Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The latest national NBC News poll found Donald Trump with a growing lead in the race for the Republicans’ presidential nomination, leading the field with 59% support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is second with 16%, while former Ambassador Nikki Haley is third with 7%. As recently as June, the former president’s lead over DeSantis in NBC News polling was 51% to 22%, suggesting the race is moving in the wrong direction for the governor.
* Though I still think 2024 general election polling should be taken with a grain of salt at this point in the process, the same NBC News poll found Trump and President Joe Biden tied in a hypothetical match-up, with each garnering 46% support.
* In related news, the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found Trump with a 10-point advantage over the Democratic incumbent, though the Post’s report on the data conceded, “The difference between this poll and others, as well as the unusual makeup of Trump’s and Biden’s coalitions in this survey, suggest it is probably an outlier.”
* With Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez facing criminal charges ahead of next year’s election cycle, will former Gov. Chris Christie consider running for the seat? The Republican presidential hopeful seemed to rule out the possibility during a “Meet the Press” appearance, telling NBC News’ Kristen Welker, “No, I have no interest in being in the United States Senate.”
* In Arizona, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema hasn’t officially announced whether she’ll seek a second term next year, but NBC News reports that the incumbent’s political team has circulated a two-page prospectus to donors and potential supporters, mapping out a rosy scenario in which Sinema can win a three-way contest against Democratic and Republican nominees.
* A Connecticut man named Gino DiGiovanni, who admitted that he entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, appeared in federal court last month as part of the criminal charges he’s now facing. He nevertheless soon after won the Republicans’ mayoral primary in Derby, Connecticut, though the margin was close enough to force a recount.
* Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was elected as a Democrat, but late last week, he changed parties and became a Republican. Given his conservative ideology, locals didn’t seem especially surprised. “Switching parties? I didn’t know he was a Democrat,” Democratic state Rep. John Bryant joked after Johnson’s announcement.