THE KANDER ADS THAT HAVE EVERYONE TALKING. This week, all eyes turned to Missouri when the Kander campaign released a new ad that’s already being called “the best ad of the election.” In “Background Checks,” Afghanistan War veteran Jason Kander assembles a rifle blindfolded while speaking about his military service and his support for both the Second Amendment and commonsense gun safety proposals.
Washington Post: This may be the best ad of the election so far
Yahoo: Blindfolded Senate candidate casually assembles gun in campaign ad
The Week: Watch this Democratic Senate candidate’s perfect retort to the NRA
Huffington Post: Roy Blunt’s Senate Challenger Can Assemble An AR-15 Blindfolded
Talking Points Memo: Dem Senate Nominee Assembles Rifle While Blindfolded In TV Ad
AND THAT’S NOT THE ONLY NEW AD IN #MOSEN. “Background Checks” isn’t the only new ad on the air in Missouri this week. The Kander campaign released an additional ad that features Jason speaking about his service in Afghanistan and why he’s running for Senate, saying it’s time for a new generation to lead in Washington. End Citizens United PAC also launched an ad that slams Senator Roy Blunt for the deep lobbyist ties at the heart of his re-election campaign, and then contrasts Blunt’s record of looking out for himself and his family with Kander’s service in Afghanistan. The ad concludes with the powerful line “Kander served his country, Blunt served himself.” Watch here. Finally, Vote Vets is up with an ad that hits Senator Blunt for misleading Missourians on his draft deferments during the Vietnam War. All of these ads help show the stark contrast between the two candidates running in Missouri.
MOMENTUM’S ON KANDER’S SIDE. An Emerson poll released yesterday shows Jason Kander leading Senator Blunt 42%-40%.
NEW NPR RANKINGS: “PLENTIFUL PICK-UP OPPORTUNITIES” FOR DEMS. NPR released its latest Senate rankings this week, with 9 of the 10 seats most likely to flip currently held by Republicans. The rankings note that “two months away from Election Day, there are plentiful pick-up opportunities for Democrats.” Check it out here.
DSCC LAUNCHES BURR BAILOUT AS BURR CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE. This week, the DSCC launched the “Burr Bailout” to highlight all of the ways Senator Richard Burr’s Washington special interests are trying to bail out Burr and his sinking campaign. Burr’s faced weeks of awful headlines, and now Republican dark money groups backed by the Koch Brothers and Karl Rove are desperately pouring millions in to save his sinking campaign. Even former President George W. Bush is joining the bailout, announcing he’ll headline a fundraiser for Burr in October. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported how “Republicans here are increasingly nervous about the prospects in November” for Burr and the weak campaign he’s running. And in more bad news for Burr, a McClatchy report shows Burr used campaign funds to help enrich his family.
McClatchy: For GOP senator’s political funds, it’s all in the family
North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr’s political committees have paid nearly $200,000 over the last 16 years to his in-laws and a firm employing his son for office rent and administrative services.
…From 2011 through 2014, Burr’s campaign reported renting office space for $600 to $625 per month – for a total of $29,550 – from the Brand Intelligence Group, an internet marketing research startup. Burr’s son, Tyler, was listed as a vice president in corporate filings until last year.
…Burr had even greater legal leeway in the use of funds collected by his separate leadership political action committee, which similarly collects donations but not directly for his reelection. That committee paid his wife’s sister for administrative work and leased space from her husband.
Since 2000, the committee has paid $88,724, at the rate of $464.10 per month, to his sister-in-law, Mary Fauth. She has served as treasurer of his leadership PAC, the Next Century Fund.
DEMS FILE ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST JOHNSON. In a big development in the Wisconsin Senate race, this week it was revealed that there was no agreement to make what Senator Ron Johnson has called a “deferred compensation” payment from his company PACUR, coincidentally covering how much Johnson personally spent on his campaign, until after he resigned. For those unfamiliar with the story, Ron Johnson received a $10 million payment from PACUR after he left the company in 2010, covering the $9 million he lent to his own first campaign for Senate. The campaign refuses to point to any documentation that the company planned to pay Johnson regardless of his candidacy, raising questions about whether his company broke the law by underwriting his 2010 Senate race. Wisconsin Democrats have filed an ethics complaint asking for an investigation into whether Johnson broke the Senate ethics rules and federal law with this shady scheme.
AS SEEN ON TV. This week in ads…
ARIZONA. The Kirkpatrick campaign released a Spanish language ad this week showing how Senator John McCain has changed in Washington. The ad features Arizona voters speaking about how they once thought McCain was on their side on immigration, but his record shows how much he’s changed. Watch “Pensábamos Que Sabíamos” here.
COLORADO. The Bennet campaign released a new video highlighting how Senator Michael Bennet has helped the small mountain town of Red Cliff cut through bureaucratic red tape and refinance their water system loans. Watch “Get Things Done” here.
FLORIDA. The Florida Education Association, Organize Now, and VAMOS4PR launched an ad campaign this week that hits Marco Rubio for breaking his promise to support Puerto Rico, instead “selling out” to his billionare campaign contributors. Listen to the radio ad here and see the two digital ads here and here. Senate Majority PAC and AFSCME PEOPLE also released an ad attacking Rubio for wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare. “Weaken Us” also notes that Rubio’s taken nearly $1 million from the insurance industry that would benefit from his plans to privatize the two programs.
