Trump’s “Ghost Voters”: Spooked Iowa Caucus-Goers May Come to Haunt Republicans

Trump’s Twitter Warrant • Teflon Bob • Lessons From Ohio [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( Trump’s “Ghost Voters”: Spooked Iowa Caucus-Goers May Come to Haunt Republicans Good morning from the Hive newsroom! What if all these Iowa voters that appear to be for Donald Trump are actually ghosts? Well, “ghost voters,” Mark McKinnon’s [new take]( on the idea of a silent majority. This time they’re not quietly in support of Trump, as was the case in 2016, but rather quietly quitting the MAGA mob. McKinnon says he sees Trump’s support softening in the Hawkeye State—does that mean the thrice-indicted ex-president could get ghosted in the caucuses? In other news, Abigail Tracy [highlights]( abortion-rights supporters’ victory in the Ohio special election, where a Republican effort to make constitutional amendments more difficult to achieve was soundly defeated. The vote shows that reproductive rights are still pushing voters to the polls—and that Republicans’ culture-war messaging isn’t as strong as they might think. Plus, Tracy [explains]( why we may soon be calling embattled New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, now facing a second federal investigation, Teflon Bob. Thanks for reading. [donald trump with supporters ]( [Trump’s “Ghost Voters”: Spooked Iowa Caucus-Goers May Come to Haunt Republicans]( By [Mark McKinnon]( [They appear to be for Trump. But they are afraid to say out loud what they really believe: The embattled former president is a loser. And, come Election Day, they may vanish in the mist.]( [Read more button](   [Why Bob Menendez, Subject to a Second Federal Investigation, May Skate Through Reelection]( By [Abigail Tracy]( [Call him Teflon Bob.]( [Read more button](   [Ohio’s Special Election Shows Abortion Is Still Driving People to the Polls]( By [Abigail Tracy]( [Voters’ rebuke of a Republican-led ballot initiative should serve as a warning shot to the GOP that its culture-war agenda might not be a winner.]( [Read more button](   [Elon Musk’s Twitter Wanted to Tell Trump About a Sealed Search Warrant and Potentially F--k Up Jack Smith’s Criminal Investigation]( By [Bess Levin]( [A judge feared that notifying Trump could give him an opportunity to destroy evidence or “flee” the prosecution.]( [Read more button](   [True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him]( By [Julie Miller]( [In 1981, Margy Palm was abducted by Stephen Morin outside a Kmart. She’s never told the whole shocking story—until now.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe](newsletter=vf) Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2023 Condé Nast