DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: DSCC LAUNCHES BLACK MEDIA ADS SLAMMING GOP KBJ OPPOSITION – DEMS “RECORD-BREAKING” $$$ – TRUMP BRINGS CHAOS TO NC

DEMS LAUNCH AD CAMPAIGN IN LOCAL BLACK MEDIA OUTLETS HIGHLIGHTING GOP OPPOSITION TO KBJ’S NOMINATION. The DSCC launched a digital ad campaign today in local Black media outlets across five battleground states highlighting Senate Republicans’ opposition to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court. The digital campaign will begin on Friday and includes full homepage takeovers and ads in the Atlanta Voice (GA), Jacksonville Free Press (FL), Triangle Tribune (NC), Philadelphia Tribune (PA), and Milwaukee Courier (WI). See release Here.

• NBC News: Democrats roll out Justice Jackson ads in fight to maintain Senate control. “A day after a historic vote confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will launch a hypertargeted digital ad campaign aimed at Black potential voters in five battleground states.”

• Washington Post: Washington Post: DSCC launches digital ads on Jackson in Black media

SENATE REPUBLICANS: IF GOP WERE IN CHARGE, JUDGE JACKSON WOULDN’T HAVE EVEN RECEIVED HEARING. A wave of news coverage called out Senate Republicans for stating that a GOP Senate would not have even given Judge Jackson – the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court and an exceptionally qualified jurist – a hearing, reinforcing the stakes of this year’s election and reminding voters why we must protect and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices.

• TheGrio: Senate battles continue over Supreme Court ahead of committee vote on nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson. “In a statement responding to Graham’s committee remarks provided to theGrio, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said, ‘Senate Republicans admit that if they held the majority, the first Black woman, and one of the most qualified people nominated to serve on the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing’”

• CNN Inside Politics – Jackie Kucinich: “I think they just got an attack ad with what Lindsey Graham said about not… even getting a committee hearing if Republicans had been in charge.”

• The Hill: Graham says if GOP were in charge, Jackson wouldn’t have been nominee. “Democrats immediately seized on Graham’s comments, arguing that they underscored why Democrats need to keep control of the majority in the Senate November election.”

• Washington Post (Editorial Board): Republican excuses for rejecting Ketanji Brown Jackson are absurd. “By heaping praise on Judge Jackson while opposing her nomination, Republicans seek to obscure the unattractive image of their almost entirely White caucus rejecting the first Black woman ever nominated to the high court.”

• New York Times: How Low Will Senate Republicans Go on Ketanji Brown Jackson?“The Republicans’ role in the Jackson hearing was not remotely about Ketanji Brown Jackson. It was about concocting a scary version of a Black woman to serve up to their base.”

GOP CANDIDATES CONTINUE TO EMBRACE SENATE REPUBLICANS’ DISASTROUS  MIDTERM AGENDA. Senate Republicans continue to get slammed for their toxic agenda that would raise taxes on “over half of Americans,” put “an end to Social Security, Medicare,” and “repeal the Affordable Care Act,” which would spike health care costs and strip away coverage protections for pre-existing conditions.

• Daily Beast: GOP Candidates Can’t Stop Touching the Third Rail of Politics. “At least four GOP candidates in the most important battleground states this fall have either explicitly expressed support for Scott’s plan or have campaigned on the political views that form the foundation of his platform.”

• MSNBC: Why it matters when Republican Senate hopefuls endorse ACA repeal. “The larger point is that when given an opportunity, these Republican Senate hopefuls were unanimous in their opposition to the Affordable Care Act… That would of course mean millions of Americans would lose their coverage; protections for those with pre-existing conditions would disappear; families would once again face annual and lifetime caps; and on and on.”

BLOOMBERG: DAVID MCCORMICK “TRANSFORMED HIMSELF FASTER THAN CLARK KENT IN A PHONE BOOTH.” New reporting from Bloomberg Businessweek highlights the transformation of hedge fund executive David McCormick in Pennsylvania’s nasty GOP primary. McCormick is “a rich guy from Connecticut masquerading as a regular guy from Pennsylvania” who “transformed himself faster than Clark Kent in a phone booth” and “still hasn’t answered” if the 2020 election was stolen. Worth the read:

→ Bloomberg: The Bridgewater CEO Who Went Full MAGA

• To the astonishment of the Bridgewater crowd, he shed his smooth, Davos Man persona and transformed himself faster than Clark Kent in a phone booth into a Trump-touting, China-bashing MAGA acolyte.

