GOP LAWSUIT THREATENS MEDICAID EXPANSION AS ENROLLMENT GROWS AMID PANDEMIC. A new Washington Post report that highlights the threat the Republican-led lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act poses to Medicaid expansion. If successful, the GOP lawsuit would not only gut protections for the millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions, it would also take away coverage from the 15 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid under the ACA’s expansion. Nearly 4 million Americans gained coverage through Medicaid between February and June and over the spring and early summer enrollment grew by another 6.2%. That means that “more than one in five Americans – about 75 million – now rely on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program for their coverage.” And “the outcome of the ACA lawsuit could affect their coverage,” but amid a global pandemic, Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans are ramming through a nominee hostile to the Affordable Care Act, further increasing “the court’s chances of knocking down some or all of the 2010 health care law.” Washington Post: The Health 202: Republican-backed ACA lawsuit also threatens Medicaid as enrollment grows during pandemic
JOBLESS CLAIMS ARE RISING, BUT REPUBLICANS ABANDON URGENTLY NEEDED PANDEMIC RELIEF. Senate Republicans are again turning their backs on the millions of Americans who desperately need help by agreeing to abandon efforts to pass a new relief package. Despite Democrats’ efforts to restart negotiations, Majority Leader McConnell is saying a new coronavirus stimulus package is “‘unlikely in the next three weeks.’” New jobless claims were “worse than expected” this past week amid an ongoing slowdown in hiring and reports suggest that Republicans’ decision to delay relief could be “dangerous” for the economy as “many furloughs are turning into permanent job losses, and major companies…are initiating new rounds of layoffs.” Millions of Americans remain unemployed amid the ongoing public health and economic crisis that has been worsened by Republicans’ failed leadership, but Mitch McConnell and his caucus have decided to ignore Americans’ wishes and focus on rushing to fill a lifetime Supreme Court vacancy. New York Times: Anxious for a Lifeline, the U.S. Economy Is Left to Sink or Swim
POLL: VOTERS WANT GOP SENATE TO FOCUS ON CORONAVIRUS RELIEF BEFORE SCOTUS. While Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have decided to abandon pandemic relief, new polling reveals that “an overwhelming majority of voters believe the Senate should prioritize coronavirus relief” over confirming a Supreme Court nominee. 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
SCOTUS BEGINS NEW TERM THAT WILL DECIDE FATE OF ACA. In another clear reminder of what’s at stake in November, the Supreme Court began a new term on Monday that will decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act and protections for the millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions. This term, the Supreme Court is preparing to hear oral arguments in the Republican lawsuit that would kick an estimated 20 million Americans off their health insurance, end Medicaid expansion for at least 12 million people, and cut other health care benefits while giving the richest 0.1% a massive tax windfall. New polling this week revealed that a majority of voters in the Senate battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado, and Iowa overwhelmingly disapprove of the GOP lawsuit to overturn the ACA. Reminder: Senate Republican incumbents and candidates are on record either supporting or refusing to oppose this lawsuit and are in favor of gutting these core health care protections.
VULNERABLE REPUBLICANS TRY TO MISLEAD VOTERS ON CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR RUSH TO FILL SCOTUS VACANCY. Republicans know 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 “politically dangerous” for them, so they have resorted to “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 one veteran GOP strategist called the efforts “the worst poker playing I’ve ever seen.” 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 –– just further evidence that these GOP incumbents can’t even defend their own positions. ABC News: On campaign trail, vulnerable GOP senators play down a more conservative Supreme Court
“GRIM” SENATE MAP CAUSES REPUBLICANS TO SCRAMBLE TO REWRITE THEIR RECORDS ENABLING TRUMP’S FAILED PANDEMIC RESPONSE. Once again Republicans are hoping voters will forget about their deeply unpopular records as the growing “GOP anxiety” of losing their Senate majority has led to vulnerable Republican incumbents making a last-minute scramble to “distance themselves from President Donald Trump.” The vulnerable Senate Republicans who are now attempting to put space between themselves and Trump just weeks before the election spent the entire pandemic dutifully praising Trump’s mismanagement of the crisis, arguing that he did a “tremendous job,” and proclaiming “there is no daylight” between themselves and the White House’s coronavirus response. Voters won’t buy this last minute desperate attempt from Republican incumbents to try and save their flailing campaigns.
PANICKED GOP DONORS PERFORM “POLITICAL TRIAGE” TO SAVE THE SENATE. New reporting from the Daily Beast highlights how “top Republican donors, lobbyists, and operatives are directing their attention to the Senate in hopes of keeping a majority in the chamber” in an effort described as “political triage.” As Republicans grow increasingly concerned about President Trump’s re-election chances, “top GOP money men” have shifted their resources to Republican incumbents “as the party’s candidates have been dramatically outraised.” 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 trying to rescue their losing campaigns. The Daily Beast: Republicans: Ditch Trump, Save the Senate
EDITORIAL BOARDS ENDORSE KELLY, HICKENLOOPER, GREENFIELD, BULLOCK, HEGAR IN #AZSEN, #COSEN, #IASEN, #MTSEN, #TXSEN. Editorial Boards across the map are endorsing strong Democratic candidates, citing their ability to work across the aisle to get things done in Washington. Another common theme? Local Editorial Boards aren’t too pleased that these incumbent Republican Senatorsare rubber stamps for Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump and called them out for their toxic health care records on health care.
