May 17, 2024 Press Releases

DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: MORENO’S PHONY STORY GETS “REALITY CHECK,” REPUBLICANS’ MICHIGAN MESS, GOP’S HOGAN FACES SCRUTINY

MORENO’S RAGS TO RICHES TALE GETS “REALITY CHECK”→ In the latest example of Republican Senate candidates lying about their biographies, the New York Times published a detailed report exposing how Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno “tells a riches-to-rags-to-riches tale. But the reality isn’t so tidy.”

“Moreno […] humbly calls himself a ‘car guy from Cleveland’ and recounts the modest circumstances of his childhood” but “Moreno was born into a rich and politically connected family in Bogotá.”

“Mr. Moreno…speaks often of the cramped, two-bedroom apartment in Florida where his [family] first took up residence…That first home…was a three-bedroom condominium in a new, 15-story high-rise on the ocean.”

“Within two months, Bernie Moreno’s step-grandfather had lent the family the money to move to…Pompano Beach with a pool on a canal, ocean access and a two-car garage.”

…AND MORENO’S REALITY CHECK MAKES HEADLINES IN OH → Local outlets in Ohio took note of Moreno’s misleading statements about his background that were “too good to be true.” See for yourself what Ohioans were reading:

Cleveland.com: Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno’s background faces national scrutiny in New York Times

Axios Cleveland: A more complete Bernie Moreno backstory

THE LIES CATCH AIRTIME → Following this report, Sherrod Brown’s campaign launched a new website, TruthAboutMoreno.Com, detailing Moreno’s “string of inconsistencies,” from his phony rags-to-riches “only-in-America bootstraps story” to claiming he “escape[d]” socialism to shutting down Cleveland State’s Confucius Institute.

REPUBLICANS’ MICHIGAN MESS → After a limited review revealed indications of fraud in Michigan Republican Senate candidates’ nominating petitions, the Michigan Democratic Party, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and a Michigan voter submitted a request for an investigation to the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. Read more in-state coverage:

Associated Press: Potential signature fraud in Michigan threatens to disrupt congressional races
The Detroit News: Michigan Democrats allege signature fraud by GOP Senate candidates, call for investigation

Bridge Michigan: Dems allege forgery, fraud on GOP petitions for Michigan U.S. Senate seat

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Democrats want review of signatures submitted by GOP Senate candidates

Michigan Advance: Democrats request investigation into GOP U.S. Senate candidate petitions

DEMOCRATS UNITE TO DEFEAT REPUBLICAN LARRY HOGAN →

ALL IN FOR ALSOBROOKS → Local leaders and Marylanders united around Angela Alsobrooks in a show of force that the Democratic state of Maryland will not give control of the Senate over to Republicans.

“LIFETIME REPUBLICAN” LARRY HOGAN RUNS INTO HARSH REALITY… → Following “Big Republican” Larry Hogan’s nomination, the handpicked GOP candidate is facing renewed scrutiny in Maryland from voters who “don’t want him in the Senate” and don’t want to turn the Senate over to a Republican majority. In response to his nomination, the DSCC launched a new digital advertising campaign on Hogan, “Lifelong Republican,” featuring him in his own words confirming he would caucus with Senate Republicans to turn control of the Senate over to the GOP so they can push forward extreme policies, including a national ban on abortion.

… AND CANNOT HIDE HIS REAL RECORD OF OPPOSING ABORTION ACCESS → Numerous reports this week have detailed Hogan’s long and well-documented anti-abortion record.

The Maryland Democratic Party released a new video highlighting Republican Larry Hogan’s refusal to protect abortion rights.

Washington Post: “[Hogan] will be forced to defend his record… One target, they say, is his 2022 veto of legislation to expand abortion access in Maryland.”

Maryland Matters: “Hogan is sure to face questions about access to abortion in a year when Maryland voters will be asked to approve a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a woman’s right to the procedure. There is also concern that Republican control of the House and Senate could lead to a national law limiting access.”

