The TAKE with Rick Klein
Four months to the day from the midterms, close to everything is breaking Republicans' way -- from polling to the issue set, and even the infighting that leaves Democrats arguing with each other instead of with the party looking to oust them from power.
Enter, again, Donald Trump. The former president is about to have another moment or three -- some in ways he is choosing, others in ways he can't control.
Friday will bring the first of back-to-back days where Trump will be campaigning for favored candidates, first in Nevada and then Saturday in Alaska. Just hours earlier, Trump's former White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, will be under oath and on camera in front of the House Jan. 6 committee, ahead of the next round of public hearings next week.
That plays out ahead of what might be the most consequential series of primary contests all year, where Trump is looking to stamp out embers of Republican resistance across a range of races. The stretch of races will culminate in efforts to defeat Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. -- the vice chairman of the Jan. 6 committee -- in her Aug. 16 primary.
Even as new headlines call into question the electability of Trump's endorsed candidates in Georgia and Pennsylvania, he's joining new fights in Arizona that pit him against the endorsed candidate of Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz.
Speculation continues to run strong that the former president will announce plans to run again sooner rather than later. But whether that happens or not, the ways that Trump is running now -- in addition to what his team is running from -- linger for the Republican Party.
The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper
The influence of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on November's elections in the Sunshine State will extend beyond his name on the ballot.
DeSantis, who is running for reelection, announced his pick to run his agency designed to investigate voting crimes. The agency's creation was spurred by false claims of fraud espoused by Republicans, including DeSantis, following former President Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election. There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
DeSantis has tapped former state prosecutor and Broward County elections supervisor Pete Antonacci for the job. He'll helm the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which will employ more than 30 people and have a budget of $3.5 million, despite DeSantis' previous acknowledgment that there were few instances of voter fraud in Florida in 2020.
In a move some consider unorthodox, DeSantis is weighing in on school board races.
In June, he rolled out a wave of school board endorsements. Those endorsements came after candidates filled out a survey about the governor's controversial agenda on education. The survey concluded with a pledge for candidates to "stand with Ron DeSantis" and among other things, "keep woke gender ideology out of schools," "reject the use of critical race theory" and "educate, not indoctrinate."
"We need strong local school board members who are committed to advancing our agenda to put students first and protect parents' rights," DeSantis said on Twitter.
Cementing that influence will not only be important for DeSantis through the midterms but also as he potentially charts his course toward a 2024 presidential run.
The TIP with Alisa Wiersema
Nearly two months after Pennsylvania's high-profile primary elections, Senate candidates in one of the nation's top-billed contests have largely taken their campaigning off the trail and online.
Throughout the summer political lull, Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz have navigated the initial stages of the general election by narrowing their respective policy focuses while trading jabs on social media.
Although it remains unclear when Fetterman will physically return to the campaign trail after suffering a stroke in May, he's remained active on Twitter with a steady stream of memes and comebacks blasting Oz over his residency status.
The latest move came on Wednesday in response to a video Oz tweeted, in which he criticized Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney for saying he will "be happy" when he is no longer mayor during a press conference following a shooting in the state's capital over the holiday weekend.
Soon after, Kenney walked back the statement in a local news interview and attributed it to expressing frustration at the violent event.
While calling for Kenney's resignation, Oz also took a swipe at his opponent, saying, "The far-left ideology of Kenney, [District Attorney] Krasner and John Fetterman, put criminals ahead of the community, victims and all of our safety." Oz did not mention Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, who recently earned the backing of several Pennsylvania Republicans over GOP candidate Doug Mastriano.
"Pro tip: don't film an ad for your PA senate campaign from your mansion in New Jersey," Fetterman fired back in a tweet posted alongside photos from a 2020 magazine feature of the doctor's Cliffside Park, N.J., home tour.
NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight
27. That's the percentage of Americans who have confidence in the 14 institutions that Gallup regularly asks about -- the lowest level of reported trust in institutions since Gallup began the survey in 1979. And as FiveThirtyEight's Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux and Zoha Qamar write, this could be a real problem for democracy, as a lack of trust in government institutions can breed a whole host of problems, ranging from distrust in our elections and elected officials, to violence.
THE PLAYLIST
ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. "Start Here" begins Friday morning with the resignation of U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson after several recent scandals. ABC News' Ian Pannell leads us off. Then, as Brittney Griner's family receives a call from the White House, the family of Paul Whelan -- another American held prisoner in Russia -- reacts to inaction in getting him home. And, the host of ABC's The Dropout podcast, Rebecca Jarvis, discusses the verdict of former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani. http://apple.co/2HPocUL
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS WEEKEND
Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.
The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back on Monday for the latest.