OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former President Donald Trump’s team is reportedly eying November 14, roughly a week after the midterm elections, to announce a 2024 presidential run.
“Trump and his top advisers have been signaling for weeks that a 2024 announcement is imminent. But those discussions have reached the point that allies are blocking off days in their calendars for the week after the midterms — and preparing to travel,” Axios reported.
“With polls pointing toward a good night for Republicans on Tuesday, Trump plans to surf the GOP’s expected post-midterm euphoria to build momentum for his own effort to retake the White House. Look for Trump to take credit for Republican victories across the board —including those he propelled with his endorsements, and even those he had nothing to do with. In recent weeks, Trump has been inching closer and closer to saying he is running, relishing the applause as he hints to his rally crowds that he’s doing it,” the report added.
The Axios report notes that “discussions are still fluid and could change depending on Tuesday’s results, especially if the Senate still hangs in the balance and the Georgia race between Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock goes to a run-off.”
At his Thursday rally in Iowa, Trump told the crowd: “In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again … Get ready that’s all I’m telling you — very soon. Get ready.”
Scoop: Former President Trump's inner circle is discussing announcing the launch of a 2024 presidential campaign on Nov. 14 — with the official announcement possibly followed by a multi-day series of political events. https://t.co/6FsXAjrMsa
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) November 4, 2022
Earlier this week, Trump predicted that Republicans will gain control of the U.S. House and have a “good chance” to win back the U.S. Senate in next week’s midterms.
“I think that we have a good chance at the Senate,” Trump told the “Chris Stigall Show,” adding, “Good chance, we had no chance three months ago. Now we have a chance of getting 51, 52 seats in the Senate. And I think the House is going to do pretty well, I think we’re going to be up by maybe a substantial number.”
The Senate is currently deadlocked at 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote for Democrats.
Recent polling indicates that Republicans are in good shape going into Tuesday’s elections.
Trump-backed Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is leading Democratic opponent John Fetterman in a new survey following last week’s highly-watched debate.
A new Emerson College / The Hill survey released on Thursday finds Oz leading Fetterman 48 percent to 46 percent among very likely voters. Four percent said they were undecided. The poll notes that Oz’s support has risen by 5 points since September. On the other side, Fetterman’s support has only ticked up by one point since then.
“Additionally, 54 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they expected Oz to win the election while 47 percent said the same about Fetterman. But the latest data comes just over one week after Fetterman came face-to-face with Oz in Pennsylvania’s first and only Senate debate this cycle, during which the Democrat had a rocky performance as a result of his ongoing recovery from a stroke he suffered last May. Oz, on the other hand, appeared in his element due to his experience in television, something Fetterman’s campaign acknowledged going into the debate,” The Hill reported.
“Fifty percent of voters said the debate worsened their opinion of Fetterman, while 20 percent said it improved their opinion of him. Another 31 percent said it made no difference. Forty-four percent of voters said the debate improved their opinion of Oz, while 25 percent said it worsened their opinion of the Republican candidate. Thirty percent said it made no difference in their opinion of him,” the outlet added.
𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐋: Mehmet Oz holds 𝟮 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 lead over John Fetterman in Pennsylvania Senate Race
(R) Mehmet Oz: 48% (+2)
(D) John Fetterman: 46%Emerson | 10/28-31 | 1,000 LVhttps://t.co/wTTVjLlpBS pic.twitter.com/hPT5NZybGL
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 3, 2022
The closely-watched U.S. Senate race in Arizona just kicked up a notch after the Libertarian candidate in the race dropped out and endorsed his Republican opponent.
“I’ve said from the very beginning that the reason I’m running for Senate is to promote and get us in the direction of freedom and peace and civility,” Marc Victor said in a YouTube video announcing his endorsement of Masters.
Victor said at one point in his video, “[Masters] really is — in his heart and in his mind — he’s in favor of doing everything he can to get us very sternly, very smartly in the direction of ‘live and let live.’ And that seems like a good tradeoff to me.”
“Libertarian senatorial candidate Marc Victor, who was polling at 1% in a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday, dropped out of the race Tuesday, throwing his weight behind Republican nominee Blake Masters. Masters is facing Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly in the midterm election,” Fox News reported.
BREAKING NEWS: Libertarian candidate drops out of key Senate race, endorses GOP nomineehttps://t.co/3PnKaPt6z2
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 1, 2022
A new poll out of Georgia shows that Republicans are poised to perform well on election night.
The final Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker edging Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock. The poll also found that GOP governor Brian Kemp is leading Democrat Stacey Abrams by 7 points.
The poll also found that President Joe Biden has a 37 percent approval rating in the Peach State, with 57 percent disapproving of his job performance. The polling is crucial given the U.S. Senate race could help decide which party controls the chamber following the November midterm elections.
