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    2024 Watch: Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson keeping ‘options open,’ wants to be ‘bold messenger’ for GOP

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    EXCLUSIVE: Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he wants “to be a leading voice for a new direction for our party and our country.”

    The term-limited governor, who’s in his last year steering Arkansas, heads to New Hampshire on Monday. Asked by Fox News ahead of his trip why he’s visiting the state that for a century’s held the first primary in the presidential race, Hutchinson answered “I want to have a bold message and the best place to start is New Hampshire.”

    FIRST IOWA, THEN NEW HAMPSHIRE – ARE BIDEN’S TRIPS SENDING A 2024 SIGNAL?

    Hutchinson, a former federal attorney turned two-term congressman who served as Drug Enforcement Administration administrator and Department of Homeland Security undersecretary during then-President George W. Bush’s administration, will headline ‘Politics and Eggs’ at Saint Anselm College. The New Hampshire Institute of Politics speaking series has been a must stop for White House hopefuls for two decades. 

    “I have a record as governor, a record in Congress, and those are illustrations of where we can go in the future, and I’ll be a bold messenger for that,” Hutchinson emphasized in his national exclusive interview with Fox News.

    And he noted “that’s the reason I’m speaking at Politics and Eggs….that’s gets attention whenever you are speaking at a political event in New Hampshire, and I welcome the opportunity to influence the debate and shape debate.”

    TRUMP 2024 TEASE DOESN’T STOP OTHER POTENTIAL GOP WHITE HOUSE HOPEFULS FROM VISITING KEY EARLY STATES

    During his final year as governor, Hutchinson said he’s “supporting a number of Republican congressional candidates” running in the midterm elections, helping to “strengthen the message of our candidates this year, to showcase the ideas that work and that we can be problem-solving and not just creating chaos.”

    The governor emphasized that “it’s critical that we focus on this year’s election and that’s what we’re doing… it’s about having the right message for this election year and to me the Republican Party has to be talking about future ideas and the direction of our country, the strength of America. I think we have to be talking about ideas and not the past and I think my voice is helpful to those candidates who want to look to the future.”

    Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks to the press after a meeting of the National Governors’ Association with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 31, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

    That’s a message that other potential GOP 2024 contenders, including former two-term New Jersey Gov. Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have also been espousing. 

    And it’s also an indirect jab at former President Donald Trump. The former president, who remains the most popular and influential politician in the GOP as he repeatedly flirts with making another White House run in 2024, constantly re-litigates his 2020 election loss to now President Biden.

    “It’s an unnecessary distraction,” Hutchinson said of Trump’s unproven claims that the last presidential election was “rigged” and “stolen.” 

    TRUMP REMAINS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S FUNDRAISING BEHEMOTH

    “Every election has to be about how we’re going to help people, how we’re going to apply our principles to government. How we’re going to lead and address the problems,” the governor stressed. ” If you have candidates not talking about the problems with inflation, with our supply chain issues, with our military strength and our support of Ukraine, then we’re missing the boat because those are issues that people care about and that’s what they want to know solutions to. That’s the important message for this year and beyond.”

    Hutchinson, the current chair of the National Governors Association, said he won’t make any 2024 decisions until after November’s midterms.

    But he said “I’m not ruling it out. That’s something that is a consideration, an option. I’m certainly not ruling it out, because this is too critical a time for our nation and it’s a defining moment and I want to not only engage the debate now but keep my options open down the road.”

    Pence back in Iowa 

    The former vice president spent Saturday in Iowa, the state whose caucuses for half a century have led off both the GOP and Democratic Party nominating calendars.

    Pence teamed up with Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, whose district’s located in the heavily red northern and western parts of the state, where Christian conservative voters are predominant. Pence spent time with Feenstra during a visit to Iowa last summer. 

    He also addressed Iowa’s Second Congressional District Republican Party Convention, in support of Rep. Ashley Hinson.

    And the former vice president also traveled to Ames, Iowa to headline the Story County GOP’s annual Lincoln Highway Dinner.

    2024 PRELUDE: PENCE’S TRIPS PREPARE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT FOR LIKELY WHITE HOUSE RUN

    Pence has been a frequent visitor to the key early voting presidential primary and caucus state over the past year, as he crisscrosses the country helping fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections.

    Cruz back in Nevada 

     Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the runner-up to Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary race, spent Thursday and Friday in Nevada, the state that holds the fourth contest in the GOP nominating calendar. 

    Cruz campaigned at multiple events across the state with former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the leading Republican Senate candidate hoping to defeat Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in November.

    DeSantis heading to Nevada

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another potential 2024 Republican White House hopeful, will team up with Laxalt in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

    “Governor DeSantis is standing in the breach against the far left and he’s winning,” Laxalt said in a statement announcing the Florida governor’s upcoming visit.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the welcome segment of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida. February 26, 2021. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo (Reuters)

    DeSantis, who’s become extremely popular with conservatives across the country the past two years thanks to his pushback against coronavirus pandemic restrictions and his culture wars crusade, is second to Trump in most polls of the hypothetical 2024 GOP nomination race.

    Trump’s massive war chest 

    Fifteen months removed from the White House, Trump’s reputation as the Republican Party’s fundraising behemoth remains firmly intact.

    Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in Selma, North Carolina on April 9, 2022. (AP )

    The former president’s three political committees hauled in just over $19 million during the January-March first quarter of fundraising. 

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    And the three entities — Trump’s Save America PAC, Save America JFC (joint fundraising committee) and MAGA PAC — reported ending March with a massive $124 million in cash on hand in their coffers.

    The latest fundraising figures were shared first with Fox News on Tuesday.

    Could there be a third presidential run in Sen. Bernie Sanders future?

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    Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s been the Democratic presidential nomination runner up the past two election cycles, is indicating that he isn’t ruling out another White House run in 2024 if President Biden decides against seeking a second term.

    That’s the message from the 80-year-old independent senator from Vermont and leader of the progressive movement in a campaign memo distributed on Wednesday to political allies. 

    2024 WATCH: ARE BIDEN’S TRIPS TO IOWA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE SENDING RE-ELECTIONS SIGNALS?

    “In the event of an open 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sanders has not ruled out another run for president, so we advise that you answer any questions about 2024 with that in mind,” reads the memo from 2020 Sanders presidential campaign manager Faiz Shakir. The memo was first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by Fox News.

    Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, and former Vice President Joe Biden, talk before a Democratic presidential primary debate in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

    Sanders was the runner-up in 2016 to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in a marathon and divisive primary battle that triggered fault lines between the party’s progressive and moderate wings. Sanders was runner-up four years later to Biden, during a much less fractious nomination race.

    In May 2020, soon after he ended his second White House campaign, Sanders told the Washington Post that the “likelihood is very very slim” he would ever run for president again. And he added: “I think next time around you’re going to see another candidate carrying the progressive banner.” 

    Biden, who’s 79, made history in November 2020 when he became the oldest person ever elected president. If he campaigns for re-election in 2024 and wins, Biden would be 82 at his second inaugural and 86 at the end of his second term.

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    Asked over a year ago at the first formal news conference of his presidency about his 2024 plans, Biden said, “My answer is yes. I plan on running for re-election. That’s my expectation.” 

    And he said in an interview with ABC News in December that “If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again.”

    Fox News’ Patrick Ward and Kelly Phares contributed to this story

    2024 Watch: First Iowa, now New Hampshire – are Biden’s trips sending reelection signals?

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    President Biden heads to New Hampshire on Tuesday to showcase the investments his administration’s making in the key general election battleground state through the massive bipartisan infrastructure measure he signed into law last autumn.

    And while 2022 politics will be in the air – the president will team up with Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, who’s being heavily targeted by Republicans as she runs for reelection in November’s midterms – Biden’s trip to the state that for a century’s held the first presidential primary in the White House race will also likely shine a spotlight on the 2024 race and whether he’ll seek a second term.

    BIDEN GREENLIGHTS RESUMING OIL AND GAS LEASES ON FEDERAL LANDS

    Biden’s visit to New Hampshire will be his second since taking over in the White House. Last November, the president made the Granite State his first stop to sell the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure that he had signed into law two days earlier. And Tuesday’s visit comes a week after he stopped in Iowa, the state whose caucuses have kicked off the presidential nominating calendar for half a century.

    President Joe Biden speaks at POET Bioprocessing in Menlo, Iowa, April 12, 2022. The Biden administration has released hundreds of strategies it’s taking or will take to boost equity across the federal government. The strategies announced Thursday are the product of an executive order President Joe Biden signed on his first day in office.  (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

    While the stops in New Hampshire and Iowa are official trips to push policy, Democratic strategists say that campaign politics plays heavily when it comes decisions on the president’s travels.

    “There’s no decision that the White House makes about where to send the president that doesn’t have some sort of political consideration. They’re not choosing these places by accident, ever,” a Democratic strategist with ties to Biden world who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News.

    Another consultant familiar with Biden world who also asked for anonymity said that “if someone’s telling you that no one at the White House has considered political impact of any trip the president makes, they probably have a bridge to sell you.”

    And the consultant noted that “it’s not surprising that the president would head to some of these early states now to lay the groundwork” ahead of any reelection campaign.

    BIDEN SAYS HE’S RUNNING IN 2024, BUT DEMOCRATS KEEP COMING TO NH

    Biden, who’s 79, made history in November 2020 when he became the oldest person ever elected president. If he campaigns for re-election in 2024 and wins, Biden would be 82 at his second inaugural and 86 at the end of his second term.

    Asked over a year ago at the first formal news conference of his presidency about his 2024 plans, Biden said, “My answer is yes. I plan on running for re-election. That’s my expectation.” 

    And he said in an interview with ABC News in December that “If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again.”

    New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century. A sign outside the state capitol in Concord, NH marks the state’s treasured primary status. (Fox News )

    The president’s trip to New Hampshire comes less than a week after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) moved to upend their 2024 presidential nominating calendar, which may knock Iowa and New Hampshire from the leadoff positions they’ve held for decades. 

    RNC STICKS WITH TRADITION AS DNC MOVES TO UPEND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

    If Biden takes questions from local reporters during his trip, it’s likely he’ll face questions on the DNC’s move.

    Pompeo stops in Iowa

    The president isn’t the only potential 2024 contender making back-to-back trips to Iowa and New Hampshire.

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who’s mulling a GOP presidential nomination run, was in Iowa on Wednesday. Pompeo, a former congressman from Kansas who served as CIA director and later as America’s top diplomat during former President Donald Trump’s administration, teamed up in Council Bluffs, Iowa with Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra, who’s running for reelection this year.

