DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: RICK SCOTT NEEDS A VACAY FROM FLAWED CANDIDATES – MASTERS TRIES TO ETCH A SKETCH HIS RECORD – FLORIDA MAN MEHMET OZ

NEAR, FAR, WHEREVERRRR YOU ARE – RICK SCOTT SAILS OFF TO ITALY ON LUXURY YACHT, LEAVES GOP SENATE CANDIDATES SINKING LIKE THE TITANIC. DSCC Chair Senator Gary Peters joined MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell and wished NRSC Chair Rick Scott “a good time on that yacht” as Republicans call for an audit of the GOP Senate committee and their candidates struggle to stay afloat.

• MSNBC The Last Word (WATCH): DSCC Chair Sen. Peters: “I wish Rick Scott a good time on that yacht. I hope he stays on that yacht the rest of the break. I hope he enjoys some sun… and in the meantime, I’m going to be working my tail off, and our candidates are going to be working their tail off, and we’re going to win.”

• Axios: Rick Scott’s ill-timed Italian vacation. “Scott has been taking heat from Republican detractors who have criticized his job of recruiting strong candidates and managing the committee’s spending this cycle.”

• The Washington Post: ‘It’s a rip-off’: GOP spending under fire as Senate hopefuls seek rescue. “Republican Senate hopefuls are getting crushed on airwaves across the country while their national campaign fund is pulling ads and running low on cash — leading some campaign advisers to ask where all the money went and to demand an audit of the committee’s finances, according to Republican strategists involved in the discussions.”

WHILE GOP SINKS, DEMS SWIM – DSCC OUTRAISES NRSC FOR THE FOURTH MONTH IN A ROW. The DSCC’s record breaking fundraising continues to be powered by strong, energized grassroots supporters who recognize the stakes of this election — and are committed to protecting and expanding our Democratic Senate Majority that is fighting to address working families’ most pressing priorities.

• NBC News: Democratic Senate campaign fundraising outpaces GOP for fourth straight month. “The committee tasked with electing more Democrats to the Senate is reporting a $10 million haul in July, outpacing its Republican counterpart for the fourth month in a row … With less than three months until the November elections, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee appears to be in a more formidable financial position, with $54.1 million cash on hand, well more than double the $23 million left in the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s account.”

CAN’T REMASTER THIS RECORD – MASTERS TRYING TO “ETCH A SKETCH” HIS ABORTION POSITION BY “LYING ABOUT HOW HE REALLY FEELS.” A wave of news coverage is highlighting how Blake Masters is trying to “Etch A Sketch” his anti-choice position by “scrubbing his website’s policy page of tough abortion restrictions.”

• MSNBC – All In With Chris Hayes (WATCH): “The reason he’s trying to pivot right now seems pretty clear: the vast majority of voters support abortion rights. And Blake Masters wants them to elect him to the U.S. Senate by, well, lying about how he really feels.”

• NBC News: In Arizona, Blake Masters backtracks on abortion, scrubs campaign website. “Masters’ campaign published an overhaul of his website… re-writing or erasing five of his six positions. NBC News took screenshots of the website before and after it was changed. Masters’ website appeared to be refreshed after NBC News reached out for clarification on his abortion stances.”

• Arizona Republic (Opinion): The Blake Masters abortion makeover continues as he quietly scrubs his website. “Project Makeover, the Blake Masters edition, continues – this time with a good old-fashioned scrub of his abortion views on his campaign website.”

• PolitiFact: Blake Masters “wants to pass a national ban on abortion.”“We rate it Mostly True.”

→  ICYMI: The Daily Beast: Blake Masters Says He’s Avoided Chinese Investments. Untrue.

FLORIDA MAN ALERT – MEHMET OZ CALLED PALM BEACH HIS ‘CHI’ SOURCE, CASHES IN ON HUGE TAX BREAK. A bombshell report from McClatchy detailed “Oz’s deep and varied ties to Florida” – including receiving huge tax breaks for a multi-million dollar mansion and stating “Palm Beach is my ‘chi’ source.”

