation consistent with conservative values.”

The congressman believes that curbing climate change will bolster the economy rather than hinder it through promoting energy innovation in the private sector, like carbon capture, according to Politico.

The Bipartisan Climate Action’s political arm has given $13,500 in donations to the congressman’s campaign from 2021 to 2023, FEC data shows. The group is focused on reelecting members who push “significant, enduring, and bipartisan legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Between 2020 and 2022, the Environmental Defense Action Fund’s affiliated PAC donated $5,500 to Curtis’ congressional campaign, according to FEC filings. The nonprofit’s political arm, which is committed to “electing climate champions,” encourages the Biden administration to promote electric vehicles and reduce emissions.

Sunnova Energy’s corporate PAC contributed $1,000 to Curtis’s efforts in May 2023, along with another $1,000 donation in late September, just after he announced he was considering running for Senate, according to FEC filings. The companyallegedly took advantage of elderly customers who were near-death by convincing them to sign expensive multi-decade rooftop solar contracts, according to The Washington Free Beacon.

“A lot of those companies are looking for a way to try to create a sense of bipartisanship in the sort of climate agenda. And when you have a member in the Republican Party that makes overtures about climate change, naturally, they will gravitate towards him,” Pyle said.

The campaign also brought in donations from the Solar Energy Industries Association’s affiliated PAC to the tune of $12,500 between 2022 and 2023, FEC records show. The trade association hopes that solar will “achieve 30% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030.”

Aligned PACs for SunPower and SunRun, two solar energy companies, have both given $2,500 to the congressman’s campaign in 2022 and 2023, respectively, according to FEC data.

Other affiliated PACs for green energy companies like NextEra Energy, Sempra Energy and Noble Energy have also donated thousands to Curtis’ campaign, to the tune of a combined $11,500 since 2018, according to FEC filings.

Curtis has been critical of the Biden administration’s costly green energy efforts, including the president’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Politico. The congressman hosts the “Conservative Climate Summit” on college campuses to engage with younger voters on the issue, and has travelled abroad to the last three U.N. climate summits.

“Being a marginal Republican, he will be a very popular candidate with Republican front groups, like [Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions] and Clear Path. He will also be popular with formerly Republican-leaning operations like the [American Petroleum Institute] and the Chamber,” Mike McKenna, GOP strategist and former Trump administration energy adviser, told the DCNF. “He may be one of the few people in Utah who would not be an upgrade from Sen. [Mitt] Romney.”

Curtis, former mayor of Provo, Utah, used to be a Democrat and served as his county party chair in the early 2000s, according to Deseret News.

Brent Orrin Hatch, son of the late Sen. Orrin Hatch who was succeeded by Romney, jumped into the race on the same day as Curtis. State House Speaker Brad Wilson launched a Senate bid in late September, and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggshas been running for Romney’s seat since May.

The Cook Political Report characterizes Romney’s seat as in the “Solid R” category. The GOP primary will be held on June 25.

A Guidant Polling and Strategy survey released in mid-December found Curtis with 40% support among the crowded Republican primary field, followed by Wilson at 11% and Staggs at 6%. The remaining 43% of likely primary voters were not yet sure of their choice.

“Voters of Utah will have a choice,” Pyle said. “The Republican primary voters [sic] will have a choice to pick somebody as their nominee who is either more like Sen. [Mike] Lee, who I would argue is a true conservative, or more like Sen. [Mitt] Romney, who has never really been much of a conservative especially on these issues.”

Curtis’ campaign did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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Former baseball star Steve Garvey, the Republican, received 19% support in a Morning Consult/Politico survey among likely primary voters, placing in second behind only Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff with 28%. The Republican polled ahead of both Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, who garnered 17% and 14% support, respectively.

In the March 5 primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election. Garvey could effectively boot Porter and Lee from competing with Schiff in the general if he were to place in second for the open primary, which would likely mean that Schiff would win the Senate seat.

The Cook Political Report characterizes the seat as in the “Solid D” category. California went for President Joe Biden in 2020 by nearly 30 points.

With Biden at the top of the ticket in 2024, and California being a predominately blue state, Schiff is expected to win the general election. If the Republican places second in the primary, Schiff wouldn’t have to face another Democrat for a head-to-head matchup.

Schiff, Porter and Lee have been running for the seat for the majority of the year, while Garvey recently jumped in the race in early October. Most polls have found Schiff leading by several points, according to RealClearPolitics’ survey compilation.

