Our thoughts are with the people of Nice and all of France today.
BAYH ANNOUNCES INDIANA RUN. This week, former Indiana Governor and U.S. Senator Evan Bayh announced he will run to represent Indiana in the U.S. Senate. In his announcement, he spoke of the need to return Hoosier common sense to Washington and how he will fight to put progress ahead of partisan infighting. Throughout his career, Bayh has crossed the aisle to cut taxes, reform welfare, and make college more affordable for Hoosiers, while taking on China’s unfair trade practices and fighting to cut red tape for small businesses.
RATINGS MOVE IN DEMS FAVOR. In the wake of Bayh’s entrance into the race, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Cook Political Report moved the race from Republican favored to “Tossup.” Rothenberg & Gonzales shifted it to “Tossup/Tilts Democratic.”
BAYH RELEASES FIRST TV AD. In his first campaign ad, Bayh highlights his commitment to progress and how he will bring Hoosier common sense back to the U.S. Senate. Watch “Work Together” here.
DEM CHALLENGERS POST BIG FUNDRAISING NUMBERS IN Q2. Across the country, Democratic challengers posted impressive fundraising numbers in the second quarter of 2016, reflecting the frustration voters feel with the Republican majority’s brand of obstructionist, irresponsible governance.
Wisconsin – Russ Feingold outraised incumbent Ron Johnson for the fifth straight quarter, this time by $1.3 million. In the first 6 months of 2016, Feingold has outraised Johnson by $2.5 million.
Illinois – For the fourth straight quarter, Tammy Duckworth outraised incumbent Mark Kirk, more than doubling Kirk’s fundraising over the same period. Duckworth now has more than a $2 million cash on hand advantage over Kirk after raising $2.7 million in the second quarter.
New Hampshire – Maggie Hassan “far outraised” Senator Kelly Ayotte, raising an impressive $3.2 million. She outraised Ayotte by $700,000 and has significantly shrunk Ayotte’s cash on hand advantage.
North Carolina – Deborah Ross raised $2.1 million, outraising Senator Richard Burr by more than $600,000. This is the second straight fundraising quarter that Ross outraised two-term incumbent Burr.
Arizona – Ann Kirkpatrick raised $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2016, her best quarter yet, matching five-term incumbent Senator John McCain for the quarter and closing his cash on hand lead by nearly $1 million.
Pennsylvania – In her best fundraising quarter yet, Katie McGinty raised $2.9 million in the second quarter of the year, nearly matching former Wall Street executive Pat Toomey’s fundraising pace.
Missouri – Jason Kander had his best fundraising quarter yet, raising $1.75 million and ending the quarter with $3.8 million on hand. Kander received more than 20,500 contributions, 94% of which were $100 or less.
Nevada – Catherine Cortez Masto reported another stellar fundraising quarter, raising $3 million in the second quarter and ending June with $3.4 million cash on hand.
Ohio – Ted Strickland raised almost $2 million, coming from strong grassroots support. The average online donation was $17 and approximately 90% of the contributions were under $50.
NEW THIS AM – PPP POLL HAS KANDER WITHIN 3. A new poll this morning from PPP calls Missouri’s Senate race “one of the most underrated” in the country and shows Roy Blunt only leading Jason Kander by 3 points. Blunt’s approvals are underwater and Kander is winning more support from Republicans than Blunt is from Democrats. This poll shows that Missouri is one of the races to watch this cycle.
MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT AYOTTE’S FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE TIES. Last week, Ayotte’s explanation that she didn’t know about a for-profit university’s unscrupulous practices was debunked by WMUR, and this week new scrutiny arose. The Department of Justice launched a federal investigation into the shady tactics Bridgepoint University, which donated $8,000 to Ayotte’s campaign, used to scam people out of thousands of dollars. NHPR reported that in particular, the company is being investigated for “luring veterans to enroll in order to gain access to federal student aid through the GI Bill.”
FOR-PROFIT COLLEGES “TRIP UP” OTHER GOP SENATORS, TOO. MSNBC reported that Marco Rubio and Pat Toomey also have problematic connections with shady for-profit colleges like Trump University. Read more here.
GOP MAJORITY HEADS HOME FOR RECESS WITHOUT DOING THEIR JOBS. Congress headed home for a 7 week recess yesterday without action on Zika funding, gun safety legislation, or filling the vacant Supreme Court seat. Yet another example of why the GOP majority isn’t working.
Politico: Congress takes 7-week vacation with little to show for it
The fight to combat Zika won’t get another penny from Congress. Lawmakers still have no plan to fund the government. And the gun violence convulsing the nation? Don’t look to Capitol Hill for a solution.
…They’ve also had a less than stellar track-record on appropriations, one of the key priorities for the GOP-led Congress. While Republicans hoped winning control of both chambers would mean a return to regular order — where all or at least some of the 12 spending bills cleared Congress — they’ve fallen short of getting even a single one to the president’s desk.
…The Senate, meanwhile, is on track to work the fewest number of days in 60 years and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is overseeing a historic judicial blockade, moving just 20 district and circuit judges since taking control of the chamber.
….In the meantime, GOP leaders are having a hard time selling their “we’re getting things done” mantra, as lawmakers leave for nearly two months with little to brag about back home.
“I’d have to think,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) when asked to list some of the bills he thought were big successes for Congress so far this year.
