DEMS EXPANDING THE MAP INTO RED STATES. This week, Roll Call highlighted Democrats’ strong candidate recruitment efforts in red and purple states. While Republicans eye a fragile majority and a bleak 2016 map, Democrats are working towards recruiting strong candidates and expanding the map.
WE SWEAR THIS ISN’T AN ONION HEADLINE. And we swear we didn’t write it ourselves. From The Hill:
GOP Senators Would Back Trump As Republican Nominee
“It’s hard to predict because a lot of things happen between now and then but I certainly would support the nominee, no matter who it is,” said Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the 2008 GOP nominee whose war record and imprisonment in Vietnam was mocked over the summer by Trump.
“I intend to,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R), who faces a tough re-election in Ohio, a swing state and presidential battleground.
Thanks, Senator Portman!
GOP SHUTDOWN WATCH: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DON’T WANT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. A new CNN/ORC pollout this week showed that a majority of Americans – more than seven in 10 – think that the extreme, partisan, GOP-led crusade to shut down Planned Parenthood isn’t worth a government shutdown. Just last week, Both Bloomberg and the Texas Tribune highlighted the drastic measures Republicans are prepared to take to fight against women’s health. Bloomberg noted that this spells trouble for the GOP as it would “damage the party’s image going into an election year where Republicans are defending 24 Senate seats along with their Senate majority” and reminds that ”the Republican Party’s approval rating sank to an all-time low during the 2013 shutdown, according to Gallup.”
PORTMAN DOUBLES BUY FOR ‘VULGAR’ AD. This week, Rob Portman caught heat for an ad using images of flag-draped coffins from the Iraq War. Ohio veterans immediately slammed Portman for the “vulgar” ad and called for it to be taken down. But in a move that showcases just how desperate Rob Portman is, the campaign bucked the calls for the offensive, inappropriate ad to come down, and instead doubled the size of the buy.
WFMJ: Controversy Over Use Of Image Of Flag Draped Coffins In Campaign Ad
Cleveland Plain Dealer: Veterans Battle Over Military Coffin Photo In Rob Portman Ad
Dayton Daily News: Portman’s Military Ad Sparks Feud With Strickland
FROM DSCC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR JUSTIN BARASKY: “Not only is Rob Portman refusing to apologize or take down the ad that uses an image of flag draped coffins returning home from wars he supported, he’s doubling the size of the buy. Rob Portman should be ashamed of himself for this kind of offensive imagery and his refusal to take down the ad or apologize reveals a desperate campaign that’s willing to do anything to win.”
PAT TOOMEY’S LAUNCH DAY MELTDOWN. Pat Toomey is eyeing bleak reelection prospects after being elected by a razor-thin margin in 2010, and if his terrible campaign launch this week is any indication of what’s to come, his reelection prospects are looking dimmer by the day. Toomey drew negative headlines after his ham-handed attempt to stop a demonstration from happening outside of his campaign launch by shamelessly pandering to a gun-rights group.
OUR TAKE: Toomey’s extreme record speaks for itself, and despite his best efforts to rewrite history and moderate his image, Pennsylvanians won’t be so easily fooled come 2016. But as many have pointed out, he has a pretty high tightrope to walk between now and then, so expect him to continue getting tied in knots over his record.
RON JOHNSON’S VERY UNREASONABLE IDEAS ABOUT WHAT’S “REASONABLE.” Following yet another week of bad headlines about Ron Johnson’s shady campaign finance scheme and renewed attention following the DSCC’s five figure digital ad campaign, Johnson appeared on a Wisconsin radio show to again try and explain away questions about his shadowy campaign finance history. But when asked about his compensation package, Johnson said that he thought his $700,000 a year salary is “a pretty reasonable compensation level.” That’s right – the same senator who opposes the federal minimum wage altogether thinks his own $700,000 salary is “reasonable.” Expect this moment of truth to haunt Johnson for a very long time.
Huffington Post: Senator Who Opposes Federal Minimum Wage Thinks A $700,000 Salary Is Just Fine For Himself
***SPECIAL INTEREST SIREN*** Ron Johnson has already been promised millions of dollars from the extreme Club for Growth, but Rove’s American Crossroads is clearly nervous about Johnson’s viability after his numerous missteps. And they admitted to USA Today that they “haven’t made any decisions about where we’re going to spend yet” but Johnson’s “going to have to run a flawless campaign in order to win that race.”
OUR TAKE: Ron Johnson is the poster child for outside special interest money, and he knows he will need every penny spent on his behalf to overcome his lagging poll numbers which show Feingold ahead (remember – he’s refusing to accept the proposed Badger Pledge to stop outside money). Expect Johnson to be in full audition mode, taking every special interest-favored position he can as he seeks to win back the hearts, minds and pocketbooks of American Crossroads – while further alienating voters in Wisconsin.
DEMS UP IN WISCONSIN, ILLINOIS SENATE RACES. Roll Call reports that a new poll out this week shows Tammy Duckworth and Russ Feingold leading Mark Kirk and Ron Johnson in the Illinois and Wisconsin Senate races. Duckworth leads Kirk 45-41 percent, while Feingold leads Johnson 47-39 percent.
IN THE STATES
ARKANSAS – CONNER ELDRIDGE CHALLENGING BOOZMAN. Conner Eldridge, a former U.S. attorney who also spent time helping small businesses in the private sector, announced his campaign against longtime Washington insider John Boozman.
NEW HAMPSHIRE – AYOTTE’S ALLIES TAKE HEAT FOR POLITICIZING HEROIN CRISIS. After a shadowy group backing Kelly Ayotte began running an ad that tries to score political points of the state’s heroin crisis, the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire demanded that the ad be removed from the air. In an editorial today, The Nashua Telegraph agreed calling the ad “despicable,” “a political hack job,” “drivel,” and “the lowest form of political activism.”
WISCONSIN – FEINGOLD FIGHTS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS. Russ Feingold continued his focus on college affordability with anop-ed last week that highlighted solutions to help students struggling under the weight of crushing college loan debt.
NORTH DAKOTA – HEITKAMP OPTS TO STAY IN SENATE. In a move that Politico called “a boon to the party’s efforts to regain control of the Senate in 2017,” Heidi Heitkamp announced last week that she will stay in the Senate and not make a bid for governor.
ILLINOIS – MARK KIRK CALL YOUR OFFICE. Because it’s not a full week of the 2016 cycle without a meltdown of some sort on the Kirk campaign – this week, Senator Kirk is facing an ethics complaint over allegedly having his official Senate office redecorated for free by the same decorator behind Rep. Aaron Schock’s infamous Downton Abbey themed office.
TWEET OF THE WEEK: This week’s tweet of the week comes from Roll Call’s Emily Cahn, who said “Senate Democrats have recruited candidates in some tough states, hoping to expand the map if the climate is right http://bit.ly/1Lca8OV”
But we almost went with this one.
