JONATHAN J. COOPER

National politics reporter

Cooper writes about national politics from Arizona and beyond for The Associated Press. Now based in Phoenix, he previously covered politics in Oregon and California.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump pauses to speak after voting in the Florida primary election in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Biden and Trump notch more wins Tuesday as primary voters urge them to keep up the fight

Joe Biden and Donald Trump are moving closer to a November rematch, as primary voters around the country urge their favored candidate to keep up the fight and worry about what might happen if their side loses this fall.

FILE - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a campaign event, Oct. 9, 2023, in Philadelphia. The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose famous name has helped him build buzz for his independent bid. He plans to announce his vice presidential nominee later this month in Oakland, Calif, and is stoking rumors that he might pick New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Who is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why is he running for president?

The lack of excitement many Americans feel about a presidential rematch has heightened interest in alternatives to the major-party candidates — none more so than Robert F.

FILE - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a campaign event at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Miami. Kennedy is having conversations with vice presidential candidates as he gets closer to announcing his runningmate for his independent presidential bid. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to announce vice presidential running mate March 26 in California

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce a running mate for his independent presidential campaign on March 26 in Oakland, California.

FILE - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a campaign event at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Miami. Kennedy is having conversations with vice presidential candidates as he gets closer to announcing his runningmate for his independent presidential bid. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering Aaron Rodgers or Jesse Ventura for a 2024 running mate

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is having conversations with vice presidential candidates as he gets closer to announcing his running mate for his independent presidential bid.

FILE - Democrat Ruben Gallego talks to reporters outside the Silicon Valley Bank office in Tempe, Ariz., Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Gallego began airing the first television ads of his U.S. Senate campaign on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, as the crucial Arizona race takes shape as a one-on-one contest after incumbent Kyrsten Sinema declined to run for a second term. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper, File)

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego begins TV ads as the Arizona US Senate race takes shape without Sinema

Democratic congressman Ruben Gallego has started airing the first television ads of his Arizona U.S. Senate campaign.

FILE - Then Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 29, 2022. Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has announced that she won’t run for a second term. Her decision Tuesday comes after her estrangement from the Democratic Party left her politically homeless and without a clear path to reelection. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona says she won’t seek reelection, avoiding a 3-way race

Her decision Tuesday comes after her estrangement from the Democratic Party left her politically homeless and without a clear path to reelection.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Trump wins caucuses in Missouri and Idaho and sweeps Michigan GOP convention

Donald Trump has won the Republican caucuses in Idaho and Missouri and he’s captured all 39 delegates that were up for grabs at the Michigan party convention.

FILE - People with the group No Labels hold signs during a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 13, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The third-party group No Labels will meet privately as it decides whether to launch a 2024 bid

The third-party presidential movement No Labels plans to meet next week to decide whether to help launch an independent candidacy for the White House.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a Fox News Channel town hall Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Greenville, S.C., as moderator Laura Ingraham listens. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Donald Trump again compares his criminal indictments to imprisonment and death of Putin’s top rival

Donald Trump is doubling down on comparing his criminal indictments to the circumstances of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about border security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washington. The Democrats' reframing of the immigration debate risks straining Biden's alliance with immigrants and advocates who campaigned for him in 2020. But it appears to be working for Democrats after they won a special House election in New York. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Biden’s rightward shift on immigration angers advocates. But it’s resonating with many Democrats

The Democrats’ reframing of the immigration debate risks straining President Joe Biden’s support from immigrants and their advocates who campaigned for him in 2020.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus night rally in Las Vegas, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Trump demonstrates his grip on the GOP base in Nevada’s caucuses

Donald Trump has won Nevada’s Republican presidential caucuses after he was the only major candidate to participate.

FILE - Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks with supporters Jan. 15, 2024, in Des Moines, Iowa. Even without Donald Trump on Nevada’s Republican ballot, Nikki Haley was still denied her first victory. The indignity of a distant second-place finish behind “none of these candidates” was a blow for Haley facilitated by the staunch Trump allies who lead Nevada’s GOP. They had already maneuvered to ensure Trump has a lock on the state’s 26 delegates, who will be awarded in caucuses on Thursday where he faces only token opposition. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Haley pushes forward after Trump’s allies in Nevada ensured her loss to ‘none of these candidates’

Even without Donald Trump on Nevada’s Republican ballot, Nikki Haley was still denied her first victory.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley addresses a gathering during a campaign rally, Jan. 19, 2024, in Manchester, N.H. Haley used her speech to step up her questions about Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump's mental fitness, highlighting her calls for mental competency tests for politicians — her way to point to both Trump's and President Joe Biden's ages (77 and 81, respectively). (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

‘None of these candidates’ wins Nevada in a blowout defeat to Haley

Nikki Haley has been swamped in Nevada’s symbolic Republican presidential primary as GOP voters resoundingly picked the “none of these candidates” option on the ballot.

People work at the site of a tent shelter built for migrants in the parking lot of an old CVS store, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Biden is left with few choices as immigration takes center stage in American politics

Almost immediately after Joe Biden walked into the Oval Office on his first day as president, he began rolling back his predecessor’s immigration policies, which he’d assailed throughout the 2020 campaign as inhumane.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Trump praises Texas governor as border state clashes with Biden administration over immigration

Former President Donald Trump has praised Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for defying the Biden administration over immigration. Texas has restricted U.S.

