September 27, 2024 Press Releases

DSCC FRIDAY TAKEAWAYS: SENATE DEMS GO ON OFFENSE IN TX AND FL, MORENO’S CAMPAIGN SPINS OUT AFTER COMMENTS INSULTING OHIO WOMEN

DEMS GO ON OFFENSE IN TX AND FL (AGAINST OFFENSIVE GOP CANDIDATES) → The DSCC announced a new multi-million dollar investment in television advertising for the Texas and Florida Senate races. In both states, the ads will focus on holding Cruz and Scott accountable for their unpopular records and agenda. See what they’re saying about Senate Democrats expanding the map.

📺 WATCH: DEMOCRATS “HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN BOTH FLORIDA AND TEXAS” → DSCC Chair Peters spoke about the investment with members of the press at the National Press Club this week, discussing how Democrats are “going to go in much bigger” against “unpopular incumbents: Ted Cruz in Texas and Rick Scott in Florida.”

📻 LISTEN: DEMOCRATS “GO ON OFFENSE” → DSCC Chair Sen. Gary Peters joined SiriusXM’s Mornings with Zerlina to discuss the investment in Texas and Florida, highlighting how both states represent an opportunity for Senate Democrats “to go on offense” against “flawed Republican candidates.” Listen for yourself.

ON A LOSING STREAK: NEW RACE RATINGS DOWNGRADE CRUZ AND SCOTT’S CHANCES → New ratings from Inside Elections downgraded Ted Cruz and Rick Scott’s re-election chances, saying the Texas race is “stubbornly close” and calling Scott “unpopular.”

CAR-DEALER MORENO’S CAMPAIGN SPINS OUT AFTER HE INSULTS OHIO WOMEN FOR WANTING TO MAKE THEIR OWN HEALTH CARE DECISIONS→

MORENO’S CAMPAIGN A WRECK AFTER HIS OFFENSIVE COMMENTS ABOUT OHIO WOMEN OVER 50 → As first reported by WCMH, Bernie Moreno was caught on tape calling Ohio women “a little crazy” for wanting to make their own health care decisions and lobbing insults that “for women that are like past 50…I don’t think that’s an issue for you.”

MORENO’S BLUNDER GOT A LOT OF MILEAGE → Moreno’s comments are receiving wide coverage, with local and national outlets across the country slamming Moreno for his “ageist, stupid” remarks that “dra[w] the ire of political figures from across the [political] spectrum” as “Republicans keep coming up with new ways to insult women.”

REPUBLICANS PILE UP ON MORENO: “ARE YOU TRYING TO LOSE THE ELECTION?” → The Washington Post reports that Nikki Haley slammed Moreno for his comments, asking, “Are you trying to lose the election?” On CNN, Maura Gillespie, a former aide to John Boehner, responded to Moreno’s remarks, “A woman’s worth is not tied to her womb.”

NOT JUST A FENDER-BENDER: THE CRASH IMPACT REACHES VOTERS, TOO → Ohio voters are criticizing Bernie Moreno’s comments, too, with “a group of Ohio Republicans and independents [saying] they won’t vote for…Moreno following comments he made to supporters about women and abortion,” Statehouse News Bureau reports.

MORENO KEEPS RACKING UP TICKETS AND VIOLATIONS FOR HIS OFFENSIVE COMMENTS → The Columbus Dispatch reports that “Bernie Moreno [said] Founding Fathers would ‘murder you’ for backing abortion rights” just “months before Ohioans voted to protect reproductive rights.”

IT’S NOT JUST BERNIE: REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATES MAKE “DISRESPECTFUL” AND “CONTEMPTUOUS” COMMENTS ON REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM… → The New York Times details how Senate Republican candidates are “bringing [abortion] up, and in terms that…are disrespectful, if not contemptuous, of women.” Along with Moreno, the reporting details several GOP Senate candidates “caught on tape” making damaging remarks:

SAM BROWN: “Brown was caught on a recording obtained by The Nevada Independent late last month saying in private what he has been less than clear about in public — that he opposes the Nevada ballot measure to make abortion legal until fetal viability.”

TIM SHEEHY: “[Sheehy] also said, ‘I find abortion to be a terrible, terrible thing. I want it all to end tomorrow.’”

…BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE →

SENATE REPUBLICANS TRIPPING OVER THEMSELVES AS THEY “STRUGGL[E] TO NAVIGATE THE ISSUE OF ABORTION” → NBC News details how “two years after the end of Roe, abortion is still tripping up Republicans in key races” as Republican candidates “struggl[e] to navigate the issue of abortion.”

WHEN THE HEADLINE SAYS IT ALL: “RICK SCOTT SAYS FLORIDA’S ABORTION BALLOT MEASURE IS A GIMMICK” → Jezebel reports how Rick Scott dismissed Amendment 4, Florida’s ballot initiative to restore women’s right to make their own personal medical decisions, as a “gimmick to turn out women voters,” detailing that Scott’s “cynical appraisal of Amendment 4’s purpose” and “his graphic lies about abortion” “would almost be comical if it weren’t so dangerous.”

THE PROOF IS ON THE SENATE FLOOR: SENATE REPUBLICANS (AGAIN) BLOCK LEGISLATION TO PROTECT WOMEN’S REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM → This week, Senate Republicans once again blocked legislation protecting women’s reproductive freedom, including in medical emergencies.

SHADY SHEEHY TAKING A PAGE (OR TWO) FROM SOMEONE ELSE’S BOOK… → Reporting by the Daily Montanan finds that “at least four different passages” in the book Sheehy authored “were plagiarized.” The report goes on to highlight that this is “not the first time the details of Sheehy’s life before politics have come under scrutiny for their truthfulness.”

