Politico reports:

Democrats aren’t just eager for Donald Trump to cannonball into the 2024 presidential race before the fall midterms. Across the country, they are actively plotting ways to immediately capitalize on a pre-November announcement.

Campaigns and officials at major Democratic outfits are planning to capture the anticipated cash windfall that would come their way should Trump announce he’s making another run at the White House. Candidates also are exploring ways to exploit Trump’s premature entry to energize despondent base voters and coalesce independents and suburb-dwellers who have soured on the party over stubbornly high inflation.

Since leaving office, Trump’s lies about a stolen election and grievance-filled tirades against disloyal “RINOS” have continued unabated. While he’s never fully receded from the national stage, a formal declaration that he’s running would dominate the media landscape and — many Democrats expect — serve as a major distraction for down-ballot Republicans.

“It puts in perspective what’s at stake, shows that the Republican Party is still extreme and helps set up the contrast,” said Cedric Richmond, a former White House senior adviser now at the Democratic National Committee. “Democrats need to home in on what they stand for — from their agenda to their values and contrast it with how extreme the other side is and what they want to do.”

Having Trump out of the wings as the GOP’s frontrunner and formal standard-bearer will sharpen the stakes “and it will help Democrats,” Richmond added. [Continue reading…]