    Pompeo’s trip to Iowa came a week after he stopped in New Hampshire to headline the Hillsborough County GOP’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner.

    POMPEO: PRESIDENTIAL RUN NOT DEPENDENT ON WHAT TRUMP DOES

    Pompeo’s been busy over the past year, crisscrossing the country to help raise money and support fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections. His travels have already taken him five times over the past year to Iowa and three times to New Hampshire. And he’s also made visits to South Carolina and Nevada, which hold the third and fourth contests in the GOP schedule.

    In an interview with Fox News during his New Hampshire stop, Pompeo reiterated that any decision would come after November’s midterms. And he said, “My wife and I will think and work and pray and make a decision about whether we’re going to reenter public service putting ourselves forward to be holding elective office.”

    But Pompeo, a Fox News contributor, noted that the friends he makes now during these trips to the early voting states could possibly pay dividends down the road.

    “We are always in the business of making friends because it is through friendships and relationships that you develop good outcomes that matter,” he said. “I’ve been in this fight for conservative policies since I was a young kid and it always makes a difference that you have friends and allies and partners and colleagues and people who believe in thing that you’re working on and care about.”

    Scott to NH, Haley to Iowa

    Two other potential Republican White House hopefuls will be making new stops in the early voting primary and caucus states.

    WHAT YOU MISSED IN THE PERVIOUS FOX NEWS’ WEEKLY 2024 COLUMN

    Fox News was first to report that Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a former two-term Florida governor, will be in New Hampshire on May 20 to headline the Sullivan County GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner.

    Former Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley campaigns on behalf of GOP congressional candidate Matt Mowers of New Hampshire, at an event on April 4, 2022 in Derry, N.H. (Fox News )

    And former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, heads to Iowa on June 29 to speak at the state GOP’s Dubuque Regional Reception. 

    NIKKI HALEY WORKS TO BROADEN THE GOP’S 2022 SENATE MAP

    Haley stopped in New Hampshire earlier this month to campaign and raise money for fellow Republicans running in this year’s elections.

    Hogan’s conservative achievements touted

    Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is not running for anything this year, but that’s not stopping allies of the term-limited Republican governor from spotlighting his conservative record and achievements during his final year in office.

    Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he will not run for U.S. Senate during a news conference on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022 in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)

    In a minute-long digital ad shared first with Fox News on Wednesday, the pro-Hogan public advocacy group An America United touts what it calls the outgoing Maryland governor’s “real leadership” and “historic results.”

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    An America United says their video, backed by a modest ad buy, will run digitally across the country.

    RNC votes for Iowa, New Hampshire to retain status as first contests of 2024 primary

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    The Republican National Committee is sticking with tradition.

    The RNC full membership on Thursday voted unanimously make no changes to their 2024 presidential nominating calendar, keeping Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada as the four early voting states.

    The vote, at the RNC’s spring training meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, approved recommendations passed by a committee at the national party’s winter meeting in February. That panel was chaired by Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann and included the Republican Party chairs of New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

    DEMOCRATS MOVE TO UPEND THEIR 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

    “Thank you  @GOPChairwoman and the entire RNC for reaffirming the rules that allow Iowa to hold our First in the Nation caucuses. Iowans take their responsibility seriously and stand ready to kick off our nation’s presidential nominating process!” Kaufmann tweeted minutes after the vote.

    New Hampshire GOP chair Steve Stepanek told Fox News that “the RNC supports the carve-out states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada. We do it right in New Hampshire, and the RNC sees the tremendous value in continuing this schedule for the upcoming presidential primary.”

    CHAIR RONNA MCDANIEL MULLS MAKING BID FOR RECORD FOURTH TERM STEERING RNC

    The RNC reaffirmation of its schedule came a day after the rival Democratic National Committee took a major step to shake up its longstanding presidential primary and caucus calendar, which has been led by Iowa and New Hampshire for decades.

    The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on Wednesday voted to require those two states, as well as Nevada and South Carolina, which hold the third and fourth contests in the DNC’s schedule, to reapply for early state status in the 2024 calendar. Other states that are interested in moving up to the top of the calendar may also apply.

    FILE – The Iowa Caucuses exhibit in Des Moines, Iowa (Fox News)

    The move by the Rules and Bylaws panel, which oversees the party’s presidential nominating calendar, would also potentially allow for a fifth state to obtain carve-out status, meaning it would get to hold its presidential nominating primary ahead of March 2024, when the remaining states are allowed start holding their contests.

    Iowa’s caucuses have kicked off both the Democratic and Republican nominating calendars for half a century, and New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century.

    TRUMP 2024 TEASE DOESN’T STOP OTHER POTENTIAL GOP PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS FROM VISITNG IOWA AND N.H.

    But the knock for years against both states among many Democrats has been that they are too White, lack any major urban areas, and aren’t representative of a Democratic Party that’s become increasingly diverse over the past several decades. Nevada and South Carolina are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire.

    New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century. A sign outside the state capitol in Concord, NH marks the state’s treasured primary status. (Fox News )

    Complicating matters, Nevada Democrats last year passed a bill into law that would transform the state’s presidential caucus into a primary and aim to move the contest to the leadoff position in the race for the White House, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. And compounding Iowa’s issues was the botched reporting of the 2020 caucuses, which became a national and international story and an embarrassment for Iowa Democrats as well as the DNC.

