Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* As you’ve probably heard by now, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has abandoned his longshot Republican presidential bid. His decision will likely give a modest boost to former Ambassador Nikki Haley, especially in New Hampshire where Christie was polling relatively well.
* With just days remaining before the Iowa caucuses, a new Suffolk University poll found Donald Trump continuing to crush his GOP rivals with 54% support. Haley was second in the survey with 20%, followed by Gov. Ron DeSantis with 13%. If this poll is accurate, it’s difficult to see how the Florida governor will stay in the race after such a poor showing.
* In Pennsylvania, the latest Quinnipiac University poll showed President Joe Biden leading Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, 49% to 46%. As recently as October, the same pollster showed the former president leading the Democratic incumbent by two points.
* As for Pennsylvania’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, the same poll found incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey with a 10-point lead over Republican David McCormick, 53% to 43%.
* NBC News reported that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which focuses on Democratic state legislative campaigns, has “raised more than one-third of its $60 million goal for 2024 races,” which will “allow it to stay on track to fulfill the goals it set in an array of states with competitive legislative races.”
* To the extent that such rhetoric can be believed, Trump said at his latest Fox News town-hall event that he now knows who his 2024 running mate will be, though he’s not yet prepared to make an official announcement.
* And The Washington Post reported that Biden has recently hosted a series of private lunches at the White House with top donors, “as part of an effort to reassure them about his re-election campaign, including concerns about his age and energy.” The article added that there have been “roughly a half-dozen” of these gatherings, “in groups ranging from four to eight people.”