SENATE REPUBLICANS FACING “MAJOR HEAD WINDS IN FINAL STRETCH.” With just four weeks until Election Day, several new reports on the state of the Senate map all reach the same conclusion: Senate Republicans are in trouble. With a toxic president, a nonexistent Supreme Court bump, and Democratic challengers raising massive sums from grassroots supporters, Mitch McConnell’s majority is looking “increasingly vulnerable” and facing “major head winds” in the final stretch of the election cycle.
REPUBLICANS DOUBLE DOWN ON BOTCHED CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE. New analyses from NBC News and the Washington Post take a look at how Republicans could face widespread backlash for their “unflinching posture” on the public health and economic crisis and downplaying of “the public health risk of the pandemic.” For the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died from the deadly disease and millions out of work from the coronavirus-induced economic crisis, “the disease has been the dominant force in their lives.” But instead of working to provide urgently needed coronavirus relief, Senate Republicans have accused “the news media of exaggerating the threat” and blocked efforts to pass a new bipartisan relief package.
POLL: VAST MAJORITY OF VOTERS WANT GOP SENATE TO FOCUS ON CORONAVIRUS RELIEF BEFORE SCOTUS. New polling reveals that “an overwhelming majority of voters believe the Senate should prioritize coronavirus relief” over confirming a Supreme Court nominee – but Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are ignoring Americans’ urgent needs. Instead, Senate Republicans are furiously rushing to fill a lifetime seat on the nation’s highest court with a nominee hostile to the Affordable Care Act. It’s no wonder the ‘anger’ of millions of Americans is directed at Republicans for failing the country during a global public health and economic crisis. The Hill: Poll: 74 percent of voters want Senate to take on COVID-19 relief before SCOTUS nominee
VULNERABLE REPUBLICANS TRY TO MISLEAD VOTERS ON CONSEQUENCES OF SCOTUS SHIFT. Vulnerable GOP incumbents and candidates on the campaign trail are “downplaying a possible conservative shift on the court in an attempt to avoid a potential backlash on Election Day.” Republicans are “minimizing the implications of Barrett’s addition to the court” — and even one veteran GOP strategist called the efforts “the worst poker playing I’ve ever seen” — because they know their rush to fill the Supreme Court vacancy is “politically dangerous for them.” Republicans are trying to paper over their own records of supporting politically unpopular positions like ending protections for people with pre-existing conditions and striking down Roe v. Wade. Their attempts to hide the real world implications of their rush to fill this Supreme Court vacancy with a nominee hostile to the Affordable Care Act and a woman’s right to choose is just further evidence that these GOP incumbents can’t even defend their own positions and have resorted to trying to deceive voters. ABC News: On campaign trail, vulnerable GOP senators play down a more conservative Supreme Court
BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE ENDORSES BULLOCK IN #MTSEN. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle Editorial Board endorsed Governor Steve Bullock for U.S. Senate today, writing that Bullock is “a proven pragmatic leader who can craft compromise on the stickiest of issues.” While the Chronicle endorsed Steve Daines for Senate just six years ago, the Editorial Board calls Daines out for disappointing Montana and criticizes the incumbent for “among other things, all[ying] himself rigidly with an administration hell bent on striking down the only legislation that makes affordable health care available to many Montanans – without anything to replace it.” While the Chronicle praised Bullock for his record of “working with reasonable people from both parties” and “governing effectively”, the Editorial Board eviscerated Daines for being “a sycophant to Senate Republican leadership and the administration.” In their own words: “We need a change in leadership. Let’s start with the Senate and send Steve Bullock to Washington.” Bozeman Daily Chronicle: Bullock our best bet at changing Congress | Editorials
POSTAL OFFICIAL-LED SUPER PAC POURS MONEY INTO RESCUING TILLIS. Senator Thom Tillis can’t escape the jaw-dropping Washington Post report that exposed the vulnerable incumbent as “one of the biggest beneficiaries” of an alleged “straw-donor scheme” led by Republican mega-donor and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Now, new reporting from the New York Times reveals that a Super PAC led by another official at the Postal Service has poured over $20 million into rescuing the increasingly vulnerable incumbent. The newest details call into question the close relationship between Tillis and President Trump’s partisan appointees to run the USPS. Remember, Tillis has been an ardent defender of DeJoy and other top officials and refused to condemn DeJoy’s actions on the Postal Service that have hurt rural North Carolinians and veterans. New York Times: PAC Led by Postal Official Pours $20 Million Into Rescuing Tillis