While Garvey has yet to report fundraising totals, the Democrats have all brought in millions for the race so far, according to the Federal Election Commission filings. Porter and Schiff have totaled $22.1 million and $21.5 million for the race already, while Lee has brought in $3.4 million.

Garvey is aiming to run a “common sense” campaign in the blue state, while the Democrats largely cater to the left-wing sector of their party.

The candidates are running for the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat, which is currently occupied by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointee Laphonza Butler, who decided against running for a full term in 2024. If Butler, the former president of pro-abortion group EMILYs List, were to run, she would pose a serious threat to Schiff’s campaign, as she has an extensive political network, massive fundraising capabilities and would have an incumbency advantage.

The campaigns for Garvey, Schiff, Porter and Lee did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

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(Daily Caller)—As President Joe Biden continues to poll behind former President Donald Trump for a potential head-to-head matchup in 2024, recent surveys indicate he is also faring much worse than the Republican on issues that are most important to voters.

Trump has been trending ahead of Biden in national and crucial battleground state polls a year out from a hypothetical rematch, and is currently up by 3.2 points in the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average. Additionally, Biden is down by double digits against Trump on questions of basic presidential competency, including the handling of voters’ top issues and concerns over the Democrat’s age, according to recent polling data.

“He should be worried, and Democrats more generally should be worried,” Dr. Charles Bullock, elections expert and political science professor at the University of Georgia, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The kinds of issues that Biden is trailing Trump on seem to be the issues that are foremost on most peoples’ minds.”

A Wall Street Journal survey released on Dec. 9 found that only 23% of voters believe Biden’s policies have helped them, compared to nearly 50% who said the same of Trump’s administration.

Ron Faucheux, president of nonpartisan polling firm President of Clarus Research Group, believes this statistic is “the worst omen for Biden,” and told the DCNF “this contrast is deadly” ahead of 2024.

“When Democrats decided to package their economic policies under the single label, ‘Bidenomics,’ it backfired, and gave a name to something voters neither liked nor trusted,” Faucheux said.

Inflation has spiked under the Biden administration, which many critics attribute to the president’s record spending advanced by congressional Democrats. The Inflation Reduction Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other pieces of Biden’s economic agenda are responsible for green-lighting trillions in spending.

The WSJ poll found that Biden was down by double digits against Trump on who voters trust to handle issues relating to the economy and inflation, as well as immigration, crime and the wars in Ukraine and Israel.

Recent battleground state polling has affirmed the national surveys, finding that Biden is far behind Trump on key issues voters are concerned about going into election year.

A Morning Consult/Bloomberg survey published Thursday shows that across seven swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina — 51% of voters said the country’s economy was better off under Trump compared to 34% under Biden. The numbers were nearly identical when asked if they’re better off financially now than they were when Trump was president.

Trump also scored double-digits higher than Biden on who the electorate trusts to handle the economy, crime and immigration — which voters said were some of the most pressing issues to them ahead of 2024, according to the Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll.

CNN/SSRS polls in Michigan and Georgia released Monday indicated Trump scored far ahead of Biden for their respective “policy decisions on major issues.”

Another battleground state poll, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan and Pennsylvania, yielded similar results. In all of the states, Trump was ahead of Biden by double digits on issues concerning who “can get the economy going again” and “who will be tough on China.”

“The voters see the same decline for our country where we look weak. Where the economy’s bad, where our enemies are taking advantage of this weakness, and you’ve got a world where you’ve got really bad wars in Ukraine and now in the Middle East, and Biden can’t stop it,” John McLaughlin, CEO and partner of McLaughlin & Associates, which works closely with the Trump campaign, told the DCNF. “The sooner the election happens, the better off the voters will be, and the better off the country will be.”

Biden is also lagging far behind Trump on who voters believe are better fit to serve another term, given the current and former presidents are 81 and 77 years old, respectively.

Trump led Biden 45% to 29% on the question of who “is mentally up for the job” in the WSJ poll, and was ahead by 34 points on “physical stamina.”

An Economist/YouGov survey released Wednesday found that 55% of voters believe Biden’s health and age would “severely limit his ability to do the job,” while only 26% said the same of Trump.

The battleground state polls yielded similar results on the president’s sharpness, stamina and physical and mental health.

Bullock argued that Trump has been successful in messaging on the age issue, noting his “Sleepy Joe” nickname for Biden, posing a sharp contrast between the two men.

