TOP CYCLE TRENDS THAT DROVE DEMOCRATS’ FIGHT TO FLIP THE SENATE. Election Day is here and the Senate is firmly in play because strong Democratic candidates expanded the map and put Republicans at risk in more than a dozen GOP-held seats. Weak GOP incumbents spent the last two years on defense, while Democrats had remarkable grassroots fundraising and maintained a clear focus on the issues that matter most to voters, like protecting pre-existing conditions coverage and improving the federal response to this pandemic. As we get ready for the polls to close tonight, here’s a quick wrap-up of the key trends that put Democrats on offense across the country:
All of these trends shaped the final weeks of the fight for Senate control — and put Democrats in a strong position to retake the majority. Read our full memo here.
VOTERS MOTIVATED TO KEEP PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS PROTECTIONS. An NPR report took a look at how “concerns over protecting pre-existing conditions” are looming over races for Senate and found that “in key swing states, many voters say protecting pre-existing conditions is their top health concern.” The reality is “a majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans” want “to preserve the ACA’s provision that protects as many as 135 million people from potentially being unable to get health care because of their medical history.” It’s no wonder that health care is a massive political liability for Republicans who have spent the last decade on a crusade against the Affordable Care Act and voting to undermine these protections. NPR: More Than Politics On The Line For Voters With Preexisting Conditions
MCCONNELL SUPER PAC POURS $35M IN FINAL WEEK INTO SAVING MAJORITY. The Hill reports that the McConnell-aligned Super PAC Senate Leadership Fund “is spending tens of millions in the final week of the race as it seeks to shore up vulnerable GOP senators.” In the final week of the election alone, SLF is spending $35.5 million on TV and radio ads and reporting roughly $30 million in independent expenditures in key battleground races. The late spending surge is only possible due to a last-minute effort from GOP mega-donors to try and save their Senate majority as Republicans play defense across an expanded map. With vulnerable GOP incumbents falling behind their Democratic challengers, it’s no surprise that the billionaires who have profited from these Republican incumbents running the Senate are doing whatever they can to try and rescue their losing campaigns. The Hill: Republicans pour millions into final days of Senate battle
VICTORY FOR HARRIS COUNTY VOTERS: DSCC, DCCC, & MJ HEGAR CAMPAIGN INTERVENE TO BLOCK GOP ATTEMPTS TO TOSS OUT OVER 100,000 TEXANS’ BALLOTS. A federal district court judge in the Southern District of Texas sided with Harris County Voters yesterday, stating plainly that the Republican “plaintiffs do not have standing” to throw out their legally cast ballots. The ruling follows Democrats’ intervention on Friday that urged the court to take swift action to block a Republican suit that, if successful, would have invalidated the votes of 100,000 eligible Texas voters who cast their ballots at drive-thru voting locations. The clear Republican voter suppression tactic would have thrown this election into chaos after voters utilized Drive-Thru voting locations at the invitation of county officials and in compliance of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to allow Drive-Thru voting to occur. Read DSCC Chair Catherine Cortez Masto’s statement here.
WARNOCK AND OSSOFF RALLY WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA. Georgia Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock joined President Barack Obama at his election-eve rally in Atlanta yesterday. At the rally, President Obama called out “both Loeffler and Perdue for stock transactions earlier this year as the pandemic worsened” and Perdue for chickening out of his final scheduled debate against Ossoff. The former president’s closing pitch? “Georgia, something has got to go. It’s either your senators or your health care and if I were you, I’d pick your health care. Get rid of the senators who are trying to take it away.” The surging momentum around Ossoff and Warnock’s campaigns is the latest sign Georgia is firmly in play.
WATCH: JAIME HARRISON JOINS MORNING JOE ON ELECTION DAY. Jaime Harrison joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning where he discussed voting with his grandfather and how moving it was to take his own two young boys to the polls. Watch the clip:
TEXAS IS “HUNGRY FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF A ‘TOUGH WOMAN.’” A new Lily profile of MJ Hegar highlights her tough, can-do attitude and how she has never shied away from a challenge. Despite sexist attacks from Republicans about “her language and her tattoos,” Hegar remains optimistic and hopeful, believing that “Texas is hungry for the leadership of a ‘tough woman.’” With polls showing a tight race and Texas’ new status as a battleground state, this “combat veteran on a motorcycle” could flip a Senate seat in Texas. The Lily: She’s a combat veteran on a motorcycle. Could MJ Hegar flip a Senate seat in Texas?
“AN ELECTION CYCLE IOWA DEMOCRATS CAN BE PROUD OF.” Iowa Starting Line’s Pat Rynard reflected on the past cycle, concluding that “Iowa Democrats up and down the ballot have ended this cycle in a good place.” In particular, Rynard highlighted Theresa Greenfield’s remarkable campaign, writing that “by and large Greenfield’s campaign was a disciplined, well-funded effort that didn’t let themselves get pushed around and kept their message focused on the issues important to Iowans.” Greenfield’s campaign “kept Ernst on the defensive throughout the race” and ran a “mistake-free” race, especially in comparison “to Ernst’s constantly bungling and gaffe-prone candidacy.” Iowa Starting Line: An Election Cycle Iowa Democrats Can Be Proud Of
GRAHAM AND MCSALLY GET “MORE MONEY FROM DONORS LACKING DISCLOSURE THAN ANYONE ELSE.” A new report from the Center for Responsive Politics found that Senators Lindsey Graham and Martha McSally “are failing to report complete donor information for thousands of contributors accounting for millions of dollars in campaign cash.” Nearly 19% of donors to Graham and 14% of donors to McSally lack complete disclosure of donor information, leaving “voters with an incomplete picture of the interests bankrolling the candidate.” Notably, for McSally “it isn’t the first time her campaign has gotten in trouble with the FEC” — she was fined $23,000 for failing to report donor information and violating contribution limits in 2014. Center for Responsive Politics: Lindsey Graham gets more money from donors lacking disclosure than anyone else
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