June 10, 2022 Press Releases

DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: SENATE REPUBLICANS “NOT SENDING THEIR BEST,” BLAKE MASTERS’ BLUNDERS, NEW ADS FROM SENATE DEMOCRATS

SENATE REPUBLICANS “NOT SENDING THEIR BEST” – FLAWED CANDIDATES CONTINUE TO HAUNT GOP. A new column this week highlights how Senate Republicans have faced a series of humiliating recruitment failures and are attacking each other in brutal primaries where their candidates will limp out badly bruised. Key Points:

→ Real Clear Politics: In Race for the Senate, Republicans Not Sending Their Best

AZ: “Masters is on record saying ‘everybody should read’ the works of the convicted domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, because ‘there’s a lot of insight there.’ That may well end up in a few Democratic attack ads if he becomes the nominee.”
GA: “Herschel Walker… stumbled out of the general election gate with a rambling Fox News interview, in which he proposed addressing gun violence with ‘a department that can look at young men that’s looking at women that’s looking at social media.’”
NH: “The Republican field in New Hampshire is filled with candidates who are little known among voters.”
NV: “Republicans will be nominating someone who has cast doubt over the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory, in a state Biden won. Laxalt was involved in lawsuits designed to overturn the election results.”
PA: “His Republican rivals pummeled him as a Hollywood phony… An Emerson College poll taken just before the primary found Oz had a 48% unfavorable rating – and that was just among his fellow Republicans.”
WI: “After 12 years representing this closely divided state, and showing an increased appetite for conspiracy theories, Johnson appears to be overstaying his welcome. In a Marquette Law School poll from April, Johnson received a favorable rating of just 36%.”

BLAKE MASTERS BLUNDERS THROUGH A WEEK OF BRUTAL NEWS COVERAGE. One week ago, Donald Trump endorsed Blake Masters in Arizona’s GOP Senate primary. Within 24 hours, the endorsement triggered a full scale ad war, and more revelations about Masters’ record, foreshadowing, an “ugly” home stretch in this already combative contest.

CNN: Audio shows Trump-endorsed Arizona Senate candidate questioned whether January 6 attack was set up by FBI. “Masters… floated the conspiracy theory that the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol actually may have been a false-flag operation set up by the FBI, according to a recording of the March 30 meeting obtained by CNN.”

Jewish Insider: The Evolution of Blake Masters. “Masters once…argued that ‘unrestricted’ immigration is the only choice,’ and commended U.S. service members who had participated in a drug trafficking ring along the southwestern border as ‘heroes'”

HuffPost: Blake Masters Agrees Disclosing Campaign Donors Is Like ‘Kristallnacht’. “Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters complained about having to disclose donations under federal campaign finance law in a recent podcast interview, appearing to agree with the suggestion that it’s similar to Kristallnacht, the Nazi attack on Jews in 1938.”

NBC News: Trump-backed Senate candidate Blake Masters of Arizona blames gun violence on Black people. “Blake Masters, a Republican candidate for the Senate in Arizona who was recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said on a podcast this year that ‘Black people, frankly’ are to blame for America’s gun violence problem.”

AZ GOP CANDIDATE “IN BED WITH CHINESE COMMUNISTS” DESPITE HIS “ANTI-CHINA RHETORIC.” The Phoenix New Times exposed Jim Lamon’s history of backdoor business deals with Chinese state-owned entities to boost his company’s bottom line — even if it meant hurting the American solar industry.

Phoenix New-Times: Amid Attack Ad Allegations, Anti-China Jim Lamon Defends Business Ties There. “U.S. Senate hopeful Jim Lamon, who spends a lot of money peddling anti-China rhetoric on the airwaves, is in bed with Chinese Communists, a new political ad claims. Lamon, who’s using his own fortune to fund his campaign, is accused by political opponents of bashing Beijing and its cronies with money he earned from lucrative dealings with the Chinese Communist Party.”

… AND DEMS DEFEND THE VOTE IN AZ. The Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Arizona Democratic Party successfully intervened against the Arizona Republican Party’s legal action seeking to end early and absentee voting in Arizona – a dominant form of voting in the state.