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    Besides the four current four early voting states, Michigan and New Jersey have indicated that they’ll apply for carve-out status.

    Democrats move to upend their presidential nominating calendar

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    The Democratic National Committee is taking a major step to shake up its longstanding presidential primary and caucus calendar that has been led by Iowa and New Hampshire for decades.

    The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on Wednesday voted to require those two states, as well as Nevada and South Carolina, which hold the third and fourth contests in the DNC’s schedule, to reapply for early state status in the 2024 calendar. Other states that are interested in moving up to the top of the calendar may also apply.

    The move by the Rules and Bylaws panel, which oversees the party’s presidential nominating calendar, would also potentially allow for a fifth state to obtain carve-out status, meaning it would get to hold its presidential nominating primary ahead of March 2024, when the remaining states are allowed start holding their contests.

    IOWA GOP CHAIR ARGUES IF DEMOCRATS DROP STATE FROM TOP OF 2024 CALENDAR, IT’S ‘MIDDLE FINGER’ TO RURAL AMERICA

    FILE – The Iowa Caucuses exhibit in Des Moines, Iowa (Fox News)

    Iowa’s caucuses have kicked off both the Democratic and Republican nominating calendars for half a century, and New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century.

    But the knock for years against both states among many Democrats has been that they are too White, lack any major urban areas, and aren’t representative of a Democratic Party that’s become increasingly diverse over the past several decades. Nevada and South Carolina are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire.

    WITH TWO YEARS TO GO UNTIL IOWA CAUCUSES, LITTLE GOP APPETITE TO UPEND NOMINATING CALENDAR

    Complicating matters, Nevada Democrats last year passed a bill into law that would transform the state’s presidential caucus into a primary and aim to move the contest to the leadoff position in the race for the White House, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. And compounding Iowa’s issues was the botched reporting of the 2020 caucuses, which became a national and international story and an embarrassment for Iowa Democrats as well as the DNC.

    Iowa’s leadoff status faced scrutiny last month at the DNC’s winter meeting, as many members who spoke were clearly open to reordering the presidential nominating calendar to better reflect the party’s growing diversity and values.

    New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary for a century. A sign outside the state capitol in Concord, NH marks the state’s treasured primary status. (Fox News )

    Among those speaking at the meeting was DNC member Mo Elleithee, who has long been a proponent of shaking up the calendar. He emphasized there is a need for changes, “not four years from now — now.”

    2024 WATCH: HERE’S ANOTHER SIGN THE NEXT WHITE HOUSE RACE IS HEATING UP

    “I think states like New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina can make a compelling argument as to how they fit into that picture,” Elleithee, who is also a Fox News contributor, said. “I have a harder time seeing it with Iowa, but Iowa should have the right to make that case to us.”

    The move by the Rules and Bylaws Committee will now require states hoping to retain or earn early state status to submit a letter of intent no later than May 6, with a formal application due a month later. Those states will make their presentations to the committee in late June, with the panel making its recommendations for the new nominating calendar lineup by early July. The full DNC membership will vote on the 2024 calendar when the national party convenes its summer meeting later in the summer.

    Besides the four current four early voting states, Michigan and New Jersey have indicated that they’ll apply for carve-out status.

    TRUMP 2024 TEASE DOESN’T STOP OTHER POTENTIAL GOP PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS FROM VISITNG IOWA AND N.H.

    The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s plan includes factors that it will take into consideration as it decides which states will go first in the 2024 calendar. They include racial, ethnic, and regional diversity, a state’s mix of urban, suburban, and rural voters, and a state’s competitiveness in general elections.

    Iowa Democratic Party chair Ross Wilburn said in a statement that “Iowa will absolutely be applying to be in the early window and we will look forward to enthusiastically making our case. The Iowa Democratic Party will also be engaging with numerous stakeholders all over Iowa to explore substantive changes to the caucuses that would make them more straightforward, transparent and accessible, addressing concerns that some members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee have expressed.” 

    New Hampshire executive director Troy Price asserted to Fox News in a statement that New Hampshire will retain its position in the calendar. “New Hampshire has a great story to tell, and we look forward to sharing that in the coming weeks and months,” he said. “But, make no mistake, New Hampshire will retain its first-in-the-nation primary.”

    While the DNC moves to alter its nominating calendar, there’s been no such move at the rival Republican National Committee. 

    Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann is joined by Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds at a party event in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday March 18, 2022 (Iowa GOP )

    An RNC panel overseeing the nominating calendar voted during the national party’s winter meeting in early February to make no changes to the current schedule. 

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    The panel was headed by Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann and included the chairs of the New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada state Republican parties. The full RNC membership will vote on its 2024 calendar during their summer meeting, in early August.

    Hogan’s conservative achievements in Maryland highlighted in new campaign-style ad

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    FIRST ON FOX: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is not running for anything this year, but that’s not stopping allies of the term-limited Republican governor from spotlighting his conservative record and achievements during his final year in office.

    In a minute-long digital ad shared first with Fox News on Wednesday, the pro-Hogan public advocacy group An America United touts what it calls the outgoing Maryland governor’s “real leadership” and “historic results.”