INDIANA. The Bayh campaign released a new ad touting Evan Bayh’s record of working across the aisle to fight for Hoosier families. Come for the recap of Bayh’s strong record, stay for the impressive basketball shot. Watch here. Senate Majority PAC also released a new ad, “See It,” slamming Congressman Joe Heck for calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme.
NEVADA. A new ad from the Cortez Masto campaign features Nevada law enforcement officers telling Nevadans not to believe Congressman Joe Heck and his DC allies’ lies about Catherine Cortez Masto’s record as Attorney General. Watch “Don’t Believe” here.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. Planned Parenthood Votes and Emily’s List’s Women Votes released an ad that highlights Senator Kelly Ayotte’s six votes to defund Planned Parenthood. The ad ties Ayotte’s position to Donald Trump’s, who also wants to defund the organization and thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned. The Hassan campaign released a similar ad this morning, calling out Ayotte and her DC allies for putting defunding Planned Parenthood at the top of their to-do list. Watch here.
PENNSYLVANIA. The Senate Majority PAC released an ad, “Reality,” on Monday attacking Pat Toomey on his recent support of trade agreements.
WISCONSIN. The Feingold campaign released an ad that hits Senator Ron Johnson on his comments calling Social Security a “legal Ponzi scheme.” Watch “Ponzi” here.
BONUS MUST-READS.
Tampa Bay Times: Anti-Iran Rubio skipped nearly half Foreign Relations hearings on Iran (Rubio misses half the hearings on the subject he tries to position himself as an expert on)
McClatchy: Senate is on track to work fewest number of days since 1956 (The majority is NOT working)
Huffington Post: Approval Ratings Drop For Vulnerable GOP Senators In Key States (Pat Toomey and Mark Kirk’s favorables have plummeted in the last few months)
Philadelphia Inquirer: McGinty: $100 million fine against Wells Fargo shows value of consumer agency (McGinty recognizes work the CFPB has done to protect Pennsylvanians, while Toomey still wants it dismantled)
IN THE STATES.
NEVADA – Todd Vinger, a Republican former undersheriff in Nevada, published an op-ed in the Reno Gazette-Journal calling out Congressman Joe Heck’s desperate false attacks against Catherine Cortez Masto, saying, “these kinds of personal and unfounded attacks are shameful and beneath anyone who wants to represent us in Washington.”
MORE NEVADA – Catherine Cortez Masto has been celebrating Mexican Independence Day with supporters in Las Vegas all week. She held events at the Mexican consulate, with civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, Latino pastors, and Latino small business owners. She is also bringing two supporters to a concert with the Mexican band Mana tonight.
EVEN MORE NEVADA – The Cortez Masto campaign launched @FactCheckHeck to make sure Nevada voters know the truth about Catherine Cortez Masto’s impressive record as Attorney General. As Congressman Joe Heck and his DC allies spend millions in desperate attacks, make sure to check @FactCheckHeck for the truth.
INDIANA – This week, Evan Bayh called for a law that would prevent lawmakers from collecting a paycheck during a government shutdown and for a ban on taxpayer-funded mailings promoting themselves. While Bayh called for these “common sense” proposals, Congressman Todd Young refused to say whether he took a paycheck during the Republican-led shutdown in 2013 and wouldn’t comment on his use of congressional mailings – the most of any member of the Indiana delegation since 2010.
MORE INDIANA – Today, Congressman Todd Young welcomes Speaker Paul Ryan, the architect of the budget that would privatize Social Security and end Medicare as we know it, to Indiana. Young was not only a reliable vote for Ryan’s dangerous policies, but said he “helped to draft” them, even though they’d be devastating for Hoosier seniors and middle-class families.
FLORIDA – Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, a PAC created after the Orlando Pulse shooting, endorsed Patrick Murphy in Florida. The group touted Murphy’s support for “common-sense” gun regulations and slammed Senator Marco Rubio for being a reliable vote against such proposals.
MORE FLORIDA – Last week, two desperate Republican attacks against Patrick Murphy were debunked, and this week two more were rated as untrue. One ad was rated “Mostly False,” saying it “ignores critical facts” and the other rated “False” for being plain “wrong.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE – Senator Kelly Ayotte won her primary on Tuesday night in her quest to spend six more years representing her special interest backers instead of the people of New Hampshire. Read more about Ayotte’s long record of putting special interests ahead of Granite Staters here.
PENNSYLVANIA – Braddock Mayor John Fetterman led a protest outside of Senator Pat Toomey’s office in Erie, where he delivered balloons to highlight Toomey’s ties to Wall Street. See more about the protests here.
IOWA – Patty Judge called for four televised debates with Chuck Grassley 78 days ago, but Grassley refuses to face her more than once on TV. The Judge campaign launched a new website www.DuckDuckChuck.com highlighting Grassley’s repeated attempts to dodge debates. The website features a timeline of Grassley and his campaign’s refusal to respond to requests for more debates.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: There were so many great tweets to choose from about Jason Kander’s awesome new ad, but one of our favorites comes from Huffington Post’s Sam Stein: “@samsteinhp: Is this the most bad ass pro-background check campaign ad ever run? https://youtu.be/-wqOApBLPio” (The answer is obviously yes.)
