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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* Right on cue, Donald Trump’s rivals for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination rallied to his defense after the Colorado Supreme Court deemed the frontrunner ineligible. Vivek Ramaswamy went so far as to say he’d withdraw from the Colorado Republican primary unless Trump is allowed to stay on the ballot.
* There’s a messy Republican Senate primary unfolding in Ohio, and the former president has waded into the contest, throwing his support behind businessman Bernie Moreno. Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan are Moreno’s principal rivals.
* The latest New York Times/Siena College poll found that nearly a fourth of Republican voters nationally do not believe that Trump should be their party’s nominee if he’s a convicted felon.
* Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been categorical in saying that he will not serve as Trump’s running mate, but when pressed on the matter this week, former Ambassador Nikki Haley wouldn’t go quite that far.
* The Trump campaign is running an ad in Iowa showing Kim Reynolds, the state’s Republican governor, endorsing the former president — despite the fact that Reynolds has endorsed DeSantis. It turns out that Team Trump is using footage from the 2016 race, leading the governor to explain this week that the GOP frontrunner is “misleading“ Hawkeye State voters.
* Ahead of next year’s general election, Vice President Kamala Harris told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell that she’s poised to launch a national tour focused on abortion rights. The tour begins in Wisconsin on Jan. 22 — which happens to be the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.
* Speaking of the Badger State, President Joe Biden will also be in Wisconsin in a few hours, where he’s scheduled to tout new progress in the success of Black-owned small businesses.