Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* The latest national poll from Monmouth University showed President Joe Biden with an underwhelming 41% approval rating, and Vice President Kamala Harris faring slightly worse at 36%. But both are faring better than Congress, which the survey showed with a 23% approval rating.
* The Monmouth data also offered Donald Trump some good news in his race for the Republicans’ 2024 nomination: While the polling outlet showed the former president tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a month ago, the new results show Trump leading the governor, 41% to 27%. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley was third in the poll with 3% support.
* It’s not just Trump who’s using a possible indictment as the basis for a fundraising appeal: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is apparently doing the same thing.
* Just 10 days before federal regulators shut down Signature Bank, its executives threw a fundraiser for House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry. Yesterday, NBC News reported that the North Carolina Republican says he’s returned the donations from the event.
* New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s critics launched a recall campaign and needed 45,000 signatures to force a new election. They failed: The deadline was yesterday, and recall organizers finished several thousand signatures short.
* The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins sat in on a series of focus groups with Republican voters in recent weeks, and he came away surprised at just how hostile they were to former Vice President Mike Pence. One participant said, “He’s only gonna get the vote from his family, and I’m not even sure if they like him.”
* Earlier this month, former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers suggested to a local group in Michigan that he wouldn’t be a candidate in 2024. Yesterday, however, Rogers told Fox News he’s considering a possible presidential campaign.