REPUBLICANS ABANDON URGENTLY NEEDED PANDEMIC RELIEF, FAILING MILLIONS OF HARDWORKING AMERICANS. President Trump announced yesterday that Republicans were pulling out of coronavirus relief negotiations until after Election Day and asked Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to “focus full time” on ramming through a lifetime Supreme Court confirmation – and McConnell fully supported his decision. Millions of Americans remain unemployed amid the ongoing public health and economic crisis that has been worsened by Republicans’ failed leadership and polls show that “an overwhelming majority of voters believe the Senate should prioritize coronavirus relief” over confirming a SCOTUS nominee. But McConnell and Senate Republicans are ignoring the will of the voters and instead furiously rushing to fill a lifetime seat with a nominee hostile to the Affordable Care Act just in time for the high court to hear their party’s challenge that would overturn the entire law one week after Election Day. Read our statement here.
Take a look at just some of the consequences of Republicans’ inaction:
RATINGS CHANGE: COOK POLITICAL MOVES #SCSEN TO TOSS-UP. Jessica Taylor of Cook Political Report shifted the South Carolina Senate race rating from Lean Republican to Toss-Up today, in the latest sign that Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison’s strong campaign has put Senator Lindsey Graham at real risk of losing his seat. Public and private polling has shown that the race is a dead heat for months, and Senator Graham “still has weaknesses among the GOP base.” Republicans are expressing concerns about Senator Graham’s struggling operation and are already playing the blame-game as they “privately voiced frustrations that Graham’s campaign didn’t take the challenge from Harrison…seriously enough from the get-go.” And after this weekend’s debate, Republicans concede that “it was Harrison, not Graham, who came out looking stronger from that showdown.” Ultimately, the Cook Political Report concludes that “this race has earned a more competitive rating — underscoring just how fast the GOP majority is slipping away if they have to defend turf like this.” Cook Political Report: South Carolina Senate Moves To Toss Up
POLLING SHOWS VOTERS REJECT LAWSUIT AT HEART OF SCOTUS NOMINATION BATTLE. New polling released today shows that a majority of voters in the Senate battlegrounds of Arizona, Colorado, and Iowa “overwhelmingly disapprove of the Trump-Republican lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act that would rip coverage from more than 20 million Americans and remove protections for more than 135 million people with a pre-existing condition.” Despite its deep unpopularity, Senate Republicans are plowing forward with their party’s toxic lawsuit – including by rushing to fill a Supreme Court seat with a nominee hostile to the Affordable Care Act in time for oral arguments.
VICE: “DEMOCRATS HAVE EDGE IN SENATE FIGHT” AS REPUBLICANS WORRY. A new analysis of the Senate map from VICE News finds that Democrats’ prospects of flipping the Senate look “brighter by the week.” While the fight for the control of the Senate is far from over, “strategists in both parties think Democrats are favored” as they’ve expanded the map with strong challengers and their “huge edge in fundraising.” VICE’s analysis follows several new reports that reach the same conclusion: Senate Republicans are in trouble. VICE News: Trump’s Brutal Week Has Left the GOP Worried About an Election Landslide
PANICKED REPUBLICANS DO “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.” 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.” Seasoned GOP operatives view the efforts as “political triage.” 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 now trying to rescue their losing campaigns. The Daily Beast: Republicans: Ditch Trump, Save the Senate
KELLY AND HICKENLOOPER IMPRESS ON THE DEBATE STAGE. Democratic candidates Captain Mark Kelly and former Governor John Hickenlooper both dominated on the debate stage last night, taking vulnerable Senators Martha McSally and Cory Gardner to task for their toxic records of voting to rip away health care from millions of Americans. Both McSally and Gardner failed to answer for their history of being a rubber stamp for Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell, demonstrating why they can’t be trusted to work for Arizonans and Coloradans and proving to be weak incumbents who can’t defend their unpopular records.
Take a look at some of the headlines from last night’s debates:
HICKENLOOPER ANNOUNCES EYE-POPPING $22.6 MILLION Q3 HAUL. Former Governor John Hickenlooper announced raising a whopping $22.6 million Q3 haul, more than four times what he raised in Q2. The massive fundraising was made up of over 485,000 donors with 97% of the contributions under $200, demonstrating the strong grassroots momentum for Hickenlooper. Colorado Public Radio: Hickenlooper Campaign Says Donations Skyrocketed In Most Recent Quarter
NEW POLL SHOWS #TXSEN IS A DEAD HEAT. A new Daily Kos/Civiqs poll shows a one point race in Texas. The poll is just the latest sign of decorated Air Force veteran MJ Hegar’s growing momentum — just last week, the Democratic challenger announced a Q3 haul of more than $13.5 million, nearly eight times more than what she raised in Q2 and four times more than what Senator John Cornyn raised in his best fundraising quarter to date. Senator Cornyn even admitted this week that his campaign was outraised last quarter.
REPORT: MESSNER SUED AN AMERICAN MANUFACTURER ON BEHALF OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. A bombshell new AP report reveals that New Hampshire Senate candidate “Colorado Corky” Messner’s law firm, Messner Reeves, sued an American manufacturer on behalf of the Chinese government. Messner’s firm represented a company run by the Chinese government in a shakedown of a Tennessee-based manufacturer. And just two years after Messner’s firm represented an arm of the Chinese government in an effort to advance Chinese trade interests, New Hampshire had 24,000 fewer jobs because of the trade deficit with China. AP: Messner’s law firm represented state-run Chinese insurer
POLITIFACT: “JAMES HAS REPEATEDLY DODGED QUESTIONS” ON POSITION OF CHOICE. A deep dive by the Detroit Free Press and PolitiFact into failed politician John James’ stance on women’s reproductive rights found that “there is no question that James is on the record as opposing abortion.” Unsurprisingly, James is cagey about his full position and the Free Press “found that James has repeatedly dodged questions” on the subject. It’s just more of the same troubling pattern of James being elusive on the issues that Michigan voters care about. Bottom line is “James’ campaign has stood out for not taking clear positions on a range of issues.” Detroit Free Press/PolitiFact: Fact-checking Gary Peters’ ad on James’ abortion stance
DEM AD WATCH
AZ – Mark Kelly’s latest ad tells the story of Kelly’s journey, highlighting his parents’ story and America’s story of hard work, perseverance, and coming together. Watch.
CO – Former Governor John Hickenlooper released two new ads –– the first is a new Spanish language TV ad that highlights the 2.4 million Coloradans who would be hurt by Senator Cory Gardner’s nine votes to gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Watch. The second ad takes a look at Hickenlooper’s work expanding Medicaid to cover more services for kids and adults with disabilities. Watch.
IN THE STATES
AL – Wall Street Journal: A Question Haunting the Alabama Senate Race: How Could Auburn Lose to Vanderbilt?
AK – Anchorage Press: Report shows Sullivan took $35k from Pebble donors
AZ – Arizona Public Media: Candidate wants to go from space to the Capitol
GA – Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Warnock moves from pulpit to top rungs in crowded Senate race
GA – American Independent: Loeffler sees nothing wrong with White House event that infected a ton of people
IA – Iowa Starting Line: Barrett’s Anti-Abortion Views Undermine Ernst’s Effort To Downplay Threat To Roe
MS – Mississippi Today: Most U.S. senators running in 2020 have agreed to debate. Cindy Hyde-Smith has not.
NC – E&E News: Dem challenger says Thom Tillis sold out on PFAS
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.
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