KTAR: Judge rejects Arizona Republican Party effort to eliminate most mail-in voting. “A Superior Court judge in Mohave County on Monday rejected a bid by the Arizona Republican Party to eliminate most mail-in voting in the upcoming general election. ‘Is the Arizona Legislature prohibited by the Arizona Constitution from enacting voting laws that include no-excuse mail-in voting? The answer is no,’ Judge Lee F. Jantzen wrote in his ruling.”

GARDEN AND KEYSTONE STATES TEAM UP TO CALL OUT CARPETBAGGER OZ. New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s Democratic Chairs released a joint statement emphasizing how much of a fraud Mehmet Oz is and reminding voters what is at stake in this election. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy shared his views on New Jersey’s worst export.

STATEMENT: “New Jerseyans and Pennsylvanians don’t always see eye to eye, but one thing we can agree on is that scam artists like Mehmet Oz have no place in the Senate. Oz would be another vote for an extreme Republican agenda that’s pushing to ban abortion even in cases of rape or incest, blocking any meaningful gun safety reforms, threatening Medicare and Social Security and trying to raise taxes on middle class New Jerseyans and Pennsylvanians.”

→ NBC News: Oz had Trump’s endorsement, but didn’t win in Trump country

POLITIFACT: YES, A TAX BREAK RON JOHNSON PUSHED FOR IN 2017 HAS BENEFITED AMERICA’S WEALTHIEST MORE. PolitiFact gave a “True” rating to the claim that the provision Ron Johnson muscled into the 2017 GOP tax bill disproportionately benefited the ultra wealthy like himself and his two biggest donors. Reminding Wisconsinites that Johnson is a self-serving politician who only looks out for himself.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin claimed that the pass-through tax break Johnson advocated for in 2017 “overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest, over small businesses.”
Multiple analyses show America’s millionaires and billionaires are receiving large chunks of those benefits.

We rate their claim True.

→ ICYMI – UpNorth News: Wisconsin Billionaires Who Got a Monster Tax Break From Ron Johnson Are Now Spending Millions to Get Him Re-elected. “The investigative news site ProPublica reported last year on how the tax cut—while technically described accurately by Johnson as benefiting most small businesses—delivers the majority of its tax savings to the wealthiest 1% of Americans by income. Hendricks, for example, had her taxes reduced by $36 million in just the first year of the new pass-through break, ProPublica reported.”

🚨FALSE ADVERTISING🚨8 TV STATIONS PULLED FALSE NRSC AD FOR MISREPRESENTING BEASLEY’S RECORD. Eight North Carolina television stations pulled down an ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee because it “contained false statements.”

North State Journal: Charlotte TV station pulls NRSC ad targeting Beasley. “The ad, which is running statewide on multiple stations, came in to question from the Beasley campaign and TV station, WSOC, for one of the claims made about a 2019 case while Beasley served as Chief Justice on the N.C. Supreme Court. It involved a case in which a man convicted of sexually exploiting children said the search warrant was illegally obtained by authorities.”

WFAE: Fact Check: Another GOP ad attacking Beasley’s judicial rulings is rated mostly false. “There is a lot missing from that claim. … there’s so much context missing here that it gives a misleading impression.”

WUNC: NC TV stations pull controversial GOP-funded ads targeting Democrat Cheri Beasley. “’Washington Republicans have been caught lying about Cheri Beasley’s record and their false attack was rightfully taken off television,’ Beasley campaign spokesperson Dory MacMillan said. ‘Voters know Cheri worked with law enforcement to hold violent offenders accountable.’”

MSNBC (WATCH): “Over the past three weeks the NRSC has been forced to pull two of those very ads. Why? for being dishonest.”

NEW ADS FROM WARNOCK AND KELLY REMIND VOTERS THEY ARE READY TO KEEP FIGHTING FOR THEIR STATES. In a new ad, Senator Raphael Warnock highlights his work to cap the cost of insulin, ensure our military has safe housing, and stop big banks from making more with overdraft fees. In Arizona, Senator Kelly launched a new TV ad touting his work to support law enforcement.

NBC News: In latest TV ad, Raphael Warnock is running — literally. ”Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is launching a new TV ad casting himself as the most qualified candidate without naming his GOP opponent, former football player Herschel Walker.”