FILE - In this photo provided by NASA, NASA Chief Financial Officer Jeff DeWit speaks during a news conference in New York on June 7, 2019. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit has resigned after he could be heard in a leaked recording offering a job and asking U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake to name a price that would keep her out of politics. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP, File)

Arizona GOP boss quits after leaked tape shows him floating a job for Kari Lake to skip Senate race

Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit has resigned after he could be heard in a leaked recording offering a job and asking U.S.

FILE - No Labels leadership and guests from left, Dan Webb, National Co-Chair Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, and founding Chairman and former Senator Joe Lieberman, speak about the 2024 election at National Press Club, in Washington, Jan. 18, 2024. Two Democratic-aligned groups this week have filed campaign finance complaints against No Labels. They are hoping to crimp the centrist group's pipeline of campaign cash and force it to follow the same rules as formal political parties. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Who are No Labels’ donors? Democratic groups file complaints in an attempt to find out

WASHINGTON (AP) — For months, the centrist group No Labels has stockpiled cash and diligently worked to secure ballot access for a potential third-party presidential bid, striking fear among allies of President Joe Biden that the effort could siphon away votes and hand the White House to Donald Trum

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens at a campaign event in Concord, N.H., Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Tim Scott endorses Donald Trump ahead of New Hampshire Republican primary

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has endorsed former President Donald Trump ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP primary.

No Labels Founding Chairman and former Senator Joe Lieberman, speaks about the 2024 election at National Press Club, in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) ,

Haley deserves serious consideration for No Labels presidential ticket if interested, co-chair says

A top No Labels leader says Nikki Haley “would deserve serious consideration” for the group’s nomination if it decides to run a third-party candidate for president.

A worker walks back stage after Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis finished speaking to supporters during a caucus night party, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Judge says No Labels can block candidates from running for offices other than president in Arizona

A federal judge has ruled that the third-party group No Labels can prohibit members from using its ballot line to run for office in Arizona.

FILE - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan addresses supporters at the Maryland statehouse, Jan. 10, 2023, in Annapolis, Md. Hogan, a former governor and moderate Republican who has been critical of Donald Trump, stepped down last month from the leadership of the third-party movement No Labels, a move that could signal his preparations to run for president using the group's ballot line. Hogan declined to comment and pointed to a letter to No Labels President and CEO Nancy Jacobson announcing his resignation as co-chair, which was dated Dec. 15 and obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday, Jan 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan steps down from No Labels’ board in a possible sign of a 2024 bid

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan stepped down last month from the leadership of the third-party movement No Labels.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens as Bob Vander Plaats speaks to media following a Fox News Town Hall in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

DeSantis says nominating Trump would make 2024 a referendum on the ex-president rather than Biden

Ron DeSantis says that nominating Donald Trump would make the 2024 election about his legal troubles rather than the nation’s ills under President Joe Biden.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interacts with voters at a voter rally, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

In battleground Arizona, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. draws Biden and Trump voters united by distrust

Some voted for Donald Trump, others for Joe Biden. A few had never wanted anything to do with politics before they heard Robert F.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a voter rally, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

In battleground Arizona, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. draws Biden and Trump voters united by distrust

Independent candidates rarely succeed in U.S. politics, if they can make the ballot at all. But they don’t usually carry a famous last name like that of Robert F.

FILE - U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and his ex-wife, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, tour an affordable housing development in Phoenix along with their 6-year-old son, Michael Gallego, on March 19, 2023. Kate Gallego on Monday endorsed Ruben Gallego's U.S. Senate run, helping him blunt a potential liability after the couple divorced weeks before their child was born. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper, file)

Ruben Gallego is endorsed by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, his ex-wife, in bid for Arizona Senate seat

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has endorsed her ex-husband, U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, in his campaign to move up to the Senate.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Reno, Nev. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Trump says Nevada fake electors treated ‘unfairly’ during rally in Reno

Donald Trump called out three of Nevada’s fake electors during a rally in Reno. The former president said Sunday the fake electors are being treated unfairly.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a meet and greet, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

DeSantis goes after Trump on abortion, COVID-19 and the border wall in an Iowa town hall

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says Donald Trump “flip-flipped” on abortion, overreached in response to COVID-19 and failed to uphold his campaign pledge to get Mexico to pay for a wall on the southern U.S. border.

Republican presidential candidates from left, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The GOP debate field was asked about Trump. But most of the stage’s attacks focused on Nikki Haley

With just over a month before the 2024 primary calendar begins, the debate demonstrated how firm Trump’s grip remains on the party.

FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. The 2024 presidential election is drawing a robust field of independent, third party and long shot candidates. Kennedy last month ended his Democratic primary challenge to Biden and is running instead as an independent. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

Many voters are weary about a Biden-Trump rematch in 2024. Third parties hope they can fill the gap

The 2024 presidential election is drawing a robust field of independent, third party and long shot candidates.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the Family Leader's Thanksgiving Family Forum, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Influential Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats endorses Ron DeSantis

An influential Iowa evangelical leader is endorsing Ron DeSantis for president before the leadoff Republican caucuses.