    The ad starts with news clips highlighting political divisiveness in the nation’s capital, as well as the twin economic crises of soaring inflation and supply chain issues that resulted in empty store shelves.

    HOGAN TAKES AIM AT BIDEN OVER POTENTIALLY LIFTING OIL SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELA

    The spot then shifts to Hogan, from his state of the state address in February, saying “let’s continue to set an example for the rest of the nation so that America can once again be a shining example to the world.”

    The ad, which An America United says will run digitally across the country and is backed by a modest ad buy, then uses a clip of the governor from his April 1 tax cut package signing ceremony, where he emphasized that “we will sign into law the largest tax cut in state history.”

    Also spotlighted was the governor’s move on March 18, amid soaring gas prices, to make Maryland the first state in the nation to pause its gas tax, as well as Hogan’s push to expand his refund the police program, and the governor’s successful effort to toss what a judge called an “unfair and unconstitutional” congressional redistricting map passed by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature in the heavily blue state.

    HOGAN RULES OUT 2022 SENATE RUN BUT LEAVES DOOR OPEN TO 2024 WHITE HOUSE BID

    Hogan is seen by political pundits as a potential contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. And the governor, a vocal Republican critic of former President Donald Trump, in February appeared to leave the door wide open to a possible White House run.

    Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced he will not run for U.S. Senate during a news conference on Feb. 8, 2022 in Annapolis, Maryland. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)

    In announcing that he would not make a run this year for the Senate, the governor said that his decision “does not mean that I plan to sit on the sidelines when it comes to the serious challenges facing our country and our democracy. I’m going to continue to call it like I see it, and I’ll keep speaking out about the divisiveness and dysfunction in Washington and about fixing the broken politics.”

    OGAN CALLS FOR A TRUMP-LESS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    And looking ahead, Hogan noted that “my current job as governor runs until January 2023, and then we’ll take a look and see what the future holds after that.”

    Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland signs the iconic wooden eggs after addressing the Politics and Eggs speaking series at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College, on April 23, 2019, in Goffstown. (Fox News)

    The new ad by An America United has the look and the feel of a campaign commercial and may offer an early glimpse of some of the themes that a potential Hogan 2024 White House campaign might offer.

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    “While Washington politicians tweet at each other, Gov. Hogan is delivering on his promises and getting common sense conservative results in the bluest state in America. With inflation skyrocketing, it’s time they follow his lead and focus on the priorities of struggling Americans,” An America United executive director David Weinman told Fox News.

    Biden’s first stop in Iowa since winning White House sparks 2024 speculation

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    President Biden heads to Iowa on Tuesday to push his economic agenda and highlight the moves he’s making to lower costs for working families.

    The trip to the Hawkeye State will be the president’s first since winning the White House in the 2020 election. And his visit’s expected to shine a spotlight on whether Iowa will continue to kick off the presidential nominating calendar and whether Biden will seek a second term in 2024.

    BIDEN SAYS HE’S RUNNING AGAIN, BUT DEMOCRATS KEEP COMING TO NEW HAMPSHIRE

    Biden’s expected to showcase the investments his administration’s making in Iowa through the massive bipartisan infrastructure measure he signed into law last autumn.

    Then-Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

    The White House says that at the event in Menlo, which is 45 miles west of Des Moines, the president will “discuss his Administration’s actions to lower costs for working families, reduce the impact of Putin’s Price Hike, and Build a Better America with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investments in rural communities.”

    And the stop in Menlo kicks off the administration’s rural infrastructure tour.

    While this is an official trip to push policy, Democratic strategists say that campaign politics both in the 2022 midterms and the 2024 White House race are considerations in the president’s itinerary.

    “There’s no decision that the White House makes about where to send the president that doesn’t have some sort of political consideration. They’re not choosing these places by accident, ever,” a Democratic strategist with ties to Biden world told Fox News.

    HALF OF AMERICANS DOUBT BIDEN WILL RUN FOR REELECTION IN 2024: POLL 

    But the strategist pointed to next year’s midterms, rather than the 2024 White House race, as the main political motivator for heading to Iowa. 

    Menlo is located in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by two-term Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne, who won her 2018 election and 2020 reelection by razor-thin margins. House Republicans, who need a net gain of just five seats in the 435 member chamber to win back the majority, are targeting Axne as she runs for reelection this year. 

    Thanks to Iowa’s longstanding lead off position in the presidential nominating calendar, the president’s stop in Des Moines will also likely generate more speculation about whether the 79-year-old Biden will run for reelection in 2024.

    Then-former Vice President Joe Biden campaigns in Waukee, Iowa on Jan. 30, 2020, ahead of the Iowa caucuses.  (Fox News)

    The then-former vice president made history in November 2020 when he became the oldest person ever elected president. If he campaigns for re-election in 2024 and wins, Biden would be 82 at his second inaugural and 86 at the end of his second term.

    Asked over a year ago at the first formal news conference of his presidency about his 2024 plans, Biden said, “My answer is yes. I plan on running for re-election. That’s my expectation.” 

    And he said in an interview with ABC News in December that “If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again.”

    Former President Donald Trump, at his 2017 inauguration, made history at age 70 as the oldest American sworn in as president. That record was shattered four years later by Biden. 