…AND WHILE SHEEHY MAY HAVE PLAGIARIZED SECTIONS OF HIS BOOK, HIS OFFENSIVE COMMENTS AND LIES ARE IN HIS OWN WORDS →

SHEEHY MAKES MORE OFFENSIVE REMARKS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS ON TAPE → Native News Online finds that “Tim Sheehy has been caught on tape comparing Indigenous Afghans and Indigenous people of Montana.” The comments come as Sheehy was “already in hot water with Native American tribes in Montana for his racist and disparaging remarks about members of the Crow Nation.”

MONTANANS PROTEST SHEEHY FOR “INSULT[S] TO NATIVE AMERICANS” → Nearly 50 protesters gathered outside Sheehy’s campaign event in Billings to “voic[e] frustrations” about Sheehy’s insults to Native Americans, the Billings Gazette reports.

SHADY SHEEHY: “THE NEW GEORGE SANTOS” → Reporting in The Borowitz Report dubs Tim Sheehy “the New George Santos,” saying “he’s touted a business ‘success’ that’s lost millions, incurred a mysterious gunshot wound, and crashed a plane into a house. Throw in some racist remarks caught on tape, and voila!”

❌ SHADY SHEEHY FACT CHECK: FALSE → PolitiFact finds that “Tim Sheehy is wrong that Jon Tester backs ‘slashing Social Security benefits,’” labeling Sheehy’s claim as “false.”

PENNSYLVANIANS CALL OUT MCCORMICK: LIAR, LIAR “PANTS ON FIRE” →

MCCORMICK SCORCHED BY HIS PROBLEMATIC PAST AS HEDGE FUND CEO → The Philadelphia Inquirer details that while CEO of Bridgewater Associates, McCormick intimidated an employee who accused McCormick’s “[predecessor] as CEO of touching her inappropriately,” authorized a “very bad deal for Pennsylvania and a very good deal for Bridgewater,” and oversaw the firm opening “a unit in Shanghai in 2016, a time when other U.S. investors were backing away from China.”

MCCORMICK WANTS TO BURN A HOLE IN PENNSYLVANIANS’ POCKETS → The Pennsylvania Independent reports how McCormick profited from the companies that would profit from repealing the $35 a month cap on insulin, a policy he has pushed during his campaign, adding that “McCormick has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash from lobbyists registered to represent…the lobbying arm of the pharmaceutical industry.”

AND MCCORMICK FEELING THE HEAT FROM FIRED-UP PENNSYLVANIANS → McCormick faced a wave of backlash after “[sinking] to a new low by visiting Charleroi,” where a plant was shutting down with hundreds of jobs cut due to “private equity and Wall Street screwing workers,” with union leaders slamming McCormick for having “inflicted this very kind of heartache and misery on working people,” the Mon Valley Independent reports.

WHAT WISCONSINITES ARE READING: MORE COVERAGE OF HOW HOVDE’S BANK RECEIVED MILLIONS FROM BANK LINKED TO MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL → After bombshell reporting in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that Hovde’s bank did business with a bank with alleged links to the “Mexican drug cartel,” new digital and broadcast coverage continues to highlight Hovde’s shady business ties.

(ARIZONA) MOTHERS KNOW BEST → The Arizona Democratic Party launched “Moms Against Kari Lake, a coalition of over 100 mothers and grandmothers from across Arizona in defiance of the GOP Senate candidate.” Moms in the group slammed Lake as “dangerous for Arizona’s health” and for her lack of “empathy and compassion,” NBC News reports.

VOTERS SPEAK THEIR MIND…AND IT SOUNDS PRETTY BAD FOR REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATES →

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING IN MT → The president of Montana Farmers Union slammed Tim Sheehy in the Billings Gazette for his opposition to laws requiring meatpackers to label beef’s country of origin while “every agricultural group supported the resolution.”

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING IN TX → Joey Reed, the father of wrongfully detained Marine veteran Trevor Reed, takes Ted Cruz to task in the Courier Texas for doing nothing to help free his son, saying “Cruz would rather let a former U.S. Marine…die in a Russian dungeon than work with other Republicans and Democrats to bring him home.”

ADD IT TO THE QUEUE →

The DSCC released a new television ad in the Michigan Senate race, “Decide,” featuring a Michigan woman who had to end her pregnancy due to life-threatening complications calling out Mike Rogers for co-sponsoring a bill that could have banned all abortions with no exceptions to save the mother’s life.

Colin Allred’s campaign released a new ad, “Wrist Tape,” highlighting the values of teamwork, accountability, and sacrifice that guided him during his time as captain of the Baylor Football Team and continue to guide him in public service.

And Allred’s campaign released a new Spanish-language ad, “A La Banca,” highlighting Allred’s background and holding Cruz accountable for his failure to secure the border and his decades-long effort to raise the retirement age for Texans on Social Security and Medicare.

Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign released a new ad featuring voters from across Maryland sharing why they are “also” voting for Alsobrooks – from bringing down the costs of goods and expanding quality education to protecting a woman’s right to choose and working to keep our communities safe.

Jon Tester’s campaign released an ad highlighting Tester’s work on the PACT Act, the largest expansion of benefits for veterans in decades.

Jon Tester’s campaign launched new digital ads on newspaper homepages across the state highlighting sharp criticism from Montana newspapers and editorials the last time a U.S. Senate candidate in MT was embroiled in a plagiarism scandal, like Sheehy is.

Jacky Rosen’s campaign released a new ad, “Insulin,” highlighting how she took on big drug companies to cap the cost of insulin.

Ruben Gallego’s campaign released a new Spanish TV ad, “Más Fuertes Que Nunca,” discussing how Ruben’s service in the Marines and his work to help his combat brothers readjust to civilian life inspired him to fight for everyday Arizonans.