GRAHAM JOINS LIST OF MOST VULNERABLE INCUMBENTS. With just four weeks to go until Election Day, Senator Lindsey Graham has joined Roll Call’s list of most vulnerable incumbents. A host of recent polls show that the South Carolina Senate race is a dead heat and just last week Mitch McConnell’s super PAC announced it’s launching a $10 million ad buy over three weeks in South Carolina to prop up the increasingly vulnerable incumbent. The inclusion on Roll Call’s most vulnerable list probably isn’t the news Graham wants to hear as he’s become an almost constant fixture on Fox News “begging for money” and alarmed at his “closer-than-expected” race. Roll Call: Four weeks to go: Lindsey Graham joins 10 most vulnerable senators list
LOEFFLER TACKS RIGHT, CHANNELS TRUMP IN SENATE BID. Unelected politician Senator Kelly Loeffler is coming under fire for her sudden pivot to the Republican Party’s “hard-right flank.” Loeffler was appointed “as an effort to make the Georgia Republican Party more palatable to middle-class moderates” — but since being appointed, Loeffler has gone from “Atlanta elite to Trump loyalist” as she faces a challenge from the right. As Loeffler and Congressman Doug Collins try to “out-conservative the other” and Loeffler cultivates “a new image as a right-wing firebrand,” Reverend Raphael Warnock is seizing the moment and surging in the polls.
MCSALLY “MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES” AS SHE DID IN 2018. A new Morning Consult deep dive into Arizona finds bleak news for unelected Senator Martha McSally. Recent polling has McSally trailing Democratic challenger Mark Kelly by double digits overall and falling further behind in key demographics. McSally is trailing Kelly by 12 points among independents, by 26 points among women, and is even weak among Republican voters. One Arizona Republican strategist bluntly stated that McSally is “struggl[ing] to be able to talk to those voters who left her last time in the Sinema race” and a former Republican legislator admitted that “the McSally approach appears to be similar to the approach they took in 2018.” Morning Consult: Factors That McSally’s Campaign Cited for Her 2018 Loss in Arizona Are Exacerbated This Year, Strategists Say
NEW VIDEO: MICHIGAN DEMS SPOTLIGHT JAMES’ MASK HYPOCRISY. Failed politician John James got caught lying again this week when he claimed to follow coronavirus safety guidelines to consistently wear a mask after being asked by WXYZ. The truth? James has been recklessly campaigning maskless at in-person events for months, ignoring public health guidance, and putting Michiganders in danger. The Michigan Democratic Party has the receipts to prove it with their new video. Detroit Metro Times: Here’s a video of all the times GOP Senate candidate John James was caught in public not wearing a mask
DEM AD WATCH
CO – Former Governor John Hickenlooper’s latest ad features Coloradans calling out Senator Cory Gardner for blocking the decade-in-the-making Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, which would protect 400,000 acres of Colorado public lands. Watch.
IA – Theresa Greenfield released a new ad today that highlights her commitment to working across the aisle to end the Washington gridlock and deliver results for Iowa families. Watch.
GA – In a new ad, Georgians share why Rev. Raphael Warnock understands the needs of the community and how he will put Georgians first as a US Senator. Watch.
SC – In Jaime Harrison’s latest ad, his family talks about what he loves most and how he is ready to fight for South Carolina. Watch.
MT – Governor Steve Bullock’s new ad features Montana seniors calling out Senator Steve Daines for his record of undermining Social Security at the expense of Montanans. Watch.
IN THE STATES
AZ – New York Times: To push back against Martha McSally, Mark Kelly enlists the senator who beat her before.
GA – Huffington Post: Kelly Loeffler Panned For Insensitive Video Of Trump ‘Beating’ COVID-19 In A Brawl
IA – AP: Judge blocks Iowa directive on absentee ballot applications
ME – Daily Bulldog: Sara Gideon tours University of Maine Farmington
NH – WMUR: NH Primary Source: Shaheen endorsed by four labor unions in bid for third term
SC – WSPA: Meet the Candidate: Jaime Harrison
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