SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE STILL BLOCKING EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF. Senate Republicans let emergency unemployment relief expire weeks ago and new reports reveal that many Americans are having “a very difficult time meeting basic needs” without the emergency unemployment lifeline. Despite millions of Americans still out of work as “U.S. hiring slowed dramatically in July” and coronavirus cases surge, Senate Republicans are still refusing to come to the negotiating table to extend emergency unemployment relief benefits.
It’s really as simple as this: are Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans blocking urgently needed relief? Yes.
TRUMP SAYS HE’LL BLOCK FUNDING FOR POSTAL SERVICE TO STOP VOTE BY MAIL. President Trump is once again saying the quiet part out loud: he’ll keep blocking emergency funding to the U.S. Postal Service, undermining Americans’ ability to vote by mail — and Senate Republicans are letting him. Democrats are fighting for emergency funding for the Postal Service and funding for election resources, but Senate Republicans and the White House are refusing to negotiate. In the middle of a pandemic, where voting by mail is a safe way for many Americans to cast their ballots, President Trump and Senate Republicans are working to undercut the USPS’ ability to facilitate mail-in voting. Washington Post: Trump says Postal Service needs money for mail-in voting, but he’ll keep blocking funding
TESTING IS DOWN, BUT CORONAVIRUS CASES ARE UP. The latest example of Trump and Senate Republicans’ abject failure to respond to this pandemic? Reports that the U.S. is cutting back on testing despite surging cases. The reality is that we won’t be able to get coronavirus under control without widespread testing, but Senate Republicans are proposing insufficient funding for more testing and contact tracing in their coronavirus relief proposal.
NEW MISSISSIPPI POLL SHOWS TIGHTENING FIVE-POINT RACE. U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy released a new poll today that shows a tightening five-point race in Mississippi, where the former Congressman is running against vulnerable Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. The poll finds that Hyde-Smith is remarkably weak for an incumbent, while Espy leads with independents, is tied with young white voters, and has a significantly more positive favorability rating overall. Today’s poll is just the latest example of an increasingly competitive race: Espy was one of 13 Democratic Senate challengers to outraise a Republican last quarter, reporting nearly three times what Senator Hyde-Smith raised in Q2. Read the polling memo from Garin-Hart-Yang here.
ANOTHER KANSAS POLL FINDS A DEAD HEAT. A new nonpartisan public poll confirms that the Kansas Senate race between Dr. Barbara Bollier and self-serving Congressman Roger Marshall is a dead heat. It’s bad news for Republicans, and underscores why a Mitch McConnell-aligned dark money group was immediately forced to start spending $4.2 million on new ads after the primary to bail out Marshall, an underwhelming Washington politician with a shady past, after “his image took a beating” during the brutal GOP primary. Dr. Bollier has built a broad coalition of support and has the resources to continue building a juggernaut campaign, putting yet another GOP-held seat in play this cycle.
DSCC JUST HAD BEST ONLINE FUNDRAISING DAY *EVER* — THEN BEAT OUR OWN RECORD AGAIN. The DSCC had its best online fundraising day ever on Tuesday following Vice President Biden’s announcing Senator Harris as his running mate — and then we beat our own record again on Wednesday. The surge of enthusiasm among grassroots supporters this cycle is just one of many reasons why Democrats have put the Senate in play.
TRUMP TO GOP SENATORS: EMBRACE ME OR YOU WILL LOSE. After Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signalled that vulnerable GOP incumbents should “distance from Trump if necessary,” the president has a very different message for Republicans facing tough races — any GOP senator who doesn’t “embrace him will ‘lose their elections.’” The reality facing vulnerable Senate Republicans is that it’s too late to distance themselves from Trump — they’ve repeatedly refused to hold him accountable and bragged about how they’ve worked “hand in glove with the Trump administration” on his disastrous coronavirus response. The Hill: Trump: GOP senators who don’t embrace him will ‘lose their elections’
ANOTHER SAD, DESPERATE ATTACK FROM VULNERABLE SENATOR JONI ERNST. Senator Joni Ernst is writing the playbook for how to run a desperate campaign with absolutely no message. First, she personally attacked Theresa Greenfield’s rescue dog Ringo by name — a pathetic stunt that backfired when Ringo went viral, helping bring in $132,000 in online donations for what became the Greenfield campaign’s best online fundraising day of July. Now, Senator Ernst is pushing another bizarre line of attack that has left political observers scratching their heads. It’s par for the course for an increasingly vulnerable incumbent who’s getting outraised and trailing in a slew of recent polls in this Toss-Up race.
DEM AD WATCH
MI – Senator Gary Peters’ latest positive ad highlights his track record of fighting for Michigan farmers and cherry growers against unfair trade practices. Watch.
MT – Governor Steve Bullock released an ad highlighting his record of going toe-to-toe with anti-public lands zealot William Perry Pendley to defend public access to Montana’s rivers and streams. Watch.
IN THE STATES
CO – E&E News: Gardner campaigns on conservation but skirts wilderness bill
IA – Iowa Starting Line: How Joni Ernst’s ‘Make ‘Em Squeal’ Pledge Holds Up 6 Years Later
KY – Esquire: Mitch McConnell Has Been Exposed as an Empty Suit
ME – USA Today: ‘The political challenge of her life’: Maine Sen. Susan Collins trailing in bid for 5th term, polls find
ME – Maine Beacon: Maine letter carriers say Collins paved the way for Trump’s attack on postal service
MS – Mississippi Today: Mike Espy campaign poll shows he’s within 5 points of Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith
MS – Clarion-Ledger: A young mother died after asthma attack in rural MS. Why Mike Espy is sharing her story
NC – MSNBC: N.C. Senate candidate says he is fighting for every vote
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