SENATE REPUBLICANS “CAUGHT IN A VISE — NOT TRUMPIAN ENOUGH FOR PRESIDENT’S BACKERS, TOO LOYAL FOR OTHER VOTERS.” A new Washington Post analysis spotlights how incumbent Republican senators are in an increasingly difficult position on “how to handle their political relationship” with President Trump. For months, Republican senators up for re-election “rhetorically remained supportive of Trump,” but now the increasingly unpopular president has “vanished from their campaign advertising and most communication with voters.” The reality facing vulnerable Senate Republicans is that it’s too late to distance themselves from Trump — they’ve repeatedly refused to hold him accountable and bragged about how they’ve worked “hand in glove with the Trump administration” on his disastrous coronavirus response. Washington Post: Senate GOP incumbents caught in a vise — not Trumpian enough for president’s backers, too loyal for other voters
GOP REFUSES TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS WHILE MISLEADING VOTERS. A new report from the New York Times shows how Republicans are trying to deceive voters into thinking they’ve taken action on drug pricing — while in reality, working with their donors in the pharmaceutical industry to block reforms. President Trump has been promoting a nonexistent executive order tying prescription drug prices in the United States to those in other developed nations, but the text of Trump’s “missing order,” which has been opposed by many congressional Republicans and the pharmaceutical industry, “remains largely a secret” despite the president’s claims that it has already lowered drug prices. 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 has said it’s “dead on arrival.” New York Times: Trump Keeps Promoting a Drug Order That No One Has Seen
MAINE GOP CHAIR CONFIRMS COLLINS & TRUMP “BOTH SUPPORT EACH OTHER” (BUT COLLINS IS STILL DODGING). Senator Susan Collins has spent the last 619 days refusing to be honest with Mainers about whether she’s supporting President Trump’s re-election. Now, the vulnerable incumbent is in the hot seat again for dodging the question repeatedly — even as the Maine GOP chair claimed that Collins and Trump “both support each other” and Collins’ campaign co-chair recently offered his “full-throated support” of Trump. As Senator Collins desperately attempts to distance herself from Trump to try to save her political career, the nation’s least popular senator can’t change the facts about her record of voting with Trump 94% of the time and overwhelmingly supporting his agenda and his judicial nominees — demonstrating just how much she’s changed after more than two decades in Washington.
NEW REPORT: FAILED POLITICIAN JOHN JAMES LIED TO VOTERS ABOUT CREATING MICHIGAN JOBS. A bombshell report out today revealed that failed politician John James misled Michiganders about his business record – claiming he “created 100 jobs in Michigan and East of the Mississippi” when in fact he had not created a single job in the state. The Detroit Metro Times front-page report details how James benefited from close to $2 million in taxpayer dollars despite the fact he didn’t meet the job creation requirements, and actually “lost more than 30 jobs under his leadership.” Read more about how James “lined his pockets” while taxpayers footed the bill → Detroit Metro News: GOP Senate candidate John James touts the jobs his company created, but documents show it lost its tax exempt status after failing to create the jobs it promised
DAINES KEEPS TAKING TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRIPS TO CHINA, WHILE AVOIDING HIS CONSTITUENTS BACK HOME. A new Salon report highlights Senator Steve Daines’ hypocrisy for claiming to be tough on China despite repeatedly meeting with Chinese Communist Party officials on taxpayer-funded trips, “while avoiding town halls with his constituents back home.” Despite his recent rhetoric, the vulnerable incumbent has spent his time in Washington as a “China cheerleader.” It’s just the latest example of a “politically endangered” Republican senator using the NRSC playbook to “attack China” in an attempt to try and shift blame from Trump’s bungled coronavirus response. The reality is Daines has failed to hold either China or the president accountable. Salon: Montana GOP Sen. Daines won’t meet with constituents but keeps taking taxpayer-funded trips to China
DEM AD WATCH
GA – Reverend Raphael Warnock released a new ad today that highlights how he’s helped Georgians in times of need by counseling families through economic hardship, health challenges, and personal loss — including during the coronavirus pandemic. Watch.
IA – Theresa Greenfield released two new ads. The first highlights how she’ll never forget her scrappy roots and will always work hard on behalf of Iowa’s working families in the Senate. Watch. Greenfield’s second ad stresses how her personal experiences as a farm kid, military mom, and small businesswoman have prepared her to be an independent leader who will work with anyone to put Iowa first. Watch.
MT – Governor Steve Bullock’s latest ad criticizes Senator Steve Daines for putting big drug companies ahead of hardworking Montanans and highlights his own record of bringing down prices. Watch.
SC – Jaime Harrison released a new ad that discusses how his personal faith helps guide his fight to make South Carolina a better place to live and start a family. Watch.
IN THE STATES
CO – Colorado Politics: Gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords plans virtual rally with Hickenlooper to boost background checks
GA – Georgia Public Broadcasting: Warnock Unveils Second TV Ad In Wide-Open Senate Election
IA – Des Moines Register: Theresa Greenfield: To give Iowa women a fair shot, we need new policies addressing leave, child care and the pay gap
ME – Maine Public Radio: Sara Gideon Releases Health Plan, Criticizes Federal Coronavirus Response
ME – Newsweek: Susan Collins Edits Trump Signage Out of Social Media, Despite Endorsement
MS – Mississippi Today: Mike Espy has built a robust and historic Senate campaign. Can he win?
MT – Missoulian (Letter): Bullock will stick up for Montana
SC – POLITICO: Lindsey Graham questions why Jacob Blake ‘didn’t yield’ in Wisconsin police shooting
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