DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: GOP’S ‘ROCKY SENATE ROSTER’ OF FLAWED CANDIDATES – SENATE DEMS CHIP IN FOR AMERICA – OZ PORK ROLLED ON JERSEY DAY – WI DEMS UNIFIED

🚨WEE WOO WEE WOO🚨 – REPUBLICANS SOUND THE ALARM OVER ‘ROCKY SENATE ROSTER’ OF CANDIDATES. The bad press continues to pile up for the clown car of “flawed Republican candidates” running for Senate, who are embracing “fringe and divisive” positions that are “unlikely to resonate with the crucial voters who swing between both major parties in elections.”

• POLITICO: Walker’s fumbles highlight GOP’s rocky Senate roster.“The Warnock-Walker matchup in Georgia isn’t the only midterm race where the Senate GOP is starting to worry about blowing it.”

• Reuters: Fringe candidates putting Republicans’ U.S. Senate hopes at risk. “Republican voters’ embrace of fringe and divisive candidates is jeopardizing the party’s goal of taking control of the U.S. Senate in November’s midterm elections.”

• POLITICO: ‘Alarm bell’: GOP reassures donors despite Oz struggles. “The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is privately sounding the alarm about physician Mehmet Oz’s bid for the Senate in the critical battleground of Pennsylvania.”

• MSNBC (WATCH): Flawed Republican Candidates Help Democrats Effort To Hold Onto Senate Control“Herschel Walker in Georgia – bizarre, bizarre comments about everything from air pollution… among other scandals and his inability to debate Raphael Warnock.”

CHIP CHIP, HOORAY! SENATE DEMOCRATS PASS CHIPS LEGISLATION TO LOWER COSTS, OUT-COMPETE CHINA. Senate Democrats voted to pass bipartisan Chips legislation this week that will lower costs, ensure that more products are made here in America, and help the U.S. out-compete countries like China. Here’s what voters are reading and watching about the legislation:

• AZ – Arizona Republic: Senate OKs semiconductor chip bill, which Sen. Mark Kelly says will lower prices, bring jobs. “‘It means lower costs for everyday products that depend on microchips,’ Kelly, D-Ariz., said Tuesday at a Capitol Hill news conference. ‘It means we can stay ahead of China, and that we won’t rely on them or other countries for our microchip supply. And finally, it means tens of thousands of jobs in places like Arizona.’”

• CO – KKTV (WATCH): Chips for America Act Bill Passes Through Senate. Sen. Bennet: “It’s really important for us to make things here, and Colorado is very well-positioned to do that and prioritizing, instead, our workforce, our wages, our supply chain, and our national security.”

• GA – Axios Atlanta: Warnock applauds semiconductor package passage. “Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) served on the conference committee which drafted the language of the bill and took up the issue of the nation’s semiconductor chip shortage starting in April 2021.”

• NH – WMUR: ​​US Senate advances bill to boost semiconductor production. “‘It brings that manufacturing back home,’ U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan said. ‘It also invests in what a lot of experts call the ‘innovation ecosystem’ necessary to sustain that kind of manufacturing and will be really important for bringing prices down as we increase the supply of semiconductors.’”

SO MUCH FOR ‘AMERICA FIRST’ – ROJO & RUBIO VOTE AGAINST CHIPS, SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK VETERANS HEALTH CARE. There’s only one word to describe Senate Republicans who opposed bills to strengthen our country and improve health care for our veterans: disgraceful.

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson votes against bipartisan legislation to ramp up production of U.S.-made semiconductor chips.“Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson was among 33 senators to oppose bipartisan legislation that would put tens of billions of dollars toward the domestic production of semiconductor chips.”

• MSNBC: Marco Rubio rejects bipartisan compromises (over and over again). “Given recent history, it would’ve been far more surprising if he’d voted the other way — because in this Congress, when Democrats and Republicans have gotten together, worked through their differences, and reached major bipartisan compromises, Florida’s senior senator has made a habit of rejecting the deals.”

