Can see a wide path for Jake Auchincloss in #MA04, but this isn't a clear story of anybody spoiling anybody: Grossman was going for the same voters as him (from same base), Leckey and Linos going for the same voters as Mermell.
That said it reminds me a bit of those CA races last cycle where a couple candidates would have no strategy for victory but keep running anyway.
This Intercept piece touting Ihssane Leckey - who's heading for fifth place in #MA04 - used an internal Leckey poll to suggest that Mermell was stalled out. A better metric might have been $. Leckey mostly had to self-fund, as she raised a bit over $250k from donors.
For contrast, Cori Bush raised >$400,000 to beat Lacy Clay. Lecky just didn't put the kind of campaign together that could win a crowded primary, hampered (as article notes) by jumping in to challenge Kennedy, which kept consultants away.
The Needham count is off, but that's the only town where Mermell looks like she'd add to her margin.
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“Someone asked if they should introduce me as the former next president of the United States.”
Biden is “failing the George Washington statesmanship test,” says Yang, by not recognizing that it’s time to go. “Given that Joe Biden is such a depleted, vulnerable candidate, why is he not getting more competition?”
Very funny moment just now. Yang says he’s endorsing Phillips. Music blasts and Phillips walks out. Yang says he’s still got more time and the Phillips campaign played him on too quickly: “They have the text of my speech!” So Phillips walks back to holding room.
The Biden "no comment" saga is a great little study in choose-your-own media. I've seen multiple pieces claim that Biden literally did not comment on the Maui fires until he headed there, like this day-of-the-rope-ish piece in American Greatness. amgreatness.com/2023/08/22/a-l…
The wildfires started on August 8. The WH approved relief on August 10. The same day, Biden commented on the fires/recovery during an event in Utah. whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
Three days later, coming back from beach, Bloomberg asked for a comment on the wildfires' rising death toll. and Biden said no. It's fair to call that a mistake; it would have been easy to say something brief.
Matt Gaetz warming up crowd for Trump, saying they grilled burgers rare, medium rare, and well done but “the most done you can be is Ron DeSantis.”
Matt Whitaker introduces himself as “Donald Trump’s favorite attorney general” — definitely true, the only one he hasn’t feuded with
Trump arrives and invites more Florida Rs to speak. Donalds asks Iowans to help him “three-peat,” Gus Bilrakis asks “why risk it?” with another Republican.
New frontiers in “super PACs aren’t allowed to coordinate with the campaign.” (DeSantis is the “special guest” on the Never Back Down super PAC tour.)
DeSantis rolled up with three Chevy Suburbans of reporters and cameras; flanked by four security guys, local police, state senate president Amy Sinclair. Some hand-shaking and convos, some waving as he walks by.