    CHECK OUT OUR LATEST FOX NEWS WEEKLY COLUMN ON THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

    Fifty-two percent of those questioned in a Wall Street Journal survey conducted early last month said they didn’t think the president will launch a re-election campaign, with 29% saying they do expect Biden to seek re-election and 19% unsure.

    In November, the president made New Hampshire first stop to sell the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure that he had signed into law two days earlier. Besides being a key midterm election battleground state, New Hampshire for a century has held the first primary in the presidential nominating calendar.

    President Joe Biden greets people after delivering a speech on infrastructure while visiting the bridge along NH 175 spanning the Pemigewasset River on November 16, 2021, in Woodstock, New Hampshire.  (Photo by John Tully/Getty Images)

    The president’s trip to Iowa comes as Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) seriously considers a revamping of its 2024 presidential nominating calendar that could knock Iowa from the leadoff position it’s held for half a century. It’s likely Biden will face questions regarding the Democrats’ caucus and primary schedule.

    WILL THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE UPEND THE 2024 PRIMARY CALENDAR?

    Iowa’s leadoff status faced scrutiny last month at the DNC’s winter meetings, as many members who spoke were clearly open to reordering the presidential nominating calendar to better reflect the party’s growing diversity and values. 

    Iowa’s currently followed in the schedule by New Hampshire – and then Nevada and South Carolina.

    The knock for years against Iowa and New Hampshire among many Democrats has been that the states are too White, lack any major urban areas, and aren’t representative of a Democratic Party that’s become increasingly diverse over the past several decades. Nevada and South Carolina are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire.

    Complicating matters, Nevada Democrats last year passed a bill into law that would transform the state’s presidential caucus into a primary and aim to move the contest to the leadoff position in the race for the White House, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. And compounding Iowa’s issues was the botched reporting of the 2020 caucuses, which became a national and international story, and an embarrassment for Iowa Democrats as well as the DNC.

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    The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee – which oversees the party’s presidential nominating calendar – resumes discussions on reordering the schedule when it reconvenes on Wednesday.

    Biden finished a disappointing fourth in Iowa’s 2020 caucuses. Trump carried Iowa by eight points over Biden.

    2024 Watch: In the fundraising fight, Ron DeSantis is the $100 million man

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    As he runs for reelection for a second term steering Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has morphed into a fundraising behemoth.

    The deadline to report March fundraising totals to Florida’s Secretary of State isn’t until Monday, but it’s already clear that the governor – through his reelection campaign and Friends of Ron DeSantis, his political committee – has already hauled in over $100 million so far in the 2022 cycle.

    DESANTIS VS. DISNEY: WHAT’S AT STAKE 

    The massive fundraising total dwarfs the leading Democratic gubernatorial challengers hoping face off and defeat the governor come November. 

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 24, 2022.  (Reuters)

    But the haul – which comes from some of the biggest and most powerful donors in the GOP as well as from small dollar grassroots contributions not only across Florida but from coast to coast – also sends a signal to the rest of the potential 2024 Republican presidential field of DeSantis’ popularity, influence, and strength should he launch a White House campaign.

    Longtime Republican fundraiser and lobbyist David Tamasi told Fox News that there’s plenty of interest in DeSantis among the GOP money class

    NO LET UP IN TRUMP’S FUNDRAISING PROWESS

    “DeSantis continues to be a top draw with the high-end dollar market. The trick will be to translate an expected November win into a monopoly,” Tamasi said.

    Former President Donald Trump remains the most prolific fundraiser in the Republican Party. His Save America political action committee has brought in over $125 million since its launch soon after the 2020 election, and had over $110 million in its coffers as of the end of February. 

    Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, in Florence, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

    But just as he’s a solid number two to Trump and ahead of the rest of the field of other potential contenders in the early 2024 GOP presidential nomination polls, DeSantis is also firmly in second place in the campaign cash dash. The nonprofit and nonpartisan Ballotpedia spotlights that DeSantis has reported raising nearly $110 million, according to figures filed with the Florida Secretary of State.

    TRUMP WINS CPAC 2024 STRAW POLL, WITH DESANTIS SECOND

    Tamasi, who raised money for former President Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 campaigns, noted that “any tier 1 presidential candidate must be able to demonstrate a robust fundraising capability with big donors and even more so now, small donors. We know Trump can raise from both and this haul shows DeSantis has the capability also. The question is who else can join this club?”

    DeSantis has seen his popularity surge among Republican voters in his state and around the nation over the past two years, thanks in large part to his combative pushback against COVID-19 restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic as well as his aggressive actions in the culture wars.

    GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida addresses the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting, on Nov. 6, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Fox News )

    “I am standing my ground. I’m not backing down,” DeSantis emphasized last November as he spoke at a major confab of Republican leaders and activists. “We’ve done an awful lot in the state of Florida. We have a lot more to do, and I have only begun to fight.”

    The governor has repeatedly deflected talk of a 2024 run, saying he’s concentrating on his 2022 gubernatorial reelection and telling Fox News that the next White House race is “way down the road. It’s not anything that I’m planning for.”

    Pompeo’s 2024 deciding factors

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says any decision he makes on whether to run for the White House in the upcoming 2024 election cycle will be dependent on whether he believes “this is the moment” where he can best “serve America.” 

