INSIDE D.C. WITH JOHN GIZZI NEWSMAX WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
GOP Georgia Shootout • Georgia Republicans are expecting their March 12 primary to be one of the most decisive of the 2024 presidential nomination battle. Gov. Brian Kemp, no friend of Donald Trump, and his organization are likely to line up behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. With an eye on the Senate in 2026 and reported presidential ambitions down the line, Kemp has a lot riding on who wins the presidential delegates from his state. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was one of the fi rst House members to endorse the former president, and grassroots activists such as Chris Waldman and Mallory Staples, Georgia director at the State Freedom Caucus Network, are likely to weigh in strong for Trump. A recent Landmark Communications poll showed Trump leading DeSantis 40% to 32% among likely GOP voters in the Peach State.
Rising Star • Last year, Leora Levy, who served as national committeewoman of the GOP Party of Connecticut, stunned pundits and pols by winning her party’s U.S. Senate primary in a never-anticipated landslide. In beating the party establishment-backed candidate, Levy was boosted by a last-minute
32 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2023
endorsement from Donald Trump — which packs a political punch even in historically nonconservative states. While the Cuban- born Levy lost (57% to 43%) to Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal, she is nonetheless considered the hottest GOP property in the Constitution State, and speculation is rampant about what she will do in ’24. Sources say Levy is considering a bid against the state’s other Democrat senator, Chris Murphy, or a more winnable challenge to eight-term Rep. Jim Himes.
Death Tax Repeal • Although no platform committee has yet been constituted for the 2024 Republican National Convention, it’s a foregone conclusion it will call for the immediate repeal of the estate tax. This is mainly due to the 20-plus years of spadework by the 60 Plus Association and near success in securing a repeal by Congress. More than 90% of the GOP members of the House and Senate have received 60 Plus’ Guardian of Seniors’ Rights Award for their support of repealing the 107-year-old tax. “We do expect to have a specifi c mention in the platform in 2024, but the party has been moving away from mentioning specifi c programs,” said Saul Anuzis, president of the 60 Plus Association. “However, we believe this
is as close to a universally accepted issue that would be a win for Republicans than there is.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is a major booster of repeal and will push for its inclusion.
Noem for D.C. • Those nationwide TV spots that began this summer featuring Gov. Kristi Noem urging workers to come to South Dakota for employment were widely interpreted as a venue for promoting her for the vice presidential slot on a ticket headed by
former President Donald Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Not so, conclude several Noem watchers, who say the governor (who will be termed out in ’26) is vying to be secretary of agriculture under a Republican president. Should Noem, who left college to take over the family farm following the death of her father, get the Cabinet slot, she will be grappling with nutrition programs that will cost more than $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years and comprise 80% of the total cost of the 2023 Farm Bill.
LAKE
Kari Lake Plans Senate Run
• Sources in Arizona tell Newsmax that narrow 2022 gubernatorial loser Kari Lake has decided to run for the seat of Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in ’24 and will make a formal announcement in October. Lake, who refused to concede defeat in her last campaign, has been a fi xture on cable news, arguing that erratic vote counting cost her the statehouse. Even political opponents agree that with near-universal name recognition, Lake will be almost impossible to defeat in a primary. Sinema, who has bucked the Biden administration on a few votes, has yet to say whether she will run as an insurgent candidate, while arch-liberal Rep. Ruben Gallego is the probable Democrat nominee.
LEV RADIN/PACIFIC PRESS/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES
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