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…

In interviews, more than two dozen Democratic officials including Biden advisers, party committees, members of Congress and the consulting class described a Trump announcement before the midterms as, at a minimum, a positive development for the party, if not a game-changer. Republicans who have tried to manage their ties to Trump will have new reasons to be asked about him. Some may have to decide whether to attend events or rallies alongside him.

It would also strain the party’s desire to keep the focus on economic issues as questions would naturally arise about the very controversies that continue to surround the former president: from his election denialism, to his efforts to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s win, to the intersection of his business dealings and politics. Asked if they knew of a single 2022 campaign or GOP consultant that wanted Trump to declare before November, a top Republican operative replied, “Lol. No.”