| As Ohioans head to the polls today, JMart spends some time in Dublin, where the anti-Trump faction of the GOP may be facing one of its last stands, as MATT DOLAN tries to overcome the MAGA-fueled rise of BERNIE MORENO in the Buckeye State’s Republican Senate primary. Gov. MIKE DeWINE unexpectedly endorsed Dolan last week, “seeing his chance to temper his party’s drift toward Trumpism” by jumping into the fray. “Beyond the cold mathematical assessment, DeWine said he believes Dolan ‘has the much better chance to beat [incumbent Democratic Sen. SHERROD] BROWN this fall.’ “Further, the governor acknowledged, this was a way to try to reorient the GOP, at least in Ohio where the party has a storied history. ‘Yeah, I mean I’m concerned,’ said DeWine.” The stakes: “Because of how long the next senator here may serve, this primary is not merely a proxy war between Trump and the GOP old guard,” JMart notes. “The Republican nomination could also determine whether Ohio will return to its isolationist roots and send two senators to Washington who are uneasy about projecting American force abroad.” For more on the race, read our colleague Ally Mutnick, who has been closely following the contest and has filed another must-read dispatch today from Cincinnati: “Ohio’s Senate primary is a fight between MAGA and the GOP establishment” And follow along with all of today’s major races with POLITICO’s live results page SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN — Despite clinching a deal to provide full-year funding for DHS, negotiators are still staring down a partial government shutdown later this week. Why? Our colleague Anthony Adragna explains:
- These things always take time. Negotiators and staff must turn that agreement into legislative text, a process that inevitably takes some time.
- The 72-hour-rule: House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON has promised members at least 72 hours to read and review legislation before a floor vote. Depending on when text eventually emerges, that could carry us into the weekend and a short shutdown. The speaker could try to waive this rule, but that would risk potentially provoking a rebellion from the far-right (who are already out in opposition).
- The Senate factor: Assuming the package does eventually pass the House, the rules of the Senate mean that any one senator can slow down consideration. Leaders have been able to reach agreement on prior packages of amendment votes to placate conservatives displeased with the funding bills, but we'll see if one materializes here.
“Could it go faster? Passage of these funding bills may be the last thing standing in the way of both chambers from a scheduled two-week recess. In March Madness terms, Jet Fumes are a No. 1 seed that rarely see an upset.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MEDIAWATCH — NICK KRISTOF, the longtime NYT columnist, said yesterday that the paper made a major “mistake” by firing former editorial page editor JAMES BENNET, and that there should be more conservative voices in the opinion section, our colleague Daniel Lippman writes in. “At the individual level, I do think we can be wrong on a lot of things or we can miss important arguments,” Kristof said at the Faith Angle Forum in Florida. He said that if the paper published more conservatives, the Times “would have more credibility as a news organization.” Bennet’s departure from the paper continues to make occasional waves even though he resigned more than three years ago after publishing a controversial opinion piece by Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.). Kristof also criticized the selection of letters to the editor that the paper publishes. “If you look at the tone of letters to the editor of The New York Times, people can’t be as nasty to me as I am to other people,” he said. “I think we would be better off if we had really tough more conservative opinion pieces and letters to the editor.” A Times spokesperson had no comment. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
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