WEEK TWO DOESN’T GO MUCH BETTER FOR RUBIO. Marco Rubio’s first week of his re-election campaign went pretty terribly, and week two didn’t go much better. Here’s a cheat-sheet for the worst stories of the week…
Tampa Bay Times: New Carlos Beruff ad mocks robotic Marco Rubio Carlos Beruff’s first ad against Rubio hits ‘Rubio-bot’ for repeating the same talking points in an effort to avoid promising to serve a full second term in the Senate.
Huffington Post: Don’t ‘Expose’ Marco Rubio To Talk With Gun Control Advocate, Senior Aide Tells Staff – Marco Rubio’s senior aide directed staff to make sure Rubio did not speak on the phone with prominent gun safetyadvocate Captain Mark Kelly.
Washington Post (Opinion): The GOP is tied up in knots over Trump– Jennifer Rubin, a conservative columnist for the Washington Post, calls out Rubio’s “ghastly” appearance on ‘Face the Nation,’ saying he had never “appeared so, well, small.”
Washington Post (Opinion): Whatever happened to Rubio’s integrity?– Jennifer Rubin again, this time questioning what happened to Rubio’s integrity following his 2016 presidential run.
Florida Politics: Report: Patty Sheehan blasts Marco Rubio, Rick Scott over Pulse– Patty Sheehan, Orlando City Commissioner and a leading voice in the city’s LGBT community bashes Rubio for his longtime opposition to gay rights.
Sun Sentinel Editorial: Marco Rubio aims to be ‘The Rubio Savior’– Editorial board rips Rubio’s run as both hypocritical and self-serving.
Bay News9: Exclusive Florida Decides Poll: Rubio, Murphy neck-and-neck in Senate race– Despite Republicans’ best efforts to smear him, Patrick Murphy is tied with Rubio in a recent poll
Miami Herald (Editorial): Rubio can be a hero in the Zika fight– Editorial board calls on Rubio to “show his constituents once and for all that he is capable of acting in the best interests of something other than his career.”
Buzzfeed: Rubio On Trump: “I Don’t Intend To Spurn Him Or Denigrate Him”– Rubio says he won’t say negative things about Trump anymore…even though he spent months of his presidential campaign doing just that.
Huffington Post: Marco Rubio Proud Of Endorsement From Prominent Anti LGBT Leader– Rubio touted the endorsement of an anti-LGBT leader who called for fewer gay pride flags to be flown following the tragedy in Orlando.
TOOMEY’S FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE FIASCO GETS WORSE. The controversy surrounding Senator Pat Toomey’s involvement in a Trump-like for-profit college got a whole lot worse this week. Huffington Post revealed new details about Yorktown University, the shady for-profit college Toomey lent his name to and continues to invest in. The college warned parents that learning about feminism could change their daughters’ sexual orientation and that popular music, art, and psychology are “signs of serious cultural disturbance.” Meanwhile, Toomey continues to throw his weight behind a Republican bill that would reverse much needed oversight for these for-profit schools that often leave students in debt and without any legitimate degree.
TOOMEY ISN’T THE ONLY ONE WITH FOR-PROFIT COLLEGE PROBLEMS. Yesterday, Kelly Ayotte attended a fundraiser with a lobbyist for a Trump University-eque for-profit college that is currently under investigation. Huffington Post dug deeper into Ayotte’s connections to these shady institutions that target veterans, revealing how she told the school she remains “steadfast in my commitment to stand up for the beliefs that you and I share” after its last contribution to her campaign. Read more here.
WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR GOP IN COLORADO. On Tuesday night, right-wing extremist Darryl Glenn won the Republican Senate primary in Colorado. After being passed up by 5 of their top-choice candidates during recruitment, national Republicans are now stuck with their last-choice option. The most telling sign of how unhappy Republicans are with their candidate? The NRSC still hasn’t publicly commented on Glenn.
Here’s what the DSCC had to say: “After one of the most divisive and bizarre primaries of 2016, Colorado Republicans must now rally behind their ultraconservative, nightmare-scenario candidate Darryl Glenn. Glenn denies that climate change exists, believes Ted Cruz should be the next Supreme Court Justice and has called Donald Trump, ‘a patriot.’ It’s no surprise he stands ready to enact the Trump agenda that would hurt Colorado’s hardworking families and move our country backward. Glenn was not the first or even fifth choice of national Republicans, whose recruitment meltdown was shocking, and he begins this general election ill-prepared to face Senator Michael Bennet, who has fought and delivered for the people of Colorado. We look forward to celebrating Senator Bennet’s re-election in November.”
WAPO: REPUBLICANS MAY HAVE JUST FORFEITED HALF THEIR SENATE PICKUP CHANCES. Following Darryl Glenn’s victory, Amber Phillips of the Washington Post noted that Senate Republicans forfeited one of the only two pickup opportunities they have this cycle. Phillips notes that “In the overarching race for control of the Senate, Senate Republicans just took a big hit.”