“It has taken hold, and it’s been augmented by some things, like when Biden stumbles or falls or that sort of thing,” Bullock told the DCNF. “Well, that kind of underscores, or reinforces, the message that Trump has been putting out.”

Additionally, polling suggests Trump fares better on some personal attributes that are essential to the presidency.

The Economist/YouGov poll found that only 36% of voters believe Biden is a strong leader, compared to nearly 60% who said the same of Trump. Biden was also down by double digits on questions of who the stronger leader is and who knows how to get things done in nearly all of the swing states Redfield & Wilton Strategies surveyed.

“All of these polls point to voters having already decided against Biden on the current merits,” Jon McHenry, a GOP polling analyst and vice president at North Star Opinion Research, told the DCNF. “They just don’t think he’s up to the job, whether we’re asking about traits like stamina and sharpness or about policies like the economy and immigration.”

The last time an incumbent president had nearly as low of an approval rating going into an election year as Biden does, it was Jimmy Carter in November 1979, according to Gallup. Biden’s most recent job performance score was at 37% in November, which is 3 points lower than Carter’s was just a year before he lost to Republican Ronald Reagan by nearly 10 points.

“As we move closer to the start of 2024, this may be the last opportunity for Biden to question his own political assumptions —and to decide not to run,” said Faucheux. “That would be the lighting strike that changes everything.”

The RCP average for a 2024 national Democratic and Republican primary, based on the most recent polling, indicates Biden and Trump are leading their respective fields with 68% and 60% support, respectively.

Neither Biden nor Trump’s campaigns responded to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

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The House Judiciary Committee previously launched a probe into the district attorney over her conduct in the 2020 Georgia election interference case after Willis indicted the former president in mid-August. Jordan and Loudermilk’s inquiry cites a Dec. 17, 2021, letter they uncovered that has lead them to believe “Willis’s office coordinated its investigative actions with the partisan Select Committee,” the Judiciary committee announced on Twitter.

“As you may be aware, I am conducting a criminal investigation of possible attempts to illegally interfere with the administration of Georgia’s 2020 General election. Through news reports, we are aware that your committee has interviewed witnesses relevant to our investigation. We understand from the same reports that your committee’s investigators may have collected records relevant to our investigation,” the letter from Willis to Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson reads.

“Please accept this letter as an official request from me for access to records that may be relevant to our criminal investigation. Those records include but are not limited to recordings and transcripts of witness interviews and depositions, electronic and print records of communications, and records of travel,” Willis added.

Read the letter between DA Willis and Chairman Thompson pic.twitter.com/XrYb0PXgDF

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) December 5, 2023

The district attorney also suggested she and her staff pay a visit to Washington, D.C., to meet with the committee’s investigators in January and February of 2022.

Willis, Thompson and Trump did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

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Newsom and DeSantis participated in “The Great Red State vs. Blue State” debate in Alpharetta, Georgia, hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity, where two governors later agreed to extend the debate past its original 90 minute duration. Hannity ended the debate following a commercial break directly after the agreement was made in real time, during which Jennifer Siebel Newsom interjected on behalf of her husband, both Politico and NBC News reported, citing DeSantis aides as well as unaffiliated sources.

The DeSantis campaign confirmed the events to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Gavin Newsom got beat so badly last night his wife literally had to throw in the towel for him,” Andrew Romeo, communications director for the DeSantis campaign, told the DCNF. “It was embarrassing.”

However, Newsom aides have since denied that his wife was the reason for the debate ending, arguing that staffers from both governors mutually agreed to the decision, both Politico and NBC News reported.

Ron DeSantis destroyed Gavin Newsom last night — and it wasn’t even close.

See for yourself: pic.twitter.com/ALRpbmUpGy

— DeSantis War Room (@DeSantisWarRoom) December 1, 2023

The two governors sparred over their respective states’ policies, largely over the issues of crime, the economy and numerous social issues.

Newsom dismissed data that Hannity cited over his state’s violent crime rate being higher than both the national average and Florida’s, where he instead claimed that “we’re near 50 year lows, down 55% violent crimes in the state of California from the 1990s.”

“So this is the slick politician — you put up the rates. He has 500 per 100,000. Florida is 250. So that’s almost twice as much, and he’s trying to spin that to say California’s doing good? People are leaving California in droves, largely because public safety has collapsed,” DeSantis pushed back.

