Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
Subscribe to read this story ad-free
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.
In today’s edition, we look ahead to what’s at stake for President Donald Trump in a handful of upcoming primary runoffs. Plus, Kristen Welker has the latest on Trump’s quest for a deal with Iran to end the war.
Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.
— Adam Wollner
Runoffs provide Trump’s next big GOP tests
By Adam Wollner
The second half of June will bring a trio of unique tests for President Donald Trump as he seeks to keep his near-sterling record of endorsements in Republican primaries this year intact.
Over the next two Tuesdays, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina will hold runoffs for primary contests where no candidate received 50% of the initial vote necessary to win outright. In Alabama’s Senate race and Georgia’s and South Carolina’s gubernatorial races, Trump-backed candidates finished in first place in crowded preliminary primaries.
But that doesn’t mean they enter the runoffs as shoo-ins. They all took less than 40% in the first go-round and are facing opponents who are also running as staunch Trump supporters.
Alabama Senate (June 16): Rep. Barry Moore is facing off against former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, whom Moore ran more than 13 points ahead of in the May 19 primary, for the GOP nomination in the race to succeed outgoing Sen. Tommy Tuberville. While Moore has Trump’s endorsement — the two participated in a tele-rally together last night — Hudson has cast himself as a “warrior for President Trump’s America First Agenda.”
Georgia governor (June 16): Trump also held a tele-rally last night with Lt. Gov. Burt Jones ahead of his Tuesday runoff against billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson. Last month, Jones finished 6 points ahead of Jackson, a first-time candidate who has shaken up the race by spending more than $90 million of his own money and comparing himself to Trump. Unlike in Alabama and South Carolina, the winner of this primary will face a highly competitive general election in battleground Georgia.
South Carolina governor (June 23): Of all the Trump-supported candidates on this list, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette posted the weakest showing in the initial primary, taking 29% and finishing 3 points ahead of Attorney General Alan Wilson. Evette received Trump’s endorsement less than two weeks out from the June 9 vote, and Wilson has highlighted his efforts to defend the president’s agenda in the courts.
So far, only one Trump-endorsed candidate has lost a Republican primary for Senate, House or governor this election cycle. That came in Iowa, when Rep. Randy Feenstra — who won Trump’s endorsement just days before the June 2 primary — was narrowly defeated in the GOP gubernatorial primary by Zach Lahn, a businessman who aligned himself with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Asked about that result by a reporter yesterday, Trump suggested he wasn’t given the “proper information,” saying that “the other person was much more Trump” than Feenstra.
For subscribers: SpaceX’s PAC doubles down on Republicans
By David Ingram and Ben Kamisar
Ahead of Space X’s initial public offering today, the company’s political action committee has funneled contributions heavily toward Republicans, an NBC News review of Federal Election Commission records has found, breaking from its more bipartisan past.
The big question entering the weekend: Can Trump strike a deal with Iran?
Analysis by Kristen Welker
President Donald Trump is talking up a potential agreement with Iran to end the war, but major questions still remain over what will be included and when it will be signed.
Trump said yesterday that the United States “made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” adding that it “should get done over the next few days.”
My NBC News colleagues have reported some of the components of this memorandum of understanding, which still remains unsigned by Iran’s new supreme leader: the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of the U.S. blockade, a ceasefire extension, and steps to address Iran’s nuclear agreement immediately, as other discussions continue as part of a larger deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X this morning that a deal “has never been closer,” though he warned against speculation over its content, saying that “all details will be shared with the public in due course.”
And while Trump called off planned strikes on Iran yesterday, tensions remain high, with a U.S. official telling NBC News two Iranian drones were shot down overnight.
There may be a sense of cautious optimism about an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, but there’s no indication that tensions are easing between Israel and its adversaries. Israel’s defense minister took to social media today to warn — notably, in English — that the country “will not withdraw” from areas in Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, adding that Israel must retain the “ability to act independently to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
As we wait to see whether negotiators are able to get a deal across the finish line, it’s worth remembering what the president told me during our exclusive interview last week.
Trump reiterated that he wouldn’t lift any sanctions, or unfreeze any Iranian assets up front, saying that “comes after.”
“If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking,” Trump said.
And he repeatedly argued that the deal they ultimately strike will be “much better” than anything the two sides could have agreed upon when he withdrew from the Iran deal the Obama administration had negotiated.
We’ll discuss the latest on Iran and more on this Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” where I’ll speak with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.; and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. Steve Kornacki will also join me to break down our latest NBC News poll.
🗞️ Today’s other top stories
- 🗳️ Will the real Dan Sullivan please stand up? A Republican Senate candidate who shares a name with Alaska’s incumbent senator could be kicked off the August primary ballot after a state election official questioned his eligibility. Read more →
- 🎙️ Family matters: Appearing on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast, Hunter Biden acknowledged that his father’s presidential pardon of him tarnished his reputation as commander in chief and demonstrated that “he chose me over his legacy.” Read more →
- 🔍 Vote watch: FBI agents searched an Ohio progressive group’s office as part of a Justice Department investigation into its voter registration efforts. Read more →
- 🚫 Fund fight: A federal judge extended her block on the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund, frustrated that the Justice Department has not said under penalty of perjury whether the fund is truly dead. Read more →
- 🛸 In a galaxy far, far away: A third batch of declassified files released by the Pentagon revealed that government investigators looked into UFO sightings not just in the U.S., but around the world. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Annelise Hanson.
If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
And if you’re a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here.
