Ron DeSantis claims only ‘Biden and me’ have a winning chance in 2024 US presidential race, report says – live | Ron DeSantis

Two things are happening simultaneously in the Republican presidential primary field: more candidates are arriving, Donald Trump is staying as popular as ever.

Just take a look at poll aggregator FiveThirtyEight for evidence of that. Trump’s lead over other Republicans has only grown in recent weeks, particularly since his late-March indictment by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg. Before that, the gap between him and Florida governor Ron DeSantis wasn’t quite so immense, but it’s since yawned further.

According to the New York Times, DeSantis made to donors yesterday a fairly straightforward argument: he’s more electable than Trump.

“You have basically three people at this point that are credible in this whole thing: Biden, Trump and me. And I think of those three, two have a chance to get elected president — Biden and me, based on all the data in the swing states, which is not great for the former president and probably insurmountable because people aren’t going to change their view of him,” he told donors.

That was his message to a behind-closed-doors gathering of wealthy Republicans. In the months ahead, we’ll find out what the party’s rank and file think.

Good morning, US politics blog readers. Joe Biden will not be president forever. Voters will either re-elect the Democratic leader next year, or replace him with one of several Republican challengers – and the ranks of those candidates are set to get even deeper in the days to come. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis will announce his presidential campaign on Wednesday, the Miami Herald reports, after spending months pursuing conservative policies in the state that he will argue to voters should be implemented nationally. According to the New York Times, he’s given donors an even sharper message behind closed doors, saying only “Biden and me” have a chance at winning next year.

The governor won’t be alone in making his candidacy official. On Monday, South Carolina senator Tim Scott will make a “major announcement” in North Charleston – most likely the start of his presidential campaign. But in order to win the GOP’s nomination and face Biden in the November 2024 general election, either man will have to succeed at something no Republican candidate has managed to pull off since 2016: beat Donald Trump.

Here’s a look at what we expect to happen today:

• Debt ceiling negotiations are ongoing in Washington DC, though a deal is not expected to be reached until the weekend or Monday, according to Punchbowl News.

• Joe Biden is continuing his travel in Japan and meeting with G7 leaders. Due to the time difference, his day has already pretty much wrapped up.

• Kamala Harris is traveling to Los Angeles, where she’ll focus on maternal health in a tour of a non-profit.