• Military Times: New benefits for burn pit victims in limbo after Senate Republicans block plan. “For veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the bill would establish a presumption of service connection for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers related to the smoke from burn pits, used extensively in those war zones to dispose of various types of waste, many of them toxic.”

NO FIST PUMPING HERE – OZ GETS PORK ROLLED ON “NEW JERSEY DAY.” Wednesday’s “National New Jersey Day” brought new revelations and wall-to-wall coverage about Memhet Oz’s longtime ties to the Garden State – and his lack of connection to Pennsylvania.

• Daily Beast: Dr. Oz’s Turkish Nationalist Pals Living in His Secret N.J. Condo. “Dr. Oz failed to report his ownership of a Garden State apartment, home to friends tied to groups involved in Armenian genocide denial.”

• People: On National New Jersey Day, Dr. Oz’s Pa. Senate Challenger Reflects on the Doctor’s Garden State Roots. “On Wednesday — also known as National New Jersey Day — Oz’s Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, further proved his internet savviness as he and his wife took a moment to once again remind Pennsylvania voters that Oz only declared residency in the state a year before announcing his Senate run.”

• Washington Post: First Snooki, now Little Steven: Fetterman trolls Oz with N.J. celebrities. “The lieutenant governor released an ad Wednesday featuring musician Steven Van Zandt, a guitarist in the famed Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and the character Silvio Dante in HBO’s award-winning, New Jersey-based series ‘The Sopranos.’ In the ad, Van Zandt warns Oz that he does not want to mess around with Fetterman and should come back to his home state.”

• Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-9): @PascrellforNJ Today I’ve officially nominated my North Jersey constituent Dr. Oz for membership in the New Jersey Hall of Fame, the highest honor there is for Garden Staters. Congratulations Dr. Oz! @JohnFetterman

UNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS COALESCE BEHIND PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE MANDELA BARNES. Wisconsin Democrats are united by Mandela Barnes and ready to retire self-serving Ron Johnson in November.

• DSCC Chair Sen. Peters’ Statement: “The son of a public school teacher and a third shift auto worker, Mandela Barnes will fight for all Wisconsinites to have a fair shot at the American Dream – which is why he has unified Wisconsin Democrats behind his campaign. Mandela is fighting for the values Wisconsin’s working families believe in, and we are confident that will lead his campaign to victory in November.”

• Bloomberg: Democrats Unite on Challenger to Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson.“‘This week has demonstrated what it looks like when we come together for a goal that is greater than ourselves,’ Barnes said in a statement. ‘We are building a coalition that crosses generations, crosses racial divides and political divides.’”

AHEAD OF AZ PRIMARY, MASTERS & LAMON FIGHT TURNS INTO “BLOOD BRAWL.”

Jim Lamon and Blake Master continue to go after each other and prove how out of touch they are with Arizonans.

• Payson Roundup: Republican U.S. Senate primary turns into a blood brawl. “The Republican U.S. Senate primary brawl remains closely divided — with lots of walking wounded in an increasingly bloody campaign. The battered winner of the primary will face incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, who has amassed a sizable campaign war chest and put his effort into touting the shower of federal grants and infrastructure spending that has left the state government and most schools, cities and counties in good shape despite the pandemic’s impact.”

• Arizona Republic (Opinion): ‘None of the above’ should be on the Republican ballot in Arizona’s Senate race. “Arizona’s Republican Senate primary offers up a Hobson’s choice of candidates, a bunch of C-listers who are all pretty much the same guy.”

• Arizona Republic: Here’s where Arizona’s US Senate candidates stand on the future of Social Security. “Republican Senate hopeful Blake Masters raised eyebrows during a June candidate forum when he said he favored privatizing Social Security for younger Americans.”

• New York Times: Pushing an Immigration Conspiracy Theory, While Courting Latinos. “Blake Masters, a top candidate in Arizona’s Republican primary for the Senate, has accused Democrats of plotting to “import” new voters. That poses a challenge in a state where a third of the voters are Hispanic.”

• NBC: Masters and Lamon agree they would have objected to 2020 presidential certification. “Blake Masters, former President Trump’s pick in Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary in Arizona, said in a new interview with NBC News that he would have objected to the 2020 presidential election certification had he been serving in the U.S. Senate on January 6, 2021.”

