Election 2024 latest news: Biden poised to raise $25 million at fundraiser with Obama, Clinton

President Biden plans to travel Thursday to New York, where he will be joined at a fundraiser by former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. The Biden campaign says the event will raise $25 million. Late-night host Stephen Colbert is scheduled to moderate a discussion among the three presidents, and actress Mindy Kaling is emceeing the star-studded event.

Here’s what to know

• Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) has decided against running as the No Labels candidate for president after spending time and money gaming out the prospects of a centrist third-party bid.
• Former president Donald Trump plans a return to the campaign trail Tuesday with a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
• Sign up for our elections newsletter, The Campaign Moment, by Aaron Blake.

7:47 AM: Biden event with Obama and Clinton expected to raise $25 million

Election 2024 latest news: Biden poised to raise $25 million at fundraiser with Obama, Clinton

President Biden’s event Thursday with former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton is expected to raise over $25 million, making it “the most successful fundraiser in American history,” according to Biden’s campaign.

The event, called “An Evening with President Biden and Presidents Obama and Clinton,” is set to take place at a sold-out Radio City Music Hall in New York before an audience of more than 5,000 people and thousands more watching online, the campaign said.

Biden-Harris 2024 campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg called the event “a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to reelect the Biden-Harris ticket.”

“This historic raise is a show of strong enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice President Harris and a testament to the unprecedented fundraising machine we’ve built,” he said in a statement.

Thursday’s program, according to the campaign, will be hosted by actress Mindy Kaling and include musical guests Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele.

First lady Jill Biden will kick off the evening, and Stephen Colbert, host of “The Late Show” on CBS, will moderate the main event — a conversation with the three presidents, the campaign said.

By: Maegan Vazquez

7:27 AM: Trump to attend wake for New York police officer, campaign says

Former president Donald Trump awaits the start of a pretrial hearing in New York on Monday.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a wake on Thursday for a New York police officer killed during a traffic stop in Queens on Monday, his campaign said.

“President Trump is moved by the invitation to join NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller’s family and colleagues as they deal with his senseless and tragic death,” the campaign said in a statement. Trump has heavily emphasized crime as a campaign issue.

Jury selection is scheduled to start April 15 for a trial in New York where Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hash money payments to an adult-film actress ahead of the 2016 election.

By: Isaac Arnsdorf

7:15 AM: For Democrats, abortion pill case opens new front in election-year battle

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, left, and Erin Hawley, Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel, speak to each other outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

The campaign arm of Senate Democrats is seeking to put Republican candidates on defense over access to mifepristone as the Supreme Court considers restricting the abortion medication.

The court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could make it harder to obtain mifepristone, which is used in more than 60 percent of U.S. abortions. Democrats everywhere have been campaigning aggressively on reproductive rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — and the battle over medication abortion represents a new front against the GOP.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and state parties mobilized Wednesday to draw contrasts with Republicans over the issue. They highlighted, for example, how Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake said after the overturning of Roe that she would “very much support banning” abortion pills.

The DSCC also went after its top two incumbent targets — GOP Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Ted Cruz (Tex.) — for signing an amicus brief in February that urged limited access to mifepristone. DSCC spokesman Tommy Garcia said in a statement that the brief was “another reminder of the threat a GOP controlled Senate would pose to abortion access in every part of the country.”

Some top Senate GOP candidates — including Lake — have sought to moderate their positions on abortion since the end of Roe, voicing opposition to a national ban. However, they have been more quiet on the medication.

By: Patrick Svitek

7:00 AM: Chris Christie turns down No Labels presidential bid after discussions

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie speaks at a town hall event Wednesday in Windham, N.H., where he announced he is dropping out of the presidential race.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie (R) has decided against running as the No Labels candidate for president after spending time and money gaming out the prospects of a centrist third-party bid against President Biden and former president Donald Trump.

The decision leaves the group with few remaining high-profile options for candidates, despite widespread public concern over the two major-party contenders.

“I appreciate the encouragement I’ve gotten to pursue a third-party candidacy,” Christie said in a statement to The Washington Post on Wednesday. “While I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward.”

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By: Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey

6:40 AM: Judge recommends conservative lawyer John Eastman be disbarred in California

Attorney John Eastman, the architect of a legal strategy aimed at keeping Donald Trump in power, faces a recommendation from a judge that he be disbarred in California.

A California judge recommended that conservative attorney John Eastman be disbarred in the state over his role in developing a legal strategy to help President Donald Trump stay in power after his 2020 election loss.

State Bar Court of California Judge Yvette Roland issued the recommendation in a 128-page ruling on Wednesday, ordering that Eastman’s law license be put on “involuntary inactive” status effective three days after her ruling. The California Supreme Court will issue a final ruling on the matter, which Eastman can appeal. Along with the recommendation for disbarment, Roland recommended that Eastman be ordered to pay $10,000 in monetary sanctions to the State Bar of California Client Security Fund.

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By: Maegan Vazquez

6:20 AM: NBC offered Ronna McDaniel a better contract to appear on MSNBC

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel speaks before the start of a Republican presidential primary debate in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27.

MSNBC President Rashida Jones participated in recruiting former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel earlier this month, and McDaniel was offered a more lucrative contributor contract after she agreed to appear on MSNBC and not just NBC News, according to people familiar with the matter.

NBC News said Tuesday that McDaniel — who repeatedly backed Donald Trump in raising questions about the validity of the 2020 election and helped organize a scheme involving alternate electors — would not appear on the network as a paid contributor after MSNBC’s anchors repeatedly attacked the hiring and called for the decision to be reversed.

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By: Sarah Ellison and Josh Dawsey

6:00 AM: Montana Supreme Court strikes down voting restrictions

Voters cast ballots in Elliston, Mont., on Nov. 3, 2020.

Montana’s highest court on Wednesday struck down four laws that the state’s Republican-led legislature passed in 2021 to restrict voting.

The Montana Supreme Court declared the laws unconstitutional, siding with a district court judge who ruled against them in 2022. The laws “violate the fundamental right to vote provided to all citizens by the Montana Constitution,” according to a summary of the majority opinion that was signed by four of the seven justices.

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By: Patrick Svitek