Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand on stage before a Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash)

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the Republican presidential nomination fight for much of the year. Neither dominated the debate stage Wednesday night.

A supporter of Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels points to the incoming state-wide data of the Wisconsin governor'’s race during an election night campaign event for Michels at the Italian Community Center, Nov. 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Kenny Yoo, File)

Republicans chose Milwaukee for the first debate and for the national convention in just 11 months largely because of Wisconsin’s well-earned status as a swing state. Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. 

Moms for Liberty members, from left, Cheryl Bryant, Mishelle Minella, Kelly Shilson and Jessica Tillmann pose for a portrait at Reiter Park on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, in Longwood, Fla. (Chasity Maynard / Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

Moms for Liberty didn’t exist during the last presidential campaign, but the Florida-based nonprofit that champions “parental rights” in education has rapidly become a major player for 2024, boosted in part by GOP operatives, politicians and donors.

People wait in line to early vote for the U.S. Senate runoff election in Georgia between Sen. Raphael Warnock and challenger Herschel Walker, on Nov. 28, 2022, in Kennesaw, Ga., near Atlanta. (AP Photo / Mike Stewart, File)

Republicans are poised to launch aggressive get-out-the-vote campaigns for 2024 that employ just those strategies, attempting to match the emphasis on early voting Democrats have used for years to lock in many of their supporters well ahead of Election Day.

FILE - Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses a gathering during a town hall style meeting at New England College, April 20, 2023, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa, File)

The campaign will be the second for the former governor and federal prosecutor, who lost to Donald Trump in 2016 and went on to become a close on-and-off adviser before breaking with the former president over his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election.

Protesters stand outside of the Senate chamber at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo / Darron Cummings, File)

Sounding the alarm about the current political environment, the nation’s largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans said advisories warning against travel to dangerous places aren’t enough to help people already living in so-called hostile states.

Former Vice President Mike Pence talks with local residents during a meet and greet on May 23, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall)

Mike Pence, the nation's 48th vice president, will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and kickoff event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, which is his 64th birthday, according to people familiar with his plans. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. DeSantis has filed a declaration of candidacy for president, entering the 2024 race as Donald Trump's top GOP rival (AP Photo / John Raoux, File)

The 44-year-old Republican revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott delivers his speech announcing his candidacy for president of the United States on the campus of Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, S.C., Monday, May 22, 2023. (AP Photo / Mic Smith)

The Senate’s only Black Republican, Scott kicked off the campaign in his hometown of North Charleston, on the campus of Charleston Southern University, his alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. 

Former President Donald Trump sits at the defense table with his legal team in a Manhattan court, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo / Seth Wenig, Pool)

Donald Trump’s repetition of those words, which have been taken up by other top Republicans, show how he is trying to turn his historic position as the first former president charged with crimes to his advantage.

“We should put the right to choose on every ballot,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. (Christopher Dilts / Bloomberg / Getty Images)

“We should put the right to choose on every ballot across the country in 2024 — not just with the candidates we choose, but with referendum efforts to enshrine reproductive rights in states where right-wing politicians are stripping those rights away,” Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker told CNN.

Pictured is a transgender rights protest outside of the White House in Washington in 2018. (Sarah Silbiger / The New York Times / Redux via CNN)

In a presidential proclamation on Thursday and a subsequent statement on Friday, Biden acknowledged “a wave of discriminatory state laws” aimed at trans Americans, squarely blaming “MAGA extremists” for “advancing hundreds of hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families.”

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport, Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Waco, Texas. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

While Trump and his lawyers prepared for his defense, the prosecutor in his hush money case defended the grand jury investigation that propelled him toward trial, while congressional Republicans painted it as politically motivated.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, left, speaks to reporters before the MockCon event at University Chapel at Washington and Lee University on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Lexington, Va. (Scott P. Yates / The Roanoke Times via AP)

From Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, there appears to be little rush to join the field of official presidential candidates. The reluctance reflects the unsettled nature of U.S. politics.

Former President Donald J. Trump watches the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 18, 2023, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
,

Law enforcement officials are bracing for protests and the possibility of violence after Donald Trump called on his supporters to protest ahead of a possible indictment in New York.

Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Nov. 2, 2022. (WTTW News)

Mayor Gary Grasso of Burr Ridge says the Republican Party needs to listen to those more moderate voices if the party is to make an impact going forward in Illinois.