ALL BARK, NO BITE — WALKER RIPPED AS “BIG, BAD BULLDOG HAS TURNED INTO A YAPPER” FOR DODGING DEBATES. It’s been more than two months since Reverend Warnock committed to three general election debates — and more than two months of Walker refusing to commit to debates despite previous comments that he would debate Reverend Warnock “any day of the week.” It’s no wonder why: since entering the race, Walker’s lies, scandals, and bizarre statements have been put on full display across the state.

• Georgia Recorder (Opinion): No guts no glory if Herschel weasels out of Warnock debate. “The time has come, and to the surprise of no one, that turns out to have been an act of bluster. Three Walker-Warnock debates have been scheduled by traditional Georgia debate sponsors – one in Savannah, one in Macon and one in Atlanta – and Walker has agreed to appear in none of them. The big, bad bulldog has turned into a yapper, one of those little dogs that yaps and yaps and yaps as long as it’s on a leash, but suddenly falls silent and takes cover under the bed when released.”

• Atlanta Journal Constitution: Warnock to Walker: ‘Stop dodging. Commit to debates.’ “Walker, however, still hasn’t confirmed any dates, and some GOP political observers don’t think he will. Instead, he has made a sport of moving the goalposts for the events, drawing attention away from other issues that have dogged his Senate bid.”

• CNN: Warnock puts pressure on Walker to agree to debate in Georgia Senate race. “Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia is turning up the heat on Herschel Walker, calling out his Republican opponent for so far refusing to agree to public debates before this fall’s election.”

🐱 WATCH SENATOR WARNOCK’S NEW AD: “TOUGH” 🐱

VANCE CAMPAIGN IS EVEN WORSE THAN THE END OF CHOCO TACOS – REPUBLICANS GROW WORRIED OVER CONTINUED STUMBLES.  In a new bombshell report from Vice, J.D. Vance said that people in violent marriages should not get divorced for the sake of the children. Vance also faced a slew of brutal new reports pointing out that Ohio Republicans are wondering where J.D. Vance is and hammering him for his terrible fundraising.

• Vice: JD Vance Suggests People in ‘Violent’ Marriages Shouldn’t Get Divorced.“JD Vance said people need to be more willing to stay in unhappy marriages for the sake of their kids—and seemed to suggest that in some cases, ‘even violent’ marriages should continue.”

• Ohio Capital Journal: Vance would vote against codifying right to marriage for same-sex couples.“Republican Ohio U.S. Senate nominee J.D. Vance would oppose legislation to codify the right to marriage for same-sex couples, according to Mission: America.”

• Cincinnati Enquirer: Where in the world is J.D. Vance? Not on the Ohio Senate campaign trail, critics say. “But members of his own party have become increasingly concerned that he’s not campaigning hard enough, while his opponent – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan – dominates the airwaves and holds events across the state.”

👀 ICYMI – NBC News: Tim Ryan’s GOP-friendly campaign
 unsettles Republicans in Ohio👀

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE – TWO NORTH CAROLINA EDITORIAL BOARDS SLAM BUDD IN ONE WEEK. The Triad City Beat highlighted Budd’s “off the rails” record of voting against North Carolinians’ interests, while The Charlotte Observer editorial board also slammed Budd this week for his “barnacle”-like loyalty to Trump and his “struggle to acknowledge Joe Biden’s victory.”

• Triad City Beat (Editorial): Ted Budd is “Off the Rails”. “Budd, who rose to prominence in North Carolina by posting obnoxious billboards for his gun shop and then winning a crowded primary in a stacked district for his Congressional seat, has been leaning even harder into extreme positions that, simply put, North Carolinians do not like.”

• The Charlotte Observer (Editorial): Look! Ted Budd wants the ‘full truth about what went wrong last year.’ Oh, wait. “If Budd is so interested in transparency and accountability, perhaps he would be interested in holding the former administration to the same standard.”