POLITICO PRO: NRSC NOT PLANNING TO SPEND ON GLENN. Adding further insult to injury for Daryl Glenn, Politico reported that it’s incredibly unlikely the NRSC will spend to support him in his race against Michael Bennet, “even though it is one of only two real GOP pickup opportunities as the party tries to keep its majority.”
TO TOP IT ALL OFF: Cook Political Report moves Colorado Senate race to “Likely Democrat.”
ANOTHER POLL SHOWS VULNERABLE GOP SENATORS HURT BY SCOTUS OBSTRUCTION. PPP released polls in six battleground states this week that showed how voters overwhelmingly don’t trust Donald Trump to pick a Supreme Court justice and support hearings for Judge Merrick Garland. Vulnerable Senate Republicans who continue to obstruct Garland’s nomination to hold a seat open for Trump are seeing their poll numbers hurt as a result.
New Hampshire — 68% of Granite Staters strongly support a hearing and vote for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, and Ayotte’s blockade of Garland makes voters 44% less likely to vote for her. Ayotte’s approvals are underwater, and she trails Maggie Hassan in a head-to-head match-up.
Ohio –– 50% of Ohioans don’t trust Trump to select a justice, and 40% of voters are less likely to vote for Portman because of his SCOTUS obstructionism. Portman’s approval ratings are 7 points underwater (30/37) and the race is a statistical dead heat with Portman up only one point, despite millions of dollars spent against Strickland.
Pennsylvania –– The Senate race between Senator Pat Toomey and Katie McGinty in a virtual tie, as Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly disapprove of Toomey’s Supreme Court blockade, with 64% wanting the Senate to hold a hearing and vote on Judge Garland, with 40% saying Toomey’s position makes them less likely to vote for him in November.
Wisconsin — Russ Feingold maintains a robust 13 point lead over Ron Johnson (50/37) as 41% of Wisconsin voters say Johnson’s refusal to provide a hearing for Judge Garland makes them less likely to vote for him. Johnson’s approval ratings are also 11 points underwater.
Arizona — Ann Kirkpatrick continues to run neck and neck with John McCain, whose approval ratings are 24 points underwater after 33 years in Washington. 61% of voters support hearings for Judge Garland that McCain continues to block.
Iowa — 64% of Iowa voters want hearings for Judge Garland that Chuck Grassley, as chair of the Judiciary committee, has refused to provide. Unsurprisingly, Grassley’s approval ratings have tanked to just 43%, and his lead over Patty Judge is in the single digits.
BLUNT FACES HEAT FOR ABSENCE ON ZIKA. This week, Senator Roy Blunt admitted that he missed a crucial Zika bill conference, but found time to attend two fundraisers on that very same day. The next day, a brutal editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch slammed Blunt on Zika funding, saying “Irresponsibly, Blunt didn’t craft a bill that could pass.” Additionally, in the latest sign of just how vulnerable Blunt is, Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund announced it’s reserving $2.5 million in airtime to support Blunt’s failing campaign.
IN THE STATES
FLORIDA – PolitiFact investigated some of the desperate attacks against Patrick Murphy in Florida and concluded that they omit “crucial details,” are based on “semantics,” and exploit “nuance.” Read here.
FLORIDA — The Florida Police Benevolent Association endorsed Patrick Murphy in Florida, touting him as the leader Florida needs to keep communities safe.
OHIO — The Strickland campaign released a new video in their web series “Rob Portman: The Least Known Man in Ohio.” The new video highlights how Portman is holding open a seat on the Supreme Court so that Donald Trump can fill it. Watch “Trump & The Court” here.
PENNSYLVANIA – Katie McGinty published an op-ed in the Philly Voice highlighting how important it is to continue fighting against all efforts to restrict women’s access to safe and affordable health care services. Read more about why McGinty will fight to protect women’s health here.
IOWA – A Loras poll released yesterday shows a deadlocked race in Iowa, with Senator Chuck Grassley leading Patty Judge by only one point.
MORE IOWA — The National Education Association endorsed Patty Judge in Iowa yesterday. The organization touted Judge’s commitment to students and public education across the state of Iowa.
KENTUCKY — The Huffington Post published a profile of Jim Gray, a seventh-generation Kentuckian and Mayor of Lexington, and the race he is running against Rand Paul in Kentucky. Read it here.
ILLINOIS & WISCONSIN — While McConnell’s super-PAC reserved tens of millions of dollars in ad reservations to try and save their vulnerable Republican Senators, there were two notable omissions: Mark Kirk and Ron Johnson. Way to inspire confidence Republicans!
NORTH CAROLINA—In advance of the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Deborah Ross, Democratic nominee for US Senate and former professor, had some “edits” for the “Seniors for Burr” webpage.
TWEET OF THE WEEK – This week’s Tweet of the Week goes out to National Journal’s Alex Rogers, for reporting on the nicest thing NRSC Chair Roger Wicker can say about their nominee in Colorado, Daryl Glenn, whom the NRSC has STILL yet to comment on: “@arogDC: Asked NRSC Chair Wicker about Darryl Glenn, who won last night the GOP primary for Senate in Colorado. ‘It’s going to be an expensive state’”
Enjoy the long weekend and Happy Fourth of July!