• Miami Herald: Dr. Oz spent years, millions improving Palm Beach mansion. Now he’ll get a tax break. “Two weeks before he would become one of the year’s most famous and polarizing Republican nominees for office, Mehmet Oz was approved for a large tax exemption on a house he owns in a community close to his heart. The tax break wasn’t for Oz’s newly purchased home in Pennsylvania, the state he is trying to represent in the U.S. Senate. And it wasn’t for any of his properties in New Jersey, which critics argue is Oz’s true home state. It was for a house in Palm Beach, Florida, a playground for the wealthy that Oz has described as ‘heaven.’”

DOCTOR DOCTOR, GIVE ME THE NEWS – HEADLINES SHOW OZ IS IN THE POCKET OF BIG OIL & CHINA, HAS PEDDLED FAKE TREATMENTS. Oz continues to have a bad case of brutal news coverage: new reporting this week revealed he has ties to Big Oil and China, and that his TV show relied on a medical advisory board that “included people with no medical training who promoted extreme and debunked treatments.”

• CNBC: Dr. Oz aims to defend the energy industry, which has boosted his nonprofit and Pennsylvania Senate campaign. “The former TV personality’s vocal support for the energy business follows years of industry donations to his nonprofit and then his campaign…Oz also has a personal stake in oil and gas through investments in two major energy companies.”

• Insider: ‘The Dr. Oz Show’ advisory board had people with no medical training who promoted fake treatments. “Republican candidate for US Senate representing Pennsylvania and former talk show host Mehmet Oz relied on a medical advisory board to support claims he made on “The Dr. Oz Show.” Among practicing oncologists and certified psychologists, the board included people who had no formal medical training and promoted debunked treatments.”

• Insider: Mehmet Oz says he’ll be ‘tough on China’ as a senator. But a 2013 announcement from a Chinese health tech company offers a different perspective. “Criticizing China has been a cornerstone of Oz’s US Senate campaign in Pennsylvania. But Oz once embraced doing business with — and ‘bringing joy’ to — China.”

IT’S GOING DOWN, I’M YELLING TIMBER – HERSCHEL’S ”DON’T WE HAVE ENOUGH TREES” GAFFE IS LATEST PROOF HE’S NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME. Walker’s comments this week were just the latest in a series of “head-scratching comments.”

• Washington Post: Walker, criticizing climate law, asks: ‘Don’t we have enough trees around here?’ “The former NFL football player, who was encouraged to run by former president Donald Trump, has made head-scratching comments that have drawn ridicule.”

• Reuters: Ex-football star Herschel Walker’s woes hurt Republican chance of taking U.S. Senate. “‘Every time he opens his mouth about a policy issue, it sounds like a word salad. It’s very convoluted and doesn’t make sense sometimes,’ said Trey Hood, a political science professor at the University of Georgia.”

GRANITE STATE GRUMBLE – REPUBLICANS FRET DIVISIVE PRIMARY WILL “YIELD A WEAKENED NOMINEE.” Both POLITICO and Bloomberg this week highlighted how “Senate Republicans’ primary season is ending like it began — with a divisive contest in a battleground state” that is likely to “yield a weakened nominee.” It won’t help that according to The American Independent, multiple NH candidates “call Medicare a failure.”

• POLITICO: N.H. Republicans damage Senate chances in rough primary. “Senate Republicans’ primary season is ending like it began — with a divisive contest in a battleground state that risks damaging the party’s hopes of regaining control of the Senate.”

• Bloomberg: Late New Hampshire Senate Primary Divides Republican Voters. “The contentious primary could yield a weakened nominee, giving Hassan a greater chance for re-election.”

• American Independent: New Hampshire Republican Senate candidates call Medicare a failure. “Two New Hampshire Republicans seeking their party’s nomination to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in the November general election said Wednesday that Medicare is a failure.”

