RATINGS CHANGES: COOK POLITICAL, INSIDE ELECTIONS, CRYSTAL BALL SHIFT MORE RACES IN DEMOCRATS’ DIRECTION ON EXPANDED MAP. Three nonpartisan election analysts shifted another six ratings in four races in Democrat’s favor, the latest sign of growing momentum to end Republicans’ Senate majority in the final days of the election. Jessica Taylor of Cook Political Report declared that “Democrats have expanded the map while Republicans haven’t really taken many, if any, races completely off the table.” Inside Elections noted that the Senate battlefield has widened and Democrats have “multiple paths to the majority.”
Take a look at what these election analysts are saying about the Senate map:
Read more about their final ratings changes:
NYT: INCREASE IN MAIL VOTING “EXPECTED TO PUSH BACK THE RELEASE OF FULL RESULTS IN MANY KEY STATES.” The New York Times took a close look at how “the increase in mail voting because of the pandemic is expected to push back the release of full results in many key states.” Take a look at the timing of results in each state → New York Times: How Long Will Vote Counting Take? Estimates and Deadlines in All 50 States
SUPER PAC ADS IN RED STATES “ILLUMINATE WIDE COMPETITIVE SENATE MAP.” A BGOV analysis of super PAC ads found that “the late GOP super PAC money is being spent is a sign of how difficult it will be for Republicans to hold the majority this year.” Republican super PACs are flooding the airwaves in states like Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina –– all states that Republicans took for granted at the beginning of the cycle, but have been forced on defense as they face strong Democratic challengers. As part of a last minute effort by Republicans to save their endangered Senate majority, a handful of GOP mega donors wrote multi-million dollar checks to Mitch McConnell’s super PAC and are funding the surge of late ads in the “hopes the late cash surge will help its candidates counter record-breaking fundraising by Democratic challengers.” With Republicans in Washington worried about their weak and struggling incumbents, it’s no surprise that the billionaires who have benefited from GOP control of the Senate have stepped in to try to rescue their flailing campaigns. BGOV: Red State Super PAC Ads Illuminate Wide Competitive Senate Map
FEDERALIST SOCIETY CO-FOUNDER FUNDED VULNERABLE GOP INCUMBENTS AMID SCOTUS HEARINGS. A damning new report from HuffPost reveals that vulnerable Senators Martha McSally, Cory Gardner, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, Thom Tillis, and Lindsey Graham “all received a maxed-out donation from Federalist Society co-founder and board chairman Steven Calabresi during Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation process.” The six senators are all locked in increasingly tough re-election campaigns and received campaign cash from the conservative legal organization that was “hugely invested in getting Barrett onto the high court.” The timing of the contributions “certainly sent them the message that the Federalist Society had their backs and expected them to respond in kind by confirming Barrett.” HuffPost: Federalist Society Board Chair Funded At-Risk GOP Senators Amid Barrett Hearings
COLLINS “BACKED DOWN FROM A FIGHT” WITH THE PRIVATE EQUITY INDUSTRY –– NOW THEY’RE “UNDERWRITING” HER CAMPAIGN. A new POLITICO/ProPublica investigation reveals that Senator Susan Collins backed down from a fight over an amendment in the 2017 Republican tax bill that would have taken “aim at a tax break cherished by the private equity industry.” Despite originally opposing the tax break, Collins “put aside her opposition and voted for the bill.” Now, just three years later, the industry that benefited from Collins’ quick about-face “has become her most reliable source of donations.” She’s taken over half a million dollars in campaign contributions from the private equity industry this cycle –– more than any other senator –– and what’s more, the chief executive of the private equity giant Blackstone has given millions of dollars to the personal super PAC backing her. It’s just another example of how Senator Susan Collins has changed after 24 years in Washington, putting her special interest donors ahead of hardworking Mainers. POLITICO: Susan Collins backed down from a fight with private equity. Now they’re underwriting her reelection.
