Politico

It’s official: President Biden is running for reelection in 2024. Hours after his announcement today, Biden gave a speech before a friendly crowd of union workers, where we were able to get a taste of what his campaign messaging will look like. The backbone of Biden’s reelection pitch would include: 👉 His legislative record on infrastructure, climate and health care 👉 The job growth that happened under his tenure 👉 His stewardship of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine

The indictment also presents a chance for Trump to play victim again while for Biden, it’ll create a favorable split screen moment, allowing him to host policy events and demand action on things like gun violence while a scandal engulfs his predecessor, writes our White House bureau chief Jonathan Lemire. That’s all for now 👋 Questions? DM me on Telegram: @janjbyun

ICYMI 🚨A New York grand jury indicted Donald Trump today over his alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. He’s the first ex-president to ever be criminally charged. The indictment, which is sure to cloud Trump’s 2024 campaign, triggers a number of unprecedented scenarios: 👉 If Trump pleads not guilty and the case goes to trial, he could be campaigning for the White House while undergoing a criminal trial. 👉 If he were to win a second term while facing or serving a prison sentence, a host of constitutional issues would arise. Here’s more re: the murky can of legal worms.

For more on how the field of declared and prospective GOP candidates is shaping up, check out our tracker. Questions? DM me on Telegram: @janjbyun👋

Sen. Tim Scott — the Republican senator from South Carolina — is on track to throw his hat into the 2024 presidential race. He expects to reach “clarity” on a decision to run “sooner rather than later,” per a person close to him. Scott is polling in the low single digits among potential GOP candidates, but he’s a prolific fundraiser — and the only prospective candidate sitting on more than $20 million in hard federal campaign dollars that could be transferred directly into a presidential account. Our chief polling expert, Steve Shepard, puts him in the “long shot” category of hopeful candidates.

The opinions of county chairs are valuable for many reasons: 👉 They’re far more politically attentive and committed to their party than average American voters; they’re going to show up at the polls on primary day. 👉 As prominent local figures, they’re likely to help influence how others view the 2024 contenders. 👉 County chairs are still part of the grassroots. They’re the kind of people successful candidates want on their side during the “invisible primary,” when fundraising, endorsements and polling start to matter. More on how Trump is losing his grip on the grassroots

A survey of 187 Republican county chairs about their preferences so far in the 2024 presidential nomination is promising for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — and less so for Donald Trump — per a survey by POLITICO Magazine contributor Seth Masket. 73% of those surveyed said they’d consider supporting DeSantis while just 43% included Trump on their list. When it came to who they definitely don’t want to win, 4 in 10 said Trump. Fewer than 1 in 10 said the same for DeSantis.

Joe Biden no longer seems certain he’ll run for a second term. Top Democrats are now quietly strategizing about a Plan B while trying to remain publicly supportive of the 80-year-old president. Democratic Govs. JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom and Phil Murphy have all taken steps to keep the door cracked if Biden bows out — though with enough ambiguity to give them plausible deniability. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar have been making similar moves. Biden already slipped past his ambitious target to launch a reelection campaign in February. His advisors are now eyeing April, but say there’s no need to rush — citing his unchallenged hold on the party and his legislative wins. If Biden passes on running again, it would amount to a political earthquake and unleash an avalanche of attention on his VP, Kamala Harris, whose uneven performances have raised doubts among Dems about her ability to win. Questions? DM me on Telegram: @janjbyun

Learn more about Nikki Haley and her nearly two-decade-long political ascent in our roundup of 55 things you should know about the presidential candidate. Questions? DM me on Telegram: @janjbyun

Nikki Haley is about to jump into the 2024 presidential race. The Republican is expected to announce her campaign on Feb. 15 to become the second major official candidate after Donald Trump. Haley served in South Carolina’s legislature before being elected…