GOP “HAS YET TO PUT ANY TEETH INTO” LOWERING DRUG PRICES. Republicans are once again trying to deceive voters into thinking they’ve taken action on drug pricing and on Sunday, President Trump announced a new executive order that aims to lower drug prices in the Medicare program. But the reality? “There’s plenty of reason to be skeptical of this ever translating into official policy.” The announcement was “widely regarded as a political play seven weeks before the election” and while Republicans have spent years claiming that they are prioritizing lowering drug prices, they have “yet to put any teeth into the effort.” The refusal of Washington Republicans to rein in the cost of prescription drugs remains a massive “political liability for the party in 2020.” While the House passed sweeping legislation to slash drug prices last year, the bill “stalled in the Senate” because Mitch McConnell said it’s “dead on arrival.”
REPUBLICAN MEGA-DONORS HIT THE PANIC BUTTON ON LOSING THE SENATE. A new report from the Financial Times found that Republican mega-donors are giving up on re-electing Trump and are instead doubling down on a strategy of “protecting the Senate at all costs — even if it means sacrificing the Oval Office.” One Republican mega-donor even admitted what Democrats have been arguing all cycle: “our incumbents are in a bad way, even in reliably red states, and they are being swamped by Democratic fundraising. Democrats have been able to broaden the map, forcing the NRSC to spend on states they normally wouldn’t have to.” With vulnerable Republicans falling behind their Democratic challengers, it’s no surprise the corporate interests and billionaires who have profited from these Republican incumbents running the Senate are now trying to rescue their losing campaigns. Financial Times: Republicans pour cash into Senate races as Trump trails in polls
“INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE”: DR. AL GROSS MOUNTS A SERIOUS CHALLENGE IN ALASKA. A New York Times dispatch from Alaska this weekend found that the Senate race there is becoming “increasingly competitive” as Dr. Al Gross is “in striking distance” of an incumbent who was “once considered safe.” Senator Dan Sullivan even admitted “that Alaska had ‘taken it on the chin’ and agreed that the struggling economy could encourage some voters to consider a change.” The NYT analysis is the latest piece of evidence that the Alaska race is becoming more competitive. New York Times: Targeting Conservative Terrain, Democrats Look to Independent Challengers in Alaska
BOLLIER POSITIONED TO PICK UP SUPPORT FROM MODERATE REPUBLICAN VOTERS IN #KSSEN. A new deep dive from the Kansas City Star found that “moderate voters are still poised to play a pivotal role” in the Senate race –– and Dr. Barbara Bollier is uniquely positioned to capture their votes. While Congressman Roger Marshall “has doubled down on his message to conservatives,” Barbara has built a broader coalition of support that includes independents and moderate Republicans. One GOP strategist interviewed even acknowledged that Marshall’s rhetoric of downplaying the severity of the coronavirus pandemic “will turn off centrist voters, especially in Johnson County, the state’s most populous county.” Kansas City Star: Kansas Senate: Bollier and Marshall vie for moderate voters
NYT: WARNOCK SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE WITH RACISM IN A NEW AD. The New York Times Ad Watch spotlighted Reverend Raphael Warnock, who “debuted a deeply personal ad in which he speaks candidly about encountering racism as a child.” The ad also details his own childhood experience dealing with systemic racism and inequities and his promise to fight for a level playing field for all working Georgians. Take a look → New York Times: Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Senate candidate, shares his experience with racism in a new ad.
NEW PROFILE: UNLIKE JONI ERNST, “THERESA GREENFIELD WILL NOT MAKE YOU SQUEAL.” In a new profile from Cedar Rapids Gazette columnist Lyz Lenz, Theresa Greenfield shares her story about her own experiences with hardships, hard work and how she’s ready to bring her midwestern roots with her to the U.S. Senate. Lenz writes, “”If Ernst was gonna “make ‘em squeal” [in Washington], Greenfield is gonna make ‘em shut up and get back to work. A little less flashy, but really comforting in a year of too much squealing and not enough working.” The Gazette: Theresa Greenfield will not make you squeal
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD COLUMN: DONALD TRUMP “OWNS” SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS. At Friday night’s Maine Senate debate, Sara Gideon demonstrated “a mastery of the facts” and laid out her vision for putting Maine first, while Senator Susan Collins dodged again on questions of her support for Trump, refusing to say if she’ll vote for the president in November. Collins’ dodges did not go unnoticed by Mainers –– Portland Press Herald columnist Bill Nemitz wrote that the vulnerable incumbent’s silence reveals how “Collins has placed her own political survival over any true leader’s moral obligation to speak out when, no understatement, the future of the republic is in peril.” Portland Press Herald (Opinion): Bill Nemitz: It’s now official – Donald Trump owns Maine Sen. Susan Collins
DEM AD WATCH
CO – Former Governor John Hickenlooper released a new ad that features retired Denver Fire Chief and former Colorado Homeland Security Director Larry Trujillo praising John Hickenlooper’s character and support for first responders. Watch.
MT – Governor Steve Bullock’s latest ad contrasts his record of bringing Democrats and Republicans together to fund the Southwest Montana Veterans Home with Senator Steve Daines’ record of voting against veterans’ interests. Watch.
IN THE STATES
CO – RealVail: Hickenlooper offers climate plan as wildfires rage across western United States
GA – Georgia Recorder: LGBTQ Ally Jon Ossoff Narrowly Leads David Perdue in New AARP Poll
GA – Albany Herald: Georgia AFL-CIO endorses Rev. Raphael Warnock for Senate
IA – NPR: ‘So Skeptical’: As Election Nears, Iowa Senator Under Pressure For COVID-19 Remarks
IA – NWestIowa: Editorial: Iowa, please mask up
IA – Iowa Starting Line: What Joni Ernst Says When She’s Only Among Republicans
NC – Daily Tar Heel: Column: Thom Tillis has never cared about his constituents
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