ANOTHER BAD WEEK FOR THE GOP IN COLORADO. The Senate race in Colorado continues to be a major disappointment for Senate Republicans. Three new polls show Michael Bennet leading challenger Darryl Glenn, including two that have him up double digits. All polls show him with high approval ratings, while Glenn is largely unknown. Additionally, this week Senator Bennet announced yesterday that his campaign raised $2.7 million in the second quarter of 2016 and now has $6.1 million cash on hand. And the NRSC still hasn’t acknowledged Glenn as its candidate, though they’ll have an opportunity when he speaks to the GOP Convention in Cleveland next week.
BONUS MUST READS – because we know there was a lot of news this week
The Hill Op-Ed: Rubio’s political philosophy? Marco first – “Rubio deserves to be made a private citizen again. He has been an ineffective, absentee lawmaker, and his brand of leadership is little more than poorly masked personal ambition.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial: Of course Andy Blunt took his clients to Washington – “The Blunts try to downplay it, but everyone who follows Missouri politics knows lobbying is the Blunt family business.”
Philadelphia Daily News Editorial: Toomey’s attack on sanctuary cities backfires– “WHEN IN DOUBT, try fear-mongering. That’s the tactic used recently by Sen. Pat Toomey…”
Concord Monitor Op-Ed: Gun lobby tells Ayotte how to vote– “The fact is that Sen. Ayotte has a dangerous, irresponsible record of failing to vote for responsible laws that help reduce gun violence. Instead, time and time again, she has voted with the gun lobby.”
Huffington Post: Super PAC and Dark Money Spending Already Top $100 Million in Fight for Senate Control: In all, Republican groups have spent $70 million of the $101 million total.”
Arizona Republic: Kirkpatrick: How do we solve congressional gridlock? Term limits– “Spend too many years in Washington and you can easily become out of touch. Spend three decades in Washington and you can completely change. If you need an example, just look at what has happened with my Senate opponent, John McCain, who has spent the past 33 years there.”
MSNBC: Republicans ready to ignore the Zika threat until the fall– “But this Republican-led Congress isn’t exactly a model for constructive productivity, and it’s likely members will head home without tackling some key issues on the nation’s to-do list. Politico reported yesterday, for example, on the GOP’s refusal to budge on the federal response to the Zika virus threat.”
The Hill: Grassley challenger no stranger to defying odds– “’I always believed that if I could talk to people, if I could tell them what I wanted to do and why I was doing it, that they would vote for me, and I believe that today,’ Judge said.”
Huffington Post: Before SCOTUS Blockade, This GOP Senator Wanted Obama To Hurry Up And Fill Federal Vacancies– “But before the Supreme Court seat opened up this year, the senator considered filling federal vacancies to be more urgent. In June 2015, when the Senate was debating the National Defense Authorization Act, Johnson offered an amendment underscoring that Obama should have to fill federal posts within 210 days of a vacancy opening up.”
IN THE STATES
FLORIDA – Congresswoman Gwen Graham announced her endorsement of Patrick Murphy in Florida. Equality PAC also endorsed Murphy this week, touting him as a “visionary leader on LGBT equality in the House.”
WISCONSIN – A new ad released by the Feingold campaign hits Senator Ron Johnson on his votes to keep student loan rates high. Even though more than 500,000 Wisconsinites have student loans, Johnson doesn’t even believe there should be federal student loans. Watch “Studying” here.
MORE WISCONSIN – A new Marquette University Law School poll shows Russ Feingold maintaining his strong lead in Wisconsin. Feingold leads 48% – 41% among registered voters.
EVEN MORE WISCONSIN – NARAL endorsed Russ Feingold this week, touting his record of protecting abortion rights and access to women’s health care.
ILLINOIS — A new television ad released by the Duckworth campaign this week features Illinois veterans highlighting the work Tammy Duckworth has done for them, and contrasts that with Mark Kirk’s past of lying about his military record. Watch “Flat out” here.
IOWA – Progress Iowa launched the site www.FakeGrassley.com to highlight the shortfalls of Senator Chuck Grassley’s “Full Grassley.”
OHIO – The Strickland campaign released a digital ad featuring Donald Trump’s praise of Senator Rob Portman in Ohio. At a Cincinnati rally last week, Trump gave a shout-out to Portman, saying that the Senator “has really been good to me.” Watch the ad here.
NEW HAMPSHIRE – A new ad from Americans for Responsible Solutions hits Senator Kelly Ayotte for misleading Granite Staters about her position on commonsense gun safety measures. Watch “Mislead” here.
PENNSYLVANIA – A new ad from the League of Conservation Voters and the Environmental Defense Action Fund hit Senator Pat Toomey for protecting billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil-industry polluters. In exchange, Toomey has received over $700,000 in campaign contributions from these big oil groups. Watch “Friend” here.
TWEET OF THE WEEK – This week’s Tweet of the Week goes out to CNN’s Eric Bradner for giving a perfect example of how Republicans reacted to news of Evan Bayh running in Indiana: @ericbradner: Asked an Indiana GOPer what the reaction to Bayh’s been, “on a scale of 1 to ‘F–K!!!'” The Republican’s response: “HOLY MOTHER-F’ING F—K.”
Enjoy the weekend!
Sadie Weiner
Lauren Passalacqua
Sam Lau
Lara Sisselman