    And Pompeo, a former congressman from Kansas who served as CIA director and later as America’s top diplomat during the Trump administration, inferred in a Fox News interview in Manchester, New Hampshire on Thursday that his decision will not be dependent on whether his former boss or whomever else decides to jump into the next Republican presidential nomination race.

    POMPEO HINTS PRESIDENTIAL RUN NOT DEPENDENT ON WHAT TRUMP DOES

    Hours before Pompeo headlined the Hillsborough County GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner, Trump indicated in an interview with the Washington Post that if he launches a 2024 bid to try and return to the White House, it’s doubtful that Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence, and  DeSantis would also run.

    “If I ran, I can’t imagine they’d want to run. Some out of loyalty would have had a hard time running,” said Trump, who since leaving the White House over 14 months ago has repeatedly flirted with making another presidential bid.

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is joined at the Hillsborough County, New Hampshire GOP’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner by county chair and RNC member Chris Ager, in Manchester, N.H. on April 7, 2022 (Fox News)

    Asked about those comments and whether his own decision would be impacted by what Trump decides, Pompeo told Fox News, “The Pompeos have always used the simple fact of do you believe this is the moment where you think you can best serve America, this is the place you can have the most impact. That will be how we make our decision in the end.”

    2024 PRELUDE: PENCE’S MOVES PREPARE FORMER VP FOR POSSIBLE WHITE HOUSE RUN

    “It’s the right way to think about someone who puts themselves forward to the people of the United States to run for office, whether it’s president or back in home state Kansas,” he emphasized. “All of those things, they turn essentially on your belief that you’re the right person to sit in that place. And if you believe in that, you have an obligation to go do it.”

    Will Haley’s 2022 NH trip pay dividends in 2024

    On her first trip back to New Hampshire in a year and a half, former ambassador to United Nations Nikki Haley was laser focused in supporting Matt Mowers bid for Congress.

    Former Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley campaigns on behalf of GOP congressional candidate Matt Mowers of New Hampshire, at an event on April 4, 2022 in Derry, N.H. (Fox News)

    Haley, the former two-term South Carolina governor, headlined multiple events on Monday for Mowers, a former New Hampshire GOP executive director who later worked on Trump’s 2016 general election campaign before serving in the State Department during the former president’s first two years in office.

    HALEY’S TRIP TO NEW HAMPSHIRE SERVES MULTIPLE PURPOSES

    And the trip by Haley, whom pundits considered a potential 2024 GOP presidential hopeful, generated more buzz about her possible national ambitions.

    Asked about 2024, Haley told Fox News “if we don’t win in 2022 there will be no ’24. That’s why we’re going around the country trying to make sure we do that.”

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    As for her timetable, Haley said “I don’t have to make a decision until the first of next year. But I can tell you I’ve never lost a race. I’m not going to start now. I’ll put a thousand percent into it and finish it.”

    2024 Watch: Pompeo hints potential presidential run not dependent on what Trump decides

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    MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says any decision he makes on whether to run for the White House in the upcoming 2024 election cycle will be dependent on whether he believes “this is the moment” where he can best “serve America.” 

    And Pompeo, a former congressman from Kansas who served as CIA director and later as America’s top diplomat during former President Donald Trump’s administration, inferred in a Fox News interview in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state of New Hampshire on Thursday that his decision will not be dependent on whether his former boss or whomever else decides to jump into the next Republican presidential nomination race.

    POMPEO’S BUSY 2022 ITINERARY POINTS TO POTENTIAL 2024 RUN

    Hours before Pompeo headlined the Hillsborough County GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner, Trump indicated in an interview with the Washington Post that if he launches a 2024 bid to try and return to the White House, it’s doubtful that Pompeo, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would also run.

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo keynotes the Hillsborough County, New Hampshire GOP’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner, in Manchester, N.H. on April 7, 2022. (Fox News)

    “If I ran, I can’t imagine they’d want to run. Some out of loyalty would have had a hard time running,” said Trump, who since leaving the White House over 14 months ago has repeatedly flirted with making another presidential bid.

    2024 PRELUDE: PENCE’S MOVES PREPARE FORMER VP FOR POSSIBLE WHITE HOUSE RUN

    Asked about those comments and whether his own decision would be impacted by what Trump decides, Pompeo told Fox News, “The Pompeos have always used the simple fact of do you believe this is the moment where you think you can best serve America, this is the place you can have the most impact. That will be how we make our decision in the end.”

    “It’s the right way to think about someone who puts themselves forward to the people of the United States to run for office, whether it’s president or back in home state Kansas,” he emphasized. “All of those things, they turn essentially on your belief that you’re the right person to sit in that place. And if you believe in that, you have an obligation to go do it.”

    Pompeo’s been busy over the past year, crisscrossing the country to help raise money and support fellow Republicans running in the midterm elections.

    “We’re going to keep at this until Election Day in November of this year. I’m confident they’ll be a good outcome. The American people desperately need that,” he stressed. 

    “I feel really good about how the election’s going to go this November,” he predicted. “I think the American people can see that the country’s headed in the wrong direction. Gasoline prices are through the room. There’s not stuff on shelves in grocery stores. This is unheard of in the United States of America. And I can see that the American people are going to go to polls and elect something that is radically different from what they see in Congress and the United States Senate today, and frankly in school board races and district attorney races and county election offices all across America.”

