“REPUBLICAN NIGHTMARE” IN FLORIDA LEAVES GOP RUNNING TO…RUBIO? This week, CNN detailed the increasingly bad choices facing GOP voters in the Florida US Senate primary and why the race has turned into “the Republican nightmare nobody wants to talk about.”
A few highlights –
On the GOP Field: “all of the candidates have their vulnerabilities, plus there are fears that they won’t be able to raise the kind of cash necessary to run a viable campaign in one of the most expensive states in the country.”
On implications for November: “some are worried that the Florida Republican candidates’ underwhelming performance so far could mean that the party would have to drain precious resources into the Sunshine State to save their endangered majority”
On David Jolly:“Show me a member around here who spends 30 hours a week making fundraising calls? I don’t know any. He doesn’t know any. This is all about his Senate race. It’s pretty disappointing.”– Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee
On Carlos Beruff:“his critics say he’s a loose cannon who cannot be trusted in a general election.”
On Carlos Lopez-Cantera: “has so far not been able to build much of a major war chest”
On Ron DeSantis: “some Republicans argue that he’d stand little chance in a general election where he’d have to appeal to swing and moderate voters.”
THIS MORNING’S MUST READ – DSCC MEMO. This all-out panic about the candidates has sent Republicans running to failed presidential candidate Marco Rubio. In the past 48 hours, everyone from the GOP Senate caucus to Donald Trump have been publicly begging Rubio to run for re-election in an attempt to save their plummeting chances in the race. The problem with that strategy? Rubio is a terrible fallback plan. After suffering a crushing defeat in his home state that forced him to drop out of the GOP Presidential Primary, Rubio has returned to the U.S. Senate –the job he admitted disliking – a deeply damaged and unpopular figure in his home state. Check out the DSCC’s memo for more.
GOOD WEEK FOR ROSS AND ANOTHER BAD WEEK FOR BURR. Deborah Ross started off the week with an appearance on PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton on Sunday. She addressed Burr’s ties to Trump and his shameful support of the controversial bathroom law, HB2. While Ross was discussing how she’s been a strong opponent of HB2 since day one, Senator Richard Burr saw poll numbers indicating that HB2 was increasingly unpopular with North Carolinians and decided to suddenly soften his stance on the bill. Burr previously claimed that HB2 didn’t discriminate and was not hurting North Carolina’s economy, but once he saw that his positions were hurting his re-election chances, he quickly changed his tune. After Burr’s politically motivated flip flop, he went quiet, “staying mum about his comments” with his spokeswoman declining to clarify his statements and not responding to an interview request. To wrap up the week, a PPP poll was released that showed an extremely tight race between Burr and Ross. The poll showed a statistical tie between the two candidates and Burr’s approval ratings 12 points underwater, with only 28% of North Carolinians approving of him. Burr’s opposition to the Supreme Court continues to hurt him, with North Carolina voters saying by a 17 point margin they’re less likely to vote for a Senator who opposes a hearing and vote.
DSCC RAISES $6.1M IN APRIL, BEATING NRSC BY $1.9M. The DSCC raised $6.1 million in April, outraising the NRSC by $1.9 million despite being in the minority. The DSCC outraised the NRSC 14 of the last 16 months. The DSCC increased its cash on hand to $20.9 million and has no operational debt.
BONUS MUST-READS. Just in case you missed them.
Washington Post: Vulnerable Republican Senators Have a Big Problem: Voters Don’t Know Who They Are – Going to be a major, and costly, problems for Senators like Rob Portman, Richard Burr, Mark Kirk, Pat Toomey and Ron Johnson
Cap Times (Editorial): Ron Johnson is no friend of veterans – Editorial board calls out Johnson for his “disastrous” term in the Senate and his “disregard for veterans.”
Washington Post: Senate Republicans say they’ll win in spite of Donald Trump. I’m not so sure. Amber Phillips annotates the NRSC’s memo to explain why she’s “not so sure” Senate GOP will win in November.
DSCC MEMO: Nine Years Since Last Minimum Wage Increase, Democratic Senate Candidates Fight to Raise the Wage – Contrasts how Democrats are fighting for American workers, while GOP Senators and candidates continue to put interests of corporate backers ahead of working families.
Washington Post: Want to see a GOP senator duck and run? Ask about Trump. – See how GOP Senators are ducking and dodging questions on their presumptive presidential nominee (It isn’t pretty).
Funny or Die: This Republican “Senate Squad” Facebook Video is the Most Bizarre Thing You’ll See Today– If you saw Senate Republicans’ ridiculous “Senate Squad” video last week, Funny or Die’s more accurate version is a must-watch.
IN THE STATES
PENNSYLVANIA – A review from Buzzfeed News found that Senator Pat Toomey has missed more than 80% of Senate Budget Committee hearings since 2013. In at least two of those instances, Toomey skipped the hearings to attend fundraisers.
NEW HAMPSHIRE – Americans for Responsible Solutions PAC, formed by former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, released a new television ad targeting Kelly Ayotte. The ad slams Ayotte for voting to protect a loophole that allows dangerous people to buy guns without a background check. It also hits Ayotte for voting against closing the terror gap in 2015. Watch “Safety” here.
MISSOURI — Jason Kander announced “Veterans and Military Families for Kander,” a coalition of veteran supporters dedicated to getting Jason Kander elected in November. Kander spoke about how he knows first-hand about the struggles veterans face and that he will be a voice for them when he is in the Senate.
ILLINOIS – The Duckworth campaign released a new television ad highlighting how Mark Kirk had repeatedly lied about his military service record. Watch “Their Stories” here.
OHIO – A new digital ad released by the Strickland campaign highlights Rob Portman’s long record of supporting job killing trade deals, using the voice of Donald Trump. Watch “Trump Said It” here.
MORE OHIO – Two labor groups launched ads hitting Senator Rob Portman. The AFSCME PAC released an ad slamming Portman for supporting trade deals that cost Ohio jobs, and the American Federation of Teachers released an ad hitting Portman for supporting Social Security privatization and ties to Wall Street.
IOWA — The Judge campaign released its first television ad this week, highlighting the work Patty Judge did during Iowa’s flooding in 2008. Watch “Flood” here.
INDIANA – The AFL-CIO, which represents over 300,000 workers in Indiana, endorsed Baron Hill.
KENTUCKY — The Huffington Post profiled Jim Gray in Kentucky, who won his primary in Kentucky last week by winning nearly 60% of the vote. Check it out here.
TWEET OF THE WEEK –This week’s Tweet of the Week goes to CNN’s Manu Raju, for tweeting one of our favorite quotes from his story on the Republican Senate primary in Florida: “@mkraju: “It’s the Republican NIGHTMARE nobody wants to talk about,” @HolmesJosh says of fears #flsen may cost GOP majority.”
Enjoy the long weekend and Happy Memorial Day!
Sadie Weiner
@sadieweiner|
Lauren Passalacqua
Sam Lau
Lara Sisselman