SLIPPERY LIKE OIL – LAXALT’S CORRUPTION ON FULL DISPLAY. New reporting highlights how corrupt politician Adam Laxalt’s defense of Big Oil is paying off on the fundraising circuit. After consistently deflecting blame from Big Oil for high gas prices on the campaign trail, the industry rewarded Laxalt with nearly $30,000 in campaign contributions last quarter.

• American Independent: Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt got oil and gas money as he defended the industry. “As gas prices broke records in late May, Nevada Republican Senate nominee Adam Laxalt repeatedly defended the oil and gas industry and claimed “greedy oil executives” were not to blame. Last month, the industry rewarded his loyalty with more than $11,000 in campaign contributions.”

HYPOCRISY CORNER: NYT & WAPO DETAIL HOW GOP SENATE CANDIDATES SAY ONE THING BUT DO ANOTHER WHEN IT COMES TO BIG TECH & FREEDOM. See for yourself:

• New York Times: 3 Senate Hopefuls Denounce Big Tech. They Also Have Deep Ties to It. “Three candidates in some of the hottest races of 2022 — Blake Masters, J.D. Vance and Mehmet Oz — the denunciations come with a complication: They have deep ties to the industry, either as investors, promoters or employees. What’s more, their work involved some of the questionable uses of consumer data that they now criticize.”

• Washington Post: After Roe, Democrats say they, not the GOP, are the party of freedom “Democratic candidates are increasingly using ‘freedom’ to differentiate themselves from their GOP opponents.”

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRATS

→ Senate Democrats pass bipartisan Chips legislation – a no-brainer bill that will lower costs, make more products here in America, and ensure we can out-compete countries like China.

• DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters: “Senate Democrats are fighting to lower costs, make more products here in America, and ensure we can out-compete countries like China – taking decisive and effective action to address the top priorities that working families care about. We did it by doing what Republicans would not do: bringing both parties together to get results. Democrats are making our country more secure, our supply chains more reliable, and our economy more competitive – and that’s why voters will stand with Senate Democrats to protect and expand our majority in November.”

IN THE STATES

FL – Weekly Challenger: Demings takes the national stage, but the mission is unchanged. “She knows the unique profile of neglected rural communities. She recently took her fifth trip to the region in a few months where she applies strategies from the old-school playbook. Her colleague Congressman Al Lawson, also a Black Democrat, said she’s on the right path.”

NV – This Is Reno: Sen. Cortez Masto touts clean energy accomplishments at biofuel plant east of Reno. “‘Nevada is really leading the potential around innovation and the positive impact it can have on addressing a cleaner environment,’ she said. ‘We have Fulcrum that is literally taking garbage out of the landfill and turning it into clean burning fuel. ‘This is (part of) the work that I do at the federal level [supporting] investments that support these types of companies that are game changers for our future, for everybody.’”

NC – NC Policy Watch: Beasley vs. Budd: With 12 weeks to go, Democratic Senate candidate finds surprising momentum. “Pivotal contest that some had already conceded to the GOP is shaping up to be closer than expected.”

OH – Statehouse News Bureau: Black Ohio Democratic lawmakers criticize Vance over comments about abortion. “Some Democratic members of Ohio’s Black Legislative Caucus are blasting Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance for comments he’s made about abortion recently. In a press conference organized by the Ohio Democratic Party (ODP), the Black state lawmakers took issue with Vance for calling rape ‘inconvenient’ and comparing abortion to slavery.”

PA – Pennsylvania Capital Star (Opinion): The GOP’s fringe candidates stoke Democrats’ midterm hopes. “The GOP is stuck with Trump fave Mehmet Oz, the carpetbagging quack doc from New Jersey. He’s far behind Democrat John Fetterman in the polls, mainly because his celebrity cachet is trumped by the fact that his ties to Pennsylvania are thinner than dental floss.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK

David Bergstein
@DavidABergstein

Amanda Sherman
@asherman89

Pat Burgwinkle
@Burgwinkle

Nora Keefe
@norakatekeefe

Freedom Murphy
@F_AlexanderM

Eli Cousin
@elicousin

Claire Berry
@claireliseberry

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