• McCormick’s former co-workers circulate his ads, horrified, puzzled, or amused at their old boss’s transformation. “Is Connecticut Dave McCormick the real one, or is Pennsylvania Dave McCormick the real one?” one asks. “Or is the real Dave McCormick a chameleon who’ll be whatever he needs to be to succeed?”

• Extreme wealth remains a charged political subject in blue-collar America, especially when it has a Wall Street provenance. “He’s a rich guy from Connecticut masquerading as a regular guy from Pennsylvania,” says Stuart Stevens, who saw blowback from similar dynamics when he managed Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

• Do you think the election was stolen? […] He still hasn’t answered the question.

TRUMP TROUBLE – AHEAD OF RALLY, TRUMP CREATES CHAOS IN PRIMARIES & FORCES GOP CANDIDATES TO GO “FULL MAGA.”  Ahead of Trump’s Saturday rally in North Carolina, news coverage is highlighting how he is creating chaos in GOP Senate primaries: endorsing Republicans who are failing to clear primary fields and remain “locked in a dead heat,” forcing candidates to go “full MAGA” to prove their loyalty, and looming over primaries where he has yet to endorse as GOP candidates fight to convince voters they are “the most Trump-like in the race.” Read more from the DSCC ahead of Trump’s rally.

…TAR HEEL TANGO – MCCRORY-BUDD FEUD THREATENS GOP RUN-OFF IN NC. As Trump pulls into town, news coverage is highlighting how McCory is slamming Budd as an “embarrassment” and how the nasty primary “could force a July run-off, risking Republican chances of keeping the seat.”

• Reuters: North Carolina US Senate primary a test of Trump’s power over Republican voters. “The crowded field could force a July run-off, risking Republican chances of keeping the seat.”

• Axios Charlotte: Trump’s N.C. visit caps a hard week for Pat McCrory. “McCrory equated Budd with Cawthorn, calling them an “embarrassment, to the state, to our party and to Congress,” saying they’ve made “reckless” statements about Ukraine, accomplished “nothing” in Congress and voted against certification of the 2020 election.”

💰 “TORRID,” “RECORD-BREAKING,” “UNPRECEDENTED” – DEMS FLEX STRONG FUNDRAISING NUMBERS IN Q1 💰

Democratic Senators and challengers in key battleground states are posting impressive fundraising hauls and padding their war-chests – showing the enthusiasm that exists for Democrats’ work in the Senate to lower costs, cut taxes, and stand up to McConnell and the big corporations who are spiking costs.

• AZ – 12 News Phoenix: Mark Kelly keeps up torrid Senate fundraising pace with $11.3 million haul in 1st quarter. “Sen. Kelly has launched into 2022 delivering real results for hardworking families in Arizona, not big corporations or DC special interests,” said Kelly campaign manager Emma Brown. “Our grassroots donors are responding, fueling this campaign at an unprecedented rate.”

• FL – The Floridian: Demings Raises More Cash Than Any Previous FL Senate Challenger. “This funding is unprecedented as she raised more money than any Florida Senate challenger ever.”

• NC – AP: Beasley Makes Largest Quarterly Fundraising in Senate Bid. “Beasley, the former chief justice of the state Supreme Court, has led in fundraising among all Democratic and Republican candidates who once or still are seeking to succeed the retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr.”

• NH – WMUR: Sen. Hassan posts record-breaking fundraising haul for first quarter. “Hassan is posting a record-breaking $4.3 million fundraising haul for the 1st quarter of 2022, a figure her campaign says is the most in New Hampshire history for this particular quarter and the third highest quarterly haul all-time, ranking behind only the final two reports of Hassan’s senate campaign in 2016.”

• NV – Nevada Independent: Cortez Masto pulls in record $4.4 million in 2022 first quarter fundraising. “Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) raised more than $4.4 million in the first three months of 2022, the largest single-quarter sum raised by any U.S. Senate candidate in Nevada through the 2022 midterm cycle so far.”

DEM STATE PARTIES LAUNCH NEW VIDEOS SLAMMING GOP SENATE CANDIDATES. This week, Nevada Democratic Victory and the Arizona Democratic Party both put out new videos highlighting how Republicans are stuck with weak candidates and chaotic primaries.

→ NEVADA DEMOCRATIC VICTORY PARTY: “Sleazy Adam Laxalt Caught Lying To Nevadans. Again.” Nevada Democratic Victory released a new video highlighting how sleazy, corrupt politician Adam Laxalt is the real “elite.”