NOT YOUR BUDD – NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN SLAMMED FOR HURTING TAR-HEEL FARMERS WHILE HE HIDES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. A new report from Cardinal & Pine reveals that “​​Budd has made several votes against farmers’ interests, and his family was involved with AgriBioTech, a bankrupted company that cost farmers millions of dollars and left a tax debt in N.C.” The News & Observer then slammed Budd for hiding on the campaign trail.

• Cardinal & Pine: Ted Budd Touts Himself as an Ally to Farmers, But His Record Paints a Complicated Picture. “Budd has made several votes against farmers’ interests, and his family was involved with AgriBioTech, a bankrupted company that cost farmers millions of dollars and left a tax debt in N.C.”

• NC – News and Observer: Where’s Ted? The Budd Senate campaign quietly rides his Trump endorsement. “‘He’s in hiding,’ McCrory told Spectrum News. The problem is that a campaign based on passively riding a favorable tide gets in trouble when the currents shift. And in the last several months the currents have shifted against Budd and most Republicans.”

SUNSHINE STATE SHOWDOWN – CHIEF VAL DEMINGS READY TO STOP RUBIO IN HIS TRACKS. Marco Rubio has shown he’s a spineless, self-serving politician who isn’t tough enough to stand up for Florida’s working families in Washington.

• DSCC STATEMENT: “The daughter of a maid and a janitor, Chief Demings never tires of public service, and she’s running so more hardworking Floridians can live the American dream. As Orlando’s Chief of Police, she made it her mission to protect and serve her community, and she’ll bring the same fearless mentality to taking on the tough fights for Floridians in the Senate. She’s everything Senator Rubio is not: effective, selfless, and a champion for working families – and that’s why voters will elect Chief Demings in November.”

• Bay News 9: Rep. Val Demings kicks off statewide bus tour in Tampa. “Demings said she planned to visit counties that lean Republican as well as Democratic to speak with voters in her bid to unseat incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio. The former Orlando Police chief is coming off a primary victory, but a win in November will mean reaching out to people from both parties. She said that’s something she became accustomed to during her time on the force.”

JD VANCE CALL YOUR OFFICE – WEBSITE FOR VANCE’S SHAM NONPROFIT NOW REDIRECTS TO SITE EXPOSING TRUE RECORD. OurOhioRenewal.com now directs people to OurOhioRipoff.com, which highlights the shortcomings of Vance and the former nonprofit.

• The Vindicator: Dems buy former Vance website, now criticizes Senate candidate. “‘With a few quick keystrokes, Ohioans can now learn the truth about J.D. Vance and his sham organization,’ Michael Beyer, an ODP spokesman, said. ‘Instead of taking meaningful steps to address the opioid epidemic, Vance recruited a Purdue Pharma puppet who echoed their lies and deflected blame from the damage they caused.’”

A VOTE FOR RON JOHNSON IS A VOTE FOR SENIORS TO LOSE RETIREMENT BENEFITS. Wisconsin senior Carolyn Kaiser slammed Johnson for attacking the livelihood of her family and hundreds of thousands of other retired Wisconsinites.

• The Cap Times (Opinion): Voting Republican Puts Retirement Benefits At Risk. “‘Senator Johnson has had the privilege of never worrying about depending on Social Security, unlike the rest of us who have spent our entire lives paying into these programs and need them to survive. ‘If Johnson had his way, seniors would lose retirement benefits and be hung out to dry.’’

NEVADA SENATOR CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO HAS A BUSY WEEK SERVING THE SILVER STATE. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is laser-focused on addressing the most pressing priorities of Nevada’s working families.

• Las Vegas Review Journal: Sen. Cortez Masto touts drug savings under new law. “U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., hosted a roundtable Tuesday at Silver Sky Assisted Living, an affordable assisted living facility in Las Vegas, with different senior groups, doctors and residents to discuss how the new legislation will impact Nevadans and their cost of health care. Cortez Masto is running for re-election to a potential second term in November’s general election.”