WATCH: WARNOCK KNOWS

WATCH: PERSONALLY

LATEST FETTERMAN AD HIGHLIGHTS HIS PENNSYLVANIA ROOTS AND POLICIES. John Fetterman’s campaign for U.S. Senate launched two new ads this week, Labels and Washington D.C., highlighting John’s Pennsylvania roots and the policies that would benefit everyday workers.

POLITICO: Fetterman airs first general election ad on Fox. “Some Democrats think the party should boycott Fox News. Not John Fetterman, though. The Pennsylvania Senate Democratic nominee is airing one of his first two general election TV ads on the conservative network in an appeal to blue-collar voters.”

O’DEA, OH NO! CO CANDIDATE ADMITS HE WOULD REDUCE “FUNDING FOR “SOME” PROGRAMS LIKE MEDICARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY.” In new audio reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea affirmed that he stands with the Republican Party’s far right agenda and would join them in gutting Social Security and Medicare.

Colorado Times Recorder: GOP Sen. Candidate O’Dea Indicates Support for Reducing Medicare, Social Security. “During a radio interview with KOA host Ross Kaminsky last week, Denver businessman and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Joe O’Dea said he supported limiting the size of the federal government and reducing funding for “some” programs like Medicare and Social Security.”

DURING PRIDE MONTH, NEVADA AND NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATES CALLED OUT FOR THEIR OPPOSITION TO LGBTQ+ RIGHTS. LGBTQ Nation wrote about how NH GOP Senate candidates Chuck Morse, Kevin Smith, and Don Bolduc “are distinguished primarily for their anti-LGBTQ records” that are out of step with Granite State values and highlighted Nevada Senate Candidate Adam Laxalt for his “obsession with attacking the LGBTQ community” and “his virulently gaybaiting agenda.”

LGBTQ Nation: GOP Senate candidate Adam Laxalt has been attacking LGBTQ equality for years. He could win. “Andre Wade, who heads Silver State Equality, stated, ‘Adam Laxalt has made a hateful anti-LGBTQ+ activism a cornerstone of his political career.’ The reasons Laxalt has been accused of anti-LGBTQ bias are plentiful, and his track record long. In 2018, HRC Nevada pointed out that Laxalt had an ‘obsession with attacking the LGBTQ community.”

LGBTQ Nation: Three anti-LGBTQ candidates are trying to get the GOP nod for New Hampshire’s Senate seat. “Morse voted four times in 2018 to oppose the use of conversion therapy on minors. He also voted against lifting the ban on same-sex parents adopting or becoming foster parents.”

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRATS

NH Union Leader: $50 million headed to NH to bring high-speed internet to rural communities. “Access to high-speed internet is a necessity,” said U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan in a statement. “From running a business or managing finances to attending telemedicine appointments, people rely on internet connectivity every day. Unfortunately, many rural areas in New Hampshire still don’t have reliable internet connections. That is why I worked to set up and secure this funding in the American Rescue Plan, so that every person has the opportunity to succeed and so that our state’s economy can thrive.”

IN THE STATES

CO – In Campaign Ads, CO Republicans Show Themselves Firing Guns. “Leading up to the Uvalde massacre, as they’ve tried to win the support of GOP voters in June 28 primary, Colorado Republicans released multiple political advertisements showing themselves firing guns. Perhaps the most startling gun-shooting advertisement came from U.S. Senate candidate Ron Hanks, who’s competing in the GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.”

FL – WGCU: Advocates for gun laws gather outside Marco Rubio’s Miami office. “Advocates for stricter gun laws gathered outside of Senator Marco Rubio’s office in Miami on Friday. David Hogg was among the dozens who stood in the rain calling for the senator to act on the recent mass shootings.”

OH – Columbus Dispatch: Groups accuse pro-J.D. Vance super PAC of illegally providing info to U.S. Senate campaign. “Two watchdog groups filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, claiming Protect Ohio Values used a Medium website to circumvent rules that prevent coordination between campaigns and super PACs. With Thiel’s backing, Protect Ohio Values spent millions to boost Vance in the contentious primary contest.”

PA – Philadelphia Inquirer: Summer vacation advice for the candidates. “Oz won by such a slim margin, and faced so many questions about the depth of his conservative beliefs, he has a lot of Republicans to win over across the state. Last we checked, he was living with his in-laws while renovating a mansion in Huntington Valley. Might we suggest a MTV Cribs-style tour once it’s done?”

TWEET OF THE WEEK