    HALEY’S 2022 MISSION IN NEW HAMPSHIRE COULD PAY DIVIDENDS IN 2024

    Pompeo’s travels have already taken him four times over the past year to Iowa, the state whose caucuses for half a century have kicked off the presidential nominating calendar. His stop on Thursday in New Hampshire – which votes second in the calendar after Iowa – was his third over the past year. And he’s made visits to South Carolina and Nevada, which hold the third and fourth contests in the GOP schedule.

    Those visits and the friends he makes now could pay dividends next year and in 2024 if Pompeo decides to launch a presidential campaign.

    Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is joined at the Hillsborough County, New Hampshire GOP’s annual Lincoln-Reagan fundraising dinner by county chair and RNC member Chris Ager, in Manchester, N.H. on April 7, 2022 (Fox News)

    Matt Mayberry, a longtime Republican activist and former New Hampshire GOP vice chair, told Fox News that these early visits are crucial. “Now you’re sitting and having dinner with activists, you’re in those American Legion halls, those VFW’s, diners. This is actually what counts because in order to build a good house, you need to have a strong foundation,” he emphasized.

    Pompeo, a Fox News contributor, concurred, noting that “We are always in the business of making friends because it is through friendships and relationships that you develop good outcomes that matter. I’ve been in this fight for conservative policies since I was a young kid and it always makes a difference that you have friends and allies and partners and colleagues and people who believe in thing that you’re working on and care about.”

    And his quick 24-hour stay in New Hampshire was jam packed. Besides keynoting the fundraising dinner and headlining a separate roundtable with Hillsborough GOP leadership, Pompeo held a meet and greet with Republican leadership in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and was the main attraction at luncheon with the New Hampshire Homebuilders Association. And Pompeo, a U.S. Military Academy graduate who served as a tank platoon leader in Germany during the Cold War, met at an American Legion with fellow West Point graduates who live in New Hampshire.

    CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

    Asked about his timetable, Pompeo reiterated that any decision would come after November’s midterms. And he said, “My wife and I will think and work and pray and make a decision about whether we’re going to reenter public service putting ourselves forward to be holding elective office.”

    Pompeo, in his well-received speech, addressed a crowd of approximately 350 Republican leaders and activists in New Hampshire. He jabbed at President Biden in comments that focused national security and foreign policy as he spotlighted his tenure as Secretary of State and CIA director.

    But he did venture from his wheelhouse.

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    Touching on the culture wars and transgender politics, Pompeo said to loud applause that it’s “not OK for men to be in women’s sports.”

    And with consumer prices soaring, he took at President Biden’s administration, saying, “Don’t let them tell us that it’s OK that inflation’s only 7%.”

    Pence trips spark further 2024 White House race speculation

    Location, location, location!

    In a move that will spark further 2024 speculation, former Vice President Mike Pence will headline a major Republican Party dinner and fundraising event in early June in New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House.

    Fox News was first to report this past week that Pence will headline the Hillsborough County GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan awards dinner on June 3 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

    2024 BUZZ SURROUNDING PENCE, BOTH SCOTTS, CHRISTIE, AND MORE

    Days before the news broke, Pence traveled to South Carolina, the state that votes third in the GOP’s nominating calendar and holds the first southern contest in the presidential primaries, to give his first address since the end of Donald Trump‘s administration on Jan. 20.

    “We’ve got to guard our values … by offering a positive agenda to the American people, grounded in our highest ideals,” Pence spotlighted in his speech.

    He then pledged: “Over the coming months, I’ll have more to say about all of that.”

    The former vice president also touted that he’ll be spending the coming months “pushing back on the liberal agenda” of President Biden’s administration, which he stressed was wrong for the country.

    Never too early for cattle calls

    On Friday Pence spoke at a donor appreciation gathering hosted by Karl Rove, the former President George W. Bush political adviser, longtime GOP strategist and Fox News contributor. The former vice president wasn’t the only potential 2024 Republican White House hopeful attending the gathering, which was held in Austin, Texas.

    Also on the list were former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

    The event, titled the “Texas Victory Committee Donor Appreciation Conference,” wasn’t the only cattle call this past week.

    POSSIBLE WHITE HOUSE HOPEFULS SPEAK AT PRO-LIFE SUMMIT

    A half-dozen potential presidential contenders spoke in-person Monday and Tuesday at the Susan B. Anthony List’s Pro-Life Leaders Summit in Palm Beach, Florida.

    Headlining the first day of the summit, which was first reported by Fox News, was former President Trump, who has repeatedly flirted with making a 2024 presidential run. And Scott keynoted the second day of the summit. Pence addressed the gathering via video.

    SBA List, whose “mission is to end abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders,” has long attracted potential Republican White House hopefuls to its events. Social conservative voters have been a key part of the GOP base for decades.

    The Trump tease continues

    The former president keeps flirting with another White House run.

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    A week after telling FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” that he’s “100% thinking about running again,” Trump told conservative pundit Candace Owens that “it’s very early. But I think people are going to be very, very happy when I make a certain announcement.”

    “You know, for campaign finance reasons, you really can’t do it too early because it becomes a whole different thing… Otherwise I think I’d give you an answer that you’d be very happy with. So we’re looking at that very, very seriously,” Trump added. “All I’d say is stay tuned.”