• KSNV: “Cortez Masto helped secure $4 billion in the recently passed legislation to help the Basin states dealing with severe drought.”“Cortez Masto said Nevada is one of the leading states for water conservation, and the other states should follow the Silver State’s blueprint to get funding.”

• The 19th: The midterms’ big issues — abortion and the economy — are supercharged in Nevada’s Senate race. “Cortez Masto then went on to draw a contrast with Laxalt, another Nevada native who has served as the state’s attorney general, saying ‘there is a big difference between us.’ ‘He opposes the new jobs and new union jobs coming to Nevada because of the bipartisan infrastructure law that we have passed at the federal level, he stands against organized labor, opposes raising the minimum wage, and he is focusing his campaign on conspiracies and lies about election fraud — conspiracies that our Republican secretary of state has dismissed, she said.”

O’DEA CAN’T OUTRUN HIS OUT-OF-STEP ABORTION RECORD. O’Dea’s real record shows he’d go along with Republicans in Washington to roll back Coloradans’ reproductive rights.

• Axios Denver: Bennet’s new TV ad forces O’Dea to take tougher abortion stance. “O’Dea recently told the Colorado Sun that he voted for a failed 2020 ballot measure to ban abortions after 22 weeks of gestation. About 60% of the state opposed the measure.”

• Colorado Newsline (Opinion): Joe O’Dea is Mitch McConnell’s ‘perfect candidate’“McConnell called O’Dea the perfect candidate, because O’Dea opposes the Reproductive Health Equity Act that Gov. Jared Polis signed. O’Dea opposes common sense gun policy and the right for women to choose, and he supports cutting taxes on corporations and the wealthiest Coloradans.”

• Colorado Democrats MEMO: Joe O’Dea Reveals He Voted For Abortion Ban In Colorado, Without Exceptions For Rape & Incest

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRATS

→ Senate Democrats Take Action To Lower Health Care Costs. Senate Democrats passed the IRA to help address working families’ most pressing priorities: lowering costs like health care and making sure Big Pharma and wealthy corporations pay their fair share.

• Axios: Democrats tout their health care bonafides in midterm stretch run. “Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) portrays passage of the bill as a victory over the pharmaceutical industry and entrenched Washington interests. ‘Every Republican voted against the bill because it holds Big Oil, Big Pharma and other corporations that have been jacking up prices accountable,’ Peters said in a statement.”

IN THE STATES

AZ – KYMA: Sen. Mark Kelly Launches “Republicans For Kelly.”“In their endorsements, Arizonans praised Kelly’s willingness to work with anyone across the aisle, regardless of political party or stance, to bring good-paying jobs for the state, lower costs, and make Washington work for Arizona.”

CO – Colorado Times Recorder: Bennet Challenger O’Dea Spends Week in July on Horseback Excursion with Big Campaign Donors.“In late July, U.S. Senate candidate and Denver businessman Joe O’Dea participated in a week-long excursion in the Rio Grande National Forest with people who have contributed a significant amount of money to his campaign.”

NC – Indy Week (Opinion): U.S. Senate Candidate Cheri Beasley on What She’s Learned from North Carolinians in all 100 Counties. “I talked to Democrats, Independents, and Republicans all across the state who all faced similar challenges: being able to afford their prescription drugs without skipping doses and splitting pills; finding good-paying jobs in high-demand careers without having to pay for a four-year degree; working two or three jobs to support family, addressing rising costs for farmers and supporting small businesses.”

NV – Nevada Appeal (Opinion): Why I’m voting for a Democrat for the first time in over 25 years. “I know that we can count on Cortez Masto to deliver for us in Lyon County as well as in Nevada. I know this because I have witnessed her diligent work for those regardless of party affiliation. For that reason, Catherine will receive my vote this November.”

WI – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson accuses critics of ‘playing class envy’ over his wealth, tax cut provision. “Johnson also pushed back on criticism of his wealth. Johnson and his wife listed assets worth between $16.55 million and $78.3 million at the end of last year, with a midpoint $47.4 million, about the same as the previous year. Johnson wasn’t required to list his $174,000 Senate salary.”

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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