The Florida governor presented a map of human feces that he said represented the city of San Francisco, of which Newsom previously served as mayor of.

DeSantis also pressed Newsom on his presidential aspirations for 2024 earlier in the debate, asking, “Why don’t you just admit that you’re running?”

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After DeSantis received the backing of 99 state legislators, allies of the former president have orchestrated an effort in the state to switch them to Trump, two sources familiar told NBC News. As many as six of the state’s GOP elected officials will likely announce their support for Trump as early as next week after the Florida Freedom Summit Saturday and amid the third GOP presidential debate Wednesday in Miami, which the former president is skipping to hold a rally in the state.

“It’s coming,” a source familiar told NBC News. “Exact number not yet said, but it will be close to 10.”

A GOP lobbyist in the state, who is not involved in the effort, said that “at least five” can be expected to switch their endorsements to Trump and told NBC News that “there is no doubt that there are more coming next week.”

Trump is also hosting an event at Mar-a-Lago “honoring the Republican Party of Florida” the day following the debate and his rally, according to a copy of an invitation obtained by NBC News.

The move from Trump’s allies comes after they effectively killed the Florida GOP’s loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee, which was endorsed by DeSantis and mirrored after the Republican National Committee’s requirement to debate, to participate in the state’s primary.

“In the lead-up to the repeal of the loyalty oath, state executive committee members were invited to a Mar-a-Lago event,” a veteran Republican in the state told NBC News. “It seems like a solid approach to win over grassroots leaders that have been largely ignored by the DeSantis operation during the re-elect and the presidential campaign to this point.”

Trump has secured endorsements from the majority of Florida’s Republican congressional delegation, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz, Byron Donalds, Carlos Giménez, Cory Mills, Greg Steube, Vern Buchanan and John Rutherford.

For a 2024 Republican primary in Florida, Trump is leading the field by 35 points, followed by DeSantis with 22%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 7%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie with 2% and all other GOP hopefuls with 1% support or less, according to a Fabrizio, Lee & Associates survey released Oct. 4.

Neither DeSantis nor Trump immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

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Trust In The Mission (TIM) PAC will pull back on its previously announced $40 million ad buy that was scheduled to run through January in the key early nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, according to the memo. While TIM PAC will still support Scott’s campaign in its efforts to win the nomination and beat President Joe Biden, Co-Chair Rob Collins wrote that the “Republican primary is stuck,” nodding to Trump’s massive lead in the polls.

“Donald Trump leads a cluster of statistically tied contenders by a wide margin. Vote share of non-Trump candidates trades up and down, but no campaign has achieved break away velocity. The fundamentals of this race remain unchanged: President Donald Trump occupies a lane to himself,” the memo reads. “So, we are doing what would be obvious in the business world but will mystify politicos – we aren’t going to waste our money when the electorate isn’t focused or ready for a Trump alternative. We have done the research. We have studied the focus groups. We have been following Tim on the trail. This electorate is locked up and money spent on mass media isn’t going to change minds until we get a lot closer to voting.”

TIM PAC Memo by Daily Caller News Foundation on Scribd

The RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Sept. 27 and Oct. 9, indicate Trump is leading the crowded field by 45 points, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 12.9%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 7.6%, conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 6.2%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 3.7% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 2.8%.

Scott has 2% support, and all other GOP hopefuls received less than 1%, according to the RCP.

“From Day One, Tim’s campaign was built for the long haul — powered by the most primary cash on hand and the highest candidate favorability of anyone in the field,” campaign spokesperson Matt Gorman told the DCNF in a statement. “On issues ranging from foreign policy to abortion, he has been the clearest and strongest voice, leading while others have followed. We’re ready, as ever, to take our message into the early states and beyond.”

TIM PAC has also rejected the notion that DeSantis or Haley are the proper alternatives to Trump, according to the memo.

“President Trump has played to his strengths, effectively defined Gov. DeSantis, and now he will define Gov. Haley. Both campaigns argue they are a ‘Trump but fill-in-the-blank’ alternative for primary voters,” the memo reads. “Trump will negatively define them based on this flawed logic. They are national figures because of Trump. This authenticity gap in their presidential narrative will be exploited. Trump knows this, they know this and that is why DeSantis and Haley have only traded vote share.”

The super PAC will continue its door knocking campaign, fundraising, hosting events and receiving earned media, according to the memo.

Trump, Haley and DeSantis did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

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