Pile-up in Ohio

The Independent's US politics newsletter

View in browser Inside Washington  Written by Andrew Naughtie | May 02, 2022 One night in Washington In the midst of a dismal political climate, Joe Biden had a chance this weekend to act as if he was in fact popular – albeit by joking about the dire ratings he currently suffers. Such is the benefit of the White House Correspondents Dinner, which gives incumbent presidents the chance to play comedian for a night to an audience of mostly appreciative journalists. (As Mr Biden joked, they are one of the only groups of people in the country less popular than him.) Taking the stage during an ongoing pandemic and following on from a notoriously thin-skinned predecessor who declined to participate in the event, Mr Biden struck an avuncular, warm tone that recalled his early presidency, where he briefly basked in an unusually high approval rating. That said, one poll shows a glimmer of hope for his party – albeit largely because the Republican Party's increasing ideological zealotry appears to be driving independent voters away. Happy Monday! Washington is still recovering from the White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend. So instead, our colleague John Bowden is taking over the dispatches to offer his insights from the campaign trail in Ohio.   We're now 24 hours out from the first big GOP Senate primary of the 2022 election season. Voters will hit the polls on Tuesday to decide which of a crowded field of candidates will be the Republican taking on likely Democratic nominee Tim Ryan, a congressman, or his progressive challenger Morgan Harper.   Among the candidates is celebrity author-turned-politician JD Vance, who has, according to all recent polling, rocketed to the top of the field and doubled his support since receiving a coveted late-in-the-day endorsement from GOP kingmaker Donald Trump.   In second place is Josh Mandel, a former state representative and Marine Corps veteran who fought for Mr Trump's support and is running a campaign for the Senate seat centered on Ohio's faith-based communities.   Amusingly, his efforts weren't entirely in vain: At a rally in Nebraska on Sunday, Mr Trump confused the names of the two men while touting his recent endorsements: "You know, we've endorsed Dr Oz. We've endorsed… JP, right? JD Mandel, and he's doing great."   If Mr Mandel wins on Tuesday, it will prove for many in the Republican party that it is officially possible to win a major national primary even without the former president's endorsement. And Ohio, the formerly-purple state that Mr Trump won in both 2016 and 2020, is a highly significant stage for this battle to play out on.   A Mandel win would also have major ramifications for 2024, as the loss of his favored pick could indicate that the Trump brand is no longer bulletproof and draw in rival GOP figures – including some former members of his own administration – eager to make their own bids for the top job. Join The Independent for an on the ground look at the Ohio Senate race and the dynamics playing into the contest between the two frontrunners. Reading list Eric Garcia: Five takeaways from the White House Correspondents Dinner Andrew Feinberg: Joe Manchin cuts ad for Republican congressman facing primary . . What else you need to know today Nancy Pelosi this weekend paid a visit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, bringing a congressional delegation with her to Kyiv en route to talks with other leaders in Poland. "Our delegation traveled to Kyiv to send an unmistakable and resounding message to the entire world: America stands firmly with Ukraine," the speaker said in a statement. Meanwhile, as Russia reorients its position in eastern Ukraine and the atmosphere in Moldova's Transnistria region becomes increasingly tense, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has warned that setbacks for the Russian military could presage a far more dangerous backlash. "Ironically, the more success that the Ukrainians have, the greater the risk that Putin will do something because he's losing and has to save face at home," he said on Fox News Sunday. "And so the potential of a chemical, biological or tactical nuclear weapon may grow as a result of that".   John Eastman, the former Trump lawyer who penned an infamous memo spelling out a plan for Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election in Congress, has turned over 10,000 new pages of documents to the 6 January select committee – but is still withholding another 27,000 pages that he claims are covered by attorney-client privilege. His efforts to assert that privilege appear to be on thin ice, with a judge already finding that his dealings with Mr Trump could meet the "crime-fraud" exemption to the principle. On another front, Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to stonewall reporters asking about texts she allegedly sent around the time of the insurrection, repeatedly claiming either that she doesn't remember them or that they may not be hers. A group of voters seeking to have her barred from office under the 14th amendment say the texts make her testimony at a recent hearing "even more incredible".   As the Department of Justice sues the state of Alabama over a law criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender young people, the Republican governor of Arkansas has broken with one of his counterparts over the party's increasingly belligerent tactics in the culture war it is fighting on LGBT issues. Asked about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's attack on Disney over its opposition to the state's notorious "Don't Say Gay" legislation, Asa Hutchinson raised concerns that hitting out at private businesses risked violating core conservative values. "To me, that's the old Republican principle of having a restrained government," he said. "It's a fair debate about these special tax privileges. I understand that debate. But let's not go after businesses and punish them because we disagree with what they said."   Aside from mangling JD Vance's name with that of his leading rival, Donald Trump's performance in Ohio this weekend was mocked from plenty of angles, including by Fox Nation host Piers Morgan, whose interview with the former president screened last week saw an irritated Mr Trump insisting yet again he had had the 2020 election stolen from him and boasting about a supposed hole-in-one at a golf game earlier this year. Mr Trump's rant about Mr Morgan focused on the host's waning ratings, with the ex-commander-in-chief musing about the ratings he could get if he started his own show. And finally The right-wing scramble to re-embrace Twitter after Elon Musk's buyout remains chaotic, with Donald Trump so far insisting he will remain on his own benighted platform, Truth Social – and conspiracy theorist and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell starting up a new account only to have it shut down again almost immediately. Not that Mr Musk himself is faring much better: aside from mocking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for "hitting on me", he has also been hit with the unflattering news that more than 50 per cent of his followers appear to be fake. Articles available exclusively to subscribers Borzou Daragahi: Inside Gazprom, the state within a state: The Russian energy giant that extends Putin's power News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating Find out more . Let me know your thoughts on Twitter @AndrewNaughtie or email. If you can spare a minute we'd love your feedback on our newsletters. 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