RATINGS CHANGE: COOK POLITICAL REPORT MOVES #NCSEN TO “TOSS UP.” Following Army veteran Cal Cunningham’s decisive 22-point victory in his primary this week — despite attempted meddling from Mitch McConnell’s Super PAC — Cook Political Report moved the North Carolina Senate race from Leans Republican to Toss Up. The major ratings change follows “an impressive pre-primary fundraising boom where [Cunningham] outraised Tillis by 2-to-1” and the fact that “multiple public and private polls have shown a competitive race with Tillis in the danger zone for an incumbent.” Every major nonpartisan election analyst has now shifted this race to a Toss Up rating since Cal launched his campaign last year.
HEGAR READY TO WIN AFTER STRONG FIRST PLACE FINISH. MJ Hegar had a strong first-place finish on Tuesday and is poised to win the Democratic nomination and beat Senator John Cornyn in November. MJ has consistently led the Democratic field in organization and grassroots fundraising, bringing in almost $4 million to date from more than 35,000 contributors and securing donations from three-fourths of Texas counties. She has also consistently held Senator Cornyn accountable for his harmful policy positions on issues from health care to immigration reform. Read DSCC Chair Catherine Cortez Masto’s statement here.
“THE MAJORITY IS UP FOR GRABS”: NYT CONFIRMS SENATE CONTROL IN PLAY. A new report from the New York Times on the fight for control of the Senate confirmed that the majority is in play this cycle — with Democratic challengers gaining steam and Republican incumbents facing “prospective losses” in November. While Democrats are mounting increasingly strong challenges with impressive fundraising in key battleground states, Republicans are contending with major problems across the map including the “nasty intraparty fight in Georgia” and problematic primary headaches brewing in Kansas and Alabama.
ON A RELATED NOTE: POLLING SHOWS FOUR DEMS AHEAD IN KEY RACES. Need more evidence the majority is in play in 2020? Recent polling from PPP shows Democratic challengers ahead of vulnerable Republican incumbents in the key battleground states of North Carolina, Arizona, Maine and Colorado. Senators Thom Tillis, Martha McSally, Susan Collins and Cory Gardner have been struggling with weak approval ratings in-state. Read the full report on the polling here.
GOP LAWSUIT TO END PRE-EX CONDITIONS PROTECTIONS HEADS TO SCOTUS. The Supreme Court announced a bombshell decision to hear the GOP lawsuit to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act and “throw out protections for pre-existing conditions” — setting up a potential “nightmare” and “huge political problem” for Republican senators in 2020. Health care is the number one issue for voters in Senate battlegrounds across the country, and now “there’s a decent chance those arguments could fall in October — just weeks, or potentially even days — before Election Day.” After supporting the unpopular tax bill that set this lawsuit in motion, not a single Republican in the Senate has taken meaningful steps to stop the GOP’s lawsuit.
MEANWHILE: ENDANGERED REPUBLICANS KEEP DODGING QUESTIONS & REFUSING TO OPPOSE GOP LAWSUIT. The Hill reports that vulnerable Republican incumbents are still dodging questions about support for that dangerous lawsuit. Here’s how some of those GOP senators are still trying to evade this growing health care “headache” while refusing to oppose this toxic effort to take away pre-existing conditions coverage protections:
REPUBLICANS FOUGHT TO BLOCK AFFORDABILITY MEASURES IN CORONAVIRUS PACKAGE. Senate Republicans and Mitch McConnell were responsible this week for holding up and threatening the emergency coronavirus funding bill because they want to leave the door open to drug manufacturers gouging the price of a coronavirus vaccine and treatments. As a public health emergency escalated, Mitch McConnell and Republicans in Washington were more preoccupied with helping their special interest donors than providing affordable vaccines and treatment to hardworking families as soon as possible. Read more here about how GOP senators worked to keep vaccine affordability out of the emergency coronavirus funding package.
GOP TAX LAW GAVE BILLIONS TO DRUG COMPANIES, NO RELIEF FOR PATIENTS STRUGGLING TO AFFORD MEDICATION. A new report from Axios explains how the biggest drug companies reaped “billions of dollars” from the Republican tax law — and then their top priority in 2018 was a massive stock buyback spree to enrich corporate CEOs and wealthy shareholders. Not on the priority list? Lowering the cost of life-saving medications for millions of Americans. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans continue to block a plan to slash the price of prescription drugs that passed the House last year with bipartisan support.
COLLINS IN TROUBLE AS SHE AVOIDS QUESTIONS ABOUT TRUMP SUPPORT. Senator Susan Collins dodged questions repeatedly this week about who she voted for in the Maine Republican presidential primary. Despite voting with Trump 94% of the time in 2017 and 2018 in the Senate, Collins refused to answer the question of whether she supported him at the ballot box. First Collins tried to dodge the question, then she lied about having already answered it, then she flip-flopped on her rationale for refusing to answer the question — an embarrassing episode that reminded voters just how much Collins has changed over more than two decades in Washington.
As more new polling shows House Speaker Sara Gideon leading in a general election match-up, it’s clear why Collins’ support is eroding: as one voter said, “I don’t think she’s doing what’s in Maine’s best interest anymore.” Read more about Collins’ struggles this week:
IN THE STATES
CO – Summit Daily News: Summit Rep. Julie McCluskie endorses John Hickenlooper for US Senate
GA – Associated Press: GOP rivals for Georgia Senate seat make battle official
IA – Iowa Starting Line: Greenfield Submits 20k+ Signatures In Bid To Take On Ernst
IA – Carroll Times Herald: Greenfield positions self as ‘feisty farm girl’ in bid to challenge Ernst
IA – Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa Democratic leader on the road to attack Joni Ernst’s on health care
MI – The Daily Beast: “How a Top GOP Recruit Is Getting His Dark-Money Cash”
MI – MIRS: D’s Allege Illegal Ties Between James, Pro-James Group
NC – Fayetteville Observer: Senate candidate Cunningham visits Fayetteville on ‘Carolina Conversations’ tour
NC – Lexington Dispatch: Cunningham kicks off statewide tour in Lexington
NC – WSOC: Cal Cunningham launches campaign in three Republican counties
TX – Texas Tribune: Texas Democrats sue the state to keep straight-ticket voting in 2020
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Lauren Passalacqua
Stewart Boss
Helen Kalla
Regina Anderson
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