→  ARIZONA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Arizona Democrats Introduce The GOP Senate Candidates. The GOP Senate primary ballot is officially set — and the Arizona Democratic Party is marking the occasion by releasing a new digital video to introduce Arizona voters to the “decidedly weak” field of “lesser-known Republicans.”

GROWING GRANITE STATE FIELD – TRUMP ADVISOR PREDICTS GOP PRIMARY WILL GET EVEN MORE CROWDED. Trump’s disgraced advisor Corey Lewandowski signaled this week that the NH GOP Senate field is not complete yet – ensuring this already crowded field of ‘b-tier’ candidates will get even more chaotic.

• NH Journal: NH GOP Insiders Expect More Candidates to Jump Into Senate Race — Soon. “‘I can tell you that the president has not endorsed anybody in that race,’ Lewandowski said Tuesday. ‘He has not yet made a decision about what he’s going to do in that race. But I don’t believe that field is completed yet because I think there’s still more opportunity there.’”

COLORADO COLLISION COURSE – GOP SENATE CANDIDATES EMBRACE THE BIG LIE. Colorado’s GOP Senate candidates are facing a wave of news coverage highlighting how their continued embrace of the Big Lie is clashing with their hopes for winning in November – as even the former chair of the Colorado GOP frets they’ll nominate an extreme candidate and “can kiss this election goodbye.”

• Colorado Sun: Colorado Republicans’ hopes of winning in 2022 clash this week with 2020 election deniers. “Colorado Republicans’ hopes for winning in November could hinge on a clash this week between those in the party still focused on baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and those who want to focus on the future.”

• Bloomberg: Colorado Senate Race Primed for Pivot Point at GOP Convention. “Hanks has continued to emphasize election fraud claims in the run-up to the Republican assembly. He appeared Tuesday at the state Capitol in Denver at an “Election Truth Rally” with Mike Lindell, founder of My Pillow Inc., who’s spent millions of dollars seeking to bolster Trump’s unproven claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Hanks also attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally in Washington and marched to the Capitol, but Colorado House leaders of both parties said there’s no evidence he did anything illegal.”

JUST THIS WEEK, THANKS TO SENATE DEMOCRAT
→ Democrats are taking action on voters’ most pressing priorities: growing good paying American jobs and improving our supply chains by rebuilding our bridges and infrastructure.

• Pennsylvania Capital Star: Still think the infrastructure law isn’t helping? Check the number. “$1.6 billion in bridge repair funding the state received from the bipartisan infrastructure law already is being put to work around the commonwealth.”

• WNCN: NC getting $176M for public transit, here’s how much your area is getting. “More than $176 million in federal funding is coming to North Carolina to support public transit. The money is the result of the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.”

IN THE STATES

AZ – Arizona Republic: Brnovich discloses ‘interim’ findings of civil election probe, angering some Republicans. “But, that was Brnovich when he still was acting like an actual attorney general and before he decided to use his elected office almost exclusively to promote his campaign for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.”

FL – News Press (Opinion): Rubio putting own political agenda ahead of helping Ukraine. “Our senior Senator, Marco Rubio, has put his own political agenda ahead of supporting Ukraine.”

NV – KVVU Fox 5 Las Vegas (VIDEO): “Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was in Las Vegas to highlight new legislation aimed at stopping human trafficking… she says being able to recognize the signs will go a long way towards saving victims.”

NV – Las Vegas Review Journal (Opinion): Elite Laxalt denounces … the elites? “In denouncing elites, Laxalt is obviously denouncing himself, a point that has been made repeatedly elsewhere. But it bears scrutiny again: Laxalt is the grandson of a former Nevada governor and U.S. senator, Paul Laxalt, who was one of Ronald Reagan’s best friends. He’s the son of another U.S. senator, the late Pete Domenici of New Mexico.”

OH – WLWT: GOP candidates face off in Ohio U.S. Senate Primary debate. “There was more political blood on the Republican ground tonight. It came during a debate between the five candidates for the Republican U. S. Senate nomination.”

WI – UpNorthNews: Ron Johnson’s Record on Aid to Ukraine Mirrors His Inconsistent Approach to Spending. “The Republican Senator has voted against providing help five different times, often citing deficit concerns that don’t seem apparent when passing budget-busting tax favors.”

TWEET OF THE WEEK:

David Bergstein
@DavidABergstein

Amanda Sherman
@asherman89

Pat Burgwinkle
@Burgwinkle

Nora Keefe
@norakatekeefe

Freedom Murphy
@F_AlexanderM

Eli Cousin
@elicousin

Claire Berry
@claireliseberry

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