Baltimore Sun: “Hogan’s polling numbers may prove ephemeral as the possibility of a Trump victory starts to sink in with Maryland Democrats and independents.”

ERIC HOVDE DOESN’T LIKE YOU → The Democratic Party of Wisconsin launched a new website — EricHovdeDoesntLikeYou.com — highlighting Eric Hovde’s long list of disparaging comments about Wisconsinites. The website uses Hovde’s own words to show exactly how much the megamillionaire California bank owner looks down on hard-working Wisconsinites.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” → Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke took to the airwaves to trash Eric Hovde, calling him out for saying “most seniors shouldn’t vote,” his flailing campaign, and for being Mitch McConnell’s handpicked, ultra-wealthy candidate.

HOVDE IN HOT WATER (AGAIN) → Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde is facing scrutiny from Wisconsinites for his comments (again), this time for saying that “minimum wage was never supposed to be a living wage.” See what Wisconsin voters are reading about Hovde:

Up North News: One of Wisconsin’s younger leaders calls out Hovde for comments about older voters

LA Times: Column: Champagne wishes and caviar dreams … of a Senate seat in Wisconsin? (Opinion)

MORENO READY TO OVERRULE OHIOANS ON ABORTION → The Columbus Dispatch published an op-ed this week detailing how Bernie Moreno “called for a national abortion ban that would overrule the will of Ohio voters” and how “Moreno has proven that he’s on the wrong side of this issue.”

SHEEHY’S TRUST ISSUES…WITH MONTANANS → New reporting from the New York Times detailed how Republican Tim Sheehy “faces scrutiny over his credibility” after giving “conflicting accounts of how he sustained a years-old gunshot wound” and “skirting the truth in describing his upbringing as rural and his business’s origins as hardscrabble.” Voters in Montana are making their displeasure with Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy clear this week as a wave of negative op-eds were published in local newspapers. See for yourself:

Billings Gazette: Sheila Hogan: The only thing we know for sure about Tim Sheehy is he’s lying to Montanans

Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Tim Sheehy can’t even lie consistently (Letter to the Editor)

Belgrade News: ‘Go back home’ to Minnesota (Opinion)

REPUBLICANS OPPOSE THE BIPARTISAN BORDER BILL → This week marks 100 days since Senate Republicans and GOP Senate candidates opposed the bipartisan border security legislation that would secure the border, crack down on fentanyl trafficking, and keep Americans safe.

NOT SO BIPARTISAN AFTER ALL → This week, Ted Cruz, best known “for derailing bills,” was named one of the ten least bipartisan senators in the country, an accolade that comes in sharp contrast with his already “implausible pitch” that he is a bipartisan leader.

REPUBLICANS GO RADIOACTIVE ON SAM BROWN → Jeff Gunter launched a new attack ad against Republican Sam Brown over his strong support for the “third rail” Yucca Mountain project – adding to Gunter’s repeated attacks on social media. Read more:

The Hill: Nevada GOP Senate candidates clash over Yucca Mountain

GRAB THE EXCEDRIN, LAKE IS COMING → Kari Lake’s candidacy “keeps giving Republicans new reasons to worry” as national Republicans “are divided” and “starting to wonder how hard to back Kari Lake.” A new column from the Arizona Republic details that Lake is forcing “Senate Republicans [to] reach for the Excedrin” and observes she “may be the worst Senate candidate in Arizona history.”

DAVID MCCORMICK’S “UNHINGED” ABORTION CONSPIRACY THEORY → GOP Senate candidate David McCormick “is siding with the conspiracy theorists regarding abortion access.” McCormick, appearing on the Dawn Stensland Show, “agreed with an outrageous claim” that argued the fight for abortion access is actually “an elaborate ruse to cover up a Democratic money laundering operation.”

ADD IT TO THE QUEUE → Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred announced his first series of general election ads, highlighting his background as a fourth-generation Texan and his commitment to delivering for Texans. Read more from the Dallas Morning News.