MUST WATCH VIDEO: OSSOFF TAKES PERDUE TO TASK. At last night’s Georgia Senate debate, Jon Ossoff held incumbent Senator David Perdue accountable for his toxic record, taking him to task for prioritizing his personal stock portfolio over preparing the public during a deadly pandemic and his long record of working to gut health care protections for Georgians with pre-existing conditions. The viral clip has over 8 million views and counting on Twitter – watch it for yourself here:
LOEFFLER CLAIMS SHE’S “NOT FAMILIAR” WITH ACCESS HOLLYWOOD TAPE. After bragging that she couldn’t name a single time that she’s disagreed with Trump on anything at last week’s debate, unelected Senator Kelly Loeffler was asked last night about the infamous Access Hollywood video and unbelievably claimed, “I’m not familiar with that.” It isn’t the first time she’s offered an unbelievable answer to a tough question: Loeffler has happily embraced the endorsement of QAnon believer Marjorie Taylor Greene, but claimed “I don’t know anything about QAnon” and that “I have not seen” the widely spread reports of Greene’s “appalling” remarks.
YIKES: TRUMP SNUBS MCSALLY DURING RALLY IN ARIZONA. For the second time in less than two weeks, President Trump snubbed vulnerable incumbent Senator Martha McSally at a campaign rally in her home state. At last night’s rally in Goodyear, Trump gave more speaking time to Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky than to the vulnerable incumbent facing a difficult re-election campaign. And when Trump did finally invite her to speak, he hurried her onstage impatiently – “You got one minute! One minute, Martha! They don’t want to hear this, Martha.” It’s a brutal final blow for the vulnerable incumbent who has spent all cycle being a rubber stamp for Trump’s toxic agenda and defending his disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic. NBC News: ‘Quick, quick, quick’: Trump rushes McSally at rally as she fights to hold her Senate seat
MARSHALL GETS CALLED OUT FOR BLOWING OFF A DEBATE. Dr. Barbara Bollier was the only candidate to show up to last night’s Kansas Senate debate –– and the debate host brought the receipts. Local news station KSNT called out Washington politician Roger Marshall for ignoring their invitation, saying, “we want to be clear that we emailed, called, and even sent a certified letter to Congressman Marshall inviting him to participate tonight, but he ignored the request.” Marshall’s response? To pretend that it never happened, but unfortunately for him those shameless lies were instantly debunked by KSNT. Watch the brutal clip for yourself:
STORM LAKE TIMES ENDORSES GREENFIELD. The Storm Lake Times endorsed Theresa Greenfield for U.S. Senate in Iowa, writing, “Greenfield is nothing if not a hard worker who remembers where she came from.” The Times believes that incumbent Senator Joni Ernst “was ineffective in defending farmers from Trump’s disastrous trade wars and Big Oil’s campaign against ethanol waged through the EPA.” Ultimately, “Greenfield will work harder and smarter, and will not forget her principles. We need a senator who will stand up for Iowa. Ernst refused to. Greenfield will.” Storm Lake Times: Editorial: Vote for Biden, Greenfield, Scholten, Huddleston
CASSIDY TOOK CAMPAIGN CASH FROM PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS, THEN REWROTE SURPRISE MEDICAL BILLING RULES IN THEIR FAVOR. A bombshell Bayou Brief report revealed that executives at private equity firms behind a dark money group opposed to a bipartisan proposal to end surprise medical billing “directly contributed a total of $57,500” to Senator Bill Cassidy “in addition to the $320,000 they spent to run television commercials in Louisiana thanking” Cassidy for “his hard work on their behalf.” That same dark money group then spent $58 million on a massive media blitz to build support for a rival bill on surprise medical billing authored by Cassidy himself. The difference between Cassidy’s plan and the original proposal “was worth billions of dollars” for the private equity firms. Bayou Brief: The Return of Double Bill
DEM AD WATCH
NH – Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s closing ad highlights her lifelong work to help New Hampshire families and how she will continue to put her state first in the Senate. Watch.
IN THE STATES
GA – WMGT: US Senate candidate Warnock campaigns in Fort Valley
IA – Globe Gazette: Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield in Clear Lake to talk COVID, jobs
IA – Carroll Times Herald: Greenfield says childhood on farm prepped her for corn-and-bean price question
KS – Teen Vogue: Kansas Senate Candidate Barbara Bollier Gets Boost From Young Democrats
ME – Maine Beacon: Critics say Collins’ vote against Coney Barrett is ‘too little, too late’
ME – Portland Press Herald: Commentary: We traveled a long way to meet with Susan Collins – but she refused
MI – Detroit News: Rev. Al Sharpton in Detroit: Sen. Gary Peters defends ‘issues we care about’
NC – WLOS: Business owners criticize Sen. Thom Tillis for not passing another COVID-19 relief package
NC – News & Observer: Fact check: Did Tillis work on behalf of drug and insurance companies?
NH – NHPR: Closing Arguments: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
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