Take a look at what voters are reading in their local newspapers:
RATINGS CHANGES: NONPARTISAN ELECTION ANALYSTS SHIFT FOUR MORE RACES IN DEMS’ DIRECTION. This week Sabato’s Crystal Ball and the Cook Political Report shifted four races towards Democrats reflecting the growing momentum that Democrats across the map have heading into the final weeks of the election. All four ratings changes – Georgia special, Kansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina – were races that Republicans never anticipated being competitive at the beginning of the cycle, demonstrating the strength of Democratic candidates who have put Republicans on defense and expanded the map. Take a look at what the nonpartisan election analysts are saying:
DEMOCRATS CONTINUE TO POST EYE-POPPING Q3 HAULS. Senate challengers and Democratic incumbents continue to break records with their eye-popping Q3 numbers fueled by small-dollar donors. It couldn’t be clearer that grassroots supporters are fired up to elect Democrats across the map:
NEW POLLS SHOW MAJOR MOMENTUM FOR DEMOCRATS ACROSS THE MAP. A slew of polls out this week show major momentum as strong Democratic candidates are putting what Republicans once considered to be safe seats in play and expanding the map. Take a look:
DAINES CAUGHT PUTTING HIMSELF AND HIS SPECIAL CORPORATE INTEREST DONORS AHEAD OF MONTANANS. Two bombshell reports this week highlighted how Senator Steve Daines prioritizes his interests and those of his big money donors instead of Montanans’. The first report revealed that Senator Steve Daines voted to extend an investor visa program that was “rampant” with fraud after meeting with a major beneficiary of the program at the invitation of a private equity firm. Just two days after Daines’ vote, executives at the private equity firm donated nearly $20,000 to his campaign. Then, another report uncovered that Daines’ vote on the 2017 Republican tax bill was “contingent on increasing a tax deduction for ‘pass-through’ entities,” which appeared to save Daines “thousands in taxes.” The report also found that the vulnerable incumbent repeatedly sponsored and voted for legislation expected to benefit one of his “earliest financial backers” and close friend Gianforte who has continued to max out donations and fundraise for Daines’ campaigns.
POSTAL OFFICIAL-LED SUPER PAC POURS MONEY INTO RESCUING TILLIS. Senator Thom Tillis can’t seem to 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. New reporting from the New York Times this week revealed that a Super PAC led by another official at the Postal Service has poured over $20 million into rescuing the increasingly vulnerable incumbent. The latest details call into question the close relationship between Tillis and President Trump’s partisan appointees to run the USPS. New York Times: PAC Led by Postal Official Pours $20 Million Into Rescuing Tillis
TILLIS TOOK OFF MASK AT WHITE HOUSE SUPERSPREADER EVENT. Vulnerable incumbent Thom Tillis admitted yesterday that “he made a mistake by taking off his face mask indoors last month at a White House event.” While Tillis has claimed to be a proponent of wearing masks in public, “photos showed him without one at [the White House’s] indoor reception” for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. This is the second time Tillis has been forced to apologize for ignoring CDC guidance, making it painfully obvious that he is too weak and too spineless to stand up to his party leaders in Washington to protect public health. AP: Tillis: I made a mistake taking off mask inside White House
MCSALLY “MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES” AS SHE DID IN 2018. A Morning Consult deep dive this week 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. 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
AD WATCH: GROSS CALLS OUT SULLIVAN FOR HIDING POSITIONS FROM VOTERS. Dr. Al Gross’ latest ad calls out vulnerable incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan for hiding his toxic record from Alaskans. In stark contrast to Sullivan who voted four times to gut the Affordable Care Act and has extreme views on a woman’s right to choose, Dr. Gross is committed to protecting reproductive freedom and strengthening access to affordable health care. Watch Al’s ad here.
IN THE STATES
AL – Wall Street Journal: A Question Haunting the Alabama Senate Race: How Could Auburn Lose to Vanderbilt?
AL – AP: Jones: Trump nominee is torpedo aimed at Affordable Care Act
AK – Anchorage Press: Report shows Sullivan took $35k from Pebble donors
AK – Alaska Public Media: National groups pour millions into Alaska’s U.S. Senate race, suggesting it’s tightening
AL – Bloomberg: Republicans Aren’t Writing Off Doug Jones. Neither is Jones.
AZ – Arizona Public Media: Candidate wants to go from space to the Capitol
CO – Daily Camera (Op-Ed): Guest opinion: John Hickenlooper: Colorado needs climate action
GA – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Warnock moves from pulpit to top rungs in crowded Senate race
GA – HuffPost: Kelly Loeffler Panned For Insensitive Video Of Trump ‘Beating’ COVID-19 In A Brawl
IA – AP: Judge blocks Iowa directive on absentee ballot applications
IA – American Independent: Joni Ernst pretends she wants to protect preexisting conditions in new ad
NC – E&E News: Dem challenger says Thom Tillis sold out on PFAS
NH – WMUR: NH Primary Source: Shaheen endorsed by four labor unions in bid for third term
NH – American Independent: GOP Senate nominee says some preexisting conditions don’t count
SC – POLITICO: Clyburn confident in Jaime Harrison’s Senate chances: ‘Things are breaking in his favor’
TX – San Antonio Current: Locked in a tough race, Sen. John Cornyn tries to put on a moderate face. Don’t buy it, critics say.
TX – KVUE: Inside Texas Politics: Democrat MJ Hegar sees late fundraising surge in Senate race
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Lauren Passalacqua
@laurenvpass
Stewart Boss
@stew_boss
Helen Kalla
@helen_kalla
Shea Necheles
@sheanecheles
Regina Anderson
@reginasopinion
###
