REPUBLICANS SPENT THE CYCLE LOSING FACT CHECKS FOR FALSE HEALTH CARE CLAIMS. From the outset of this cycle, Republican Senate incumbents knew they had to answer for their decade-long crusade against the Affordable Care Act and voting to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions –– and they failed. Instead, they spent this entire election cycle trying to deceive voters about their toxic records of working to gut the popular health care law and its protections, which are now a massive political liability in their re-election campaigns and why Republicans are trying to mislead about their own positions. Fortunately for the voters, independent fact checks, experts, and news reports called these desperate Republicans out on their blatantly false claims. Take a look at how Republicans have been held accountable for their health care records here.
RECAP: REPUBLICANS CRUMBLED UNDER SCRUTINY IN DEBATES AS DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGERS HELD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. After months of Senate debates across the country, one thing is clear: Republicans lost across the board, crumbling under scrutiny and failing to make convincing arguments for why they deserve to be re-elected. From Alaska to Maine, Republicans were grilled for their failure to present a health care plan that would protect people with pre-existing conditions if the GOP lawsuit succeeds in overturning the ACA and couldn’t answer basic questions about their mishandling of the coronavirus or their failure to stand up to the president. The news coverage reflected Republicans’ weak performances. For example:
Republicans were so afraid of facing tough questions about their toxic records that they pulled out of the remaining debates, didn’t show up, or just refused to participate altogether –– as one columnist bluntly put it: “Republican Senate candidates are chickening out of their debates.” Check out the highlights (and lowlights) from this cycle’s Senate debates here.
LOCAL EDITORIAL BOARDS ENDORSE DEMS FOR SENATE. Across the country, local newspapers endorsed Democratic Senate candidates because of their demonstration of independence and bipartisanship, their commitment to put their states first, and their focus on the issues that matter most like expanding affordable health care and protecting pre-existing conditions coverage during a pandemic. Many newspapers threw their support behind Democratic challengers over vulnerable GOP incumbents — including some Republicans they had previously endorsed — in calls for change and new representation in Washington. Meanwhile, a pattern emerged of GOP incumbents in numerous key battlegrounds refusing to even meet with editorial board members in their states, unable to defend their records in Washington or years of caving to President Donald Trump and special interests. Read through the full list of endorsements here.
BLAME GAME: SENATE REPUBLICANS ALREADY POINTING FINGERS AT TRUMP FOR THEIR OWN FAILURES. Washington Republicans have already started playing the blame game, as the NRSC Executive Director pointed fingers this weekend at President Trump for “dragging Republican incumbents down with him and opening new avenues for Democrats to pursue the Senate majority.” But here’s what’s missing from their desperate pre-election day spin:
GOP’S CLOSING MESSAGE: TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS PUSH COVID CONSPIRACY THEORIES. Last Friday, President Trump “baselessly claimed that doctors are inflating the coronavirus death count for monetary gain while cases, hospitalizations and deaths surge across the country.” Trump’s offensive statement was “a stunning attack on medical workers,” but it’s important to note that the president isn’t alone in pushing conspiracy theories, attacking health care workers or downplaying the virus. Republican Senate candidates and incumbents across the map have been irresponsibly spreading baseless conspiracy theories this cycle. In North Carolina, Iowa, and Kansas, Senators Joni Ernst and Thom Tillis and Washington politician Roger Marshall recklessly embraced a thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory questioning the death toll. In Colorado, Senator Cory Gardner accused “public health experts of politicizing the pandemic,” and in Georgia, Senator David Perdue compared the COVID-19 death rate to the common flu. One thing is clear: Republicans’ irresponsible and disqualifying claims are par for the course for a party that has grossly mishandled the coronavirus response from the start.
DEMOCRATS’ CLOSING ARGUMENT: “HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CARE, HEALTH CARE.” A deep dive from the Boston Globe his weekend took a look at how “from North Carolina to Montana, Democrats trying to win Senate seats have hammered Republican incumbents for their efforts to scrap the ACA and its most popular provisions.” Senate Republicans’ unpopular anti-health care crusade has only gotten more toxic amid a global public health and economic crisis that has left millions of Americans newly unemployed and uninsured and “average voters are fed up with their lack of workable solutions to the health care worries.” Boston Globe: On Senate campaign trail, it’s health care, health care, health care
UNDER TRUMP AND SENATE REPUBLICANS, HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY HAS “EVADED MAJOR CHANGES.” Axios took a look at how despite Republicans’ promises “to overhaul the health care system,” nothing major has changed and “if anything, the health care industry has become more financially and politically powerful.” Here’s the reality: “surprise medical bills are still a thing, consolidation hasn’t stopped, lobbying has skyrocketed and federal coronavirus bailouts have favored affluent hospital systems over rural and safety-net hospitals.” After failing to present a health care plan of their own for the last 10 years, it’s no wonder why the issue is such a political liability for the GOP. Axios: 1 big thing: Health industry has evaded major changes under Trump
SIOUX CITY JOURNAL, IOWA CITY PRESS-CITIZEN ENDORSE THERESA GREENFIELD IN #IASEN. Theresa Greenfield earned two major endorsements over the weekend, including the Sioux City Journal, which had endorsed Joni Ernst during her 2014 race for Senate. The Journal’s Editorial Board praised Theresa’s independence, her support for Social Security and Medicare that has “deep roots in her own life,” and her support of protections for those with pre-existing conditions. On their flip in endorsements, the Editorial Board pushed back against Ernst’s claim that she would “shake things up in Washington,” writing “in the time since, we’ve seen anything but.” The Iowa City Press-Citizen Editorial Board cited Greenfield’s compelling personal story in their endorsement, writing that she has “a clear grasp of the issues Iowans face and the ability to find the best solutions in a collaborative way.”
WATCH: THERESA GREENFIELD JOINS MORNING JOE. Theresa Greenfield joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe where she touted the importance of health care and called out vulnerable incumbent Senator Joni Ernst for selling out Iowa’s farmers. Watch:
DISASTROUS GOP INFIGHTING IN GEORGIA SPECIAL COULD CLEAR PATH FOR DEMS. A GOP brawl between unelected Senator Kelly Loeffler and Congressman Doug Collins “has frayed friendships, scrambled delicate political loyalties in Georgia, and split high-profile Washington Republicans,” opening a path for Reverend Raphael Warnock to define himself to Georgia voters and rise to a commanding lead in recent polling. Whichever Republican emerges from this “race-to-the-right bloodbath” will face issues credibly appealing to the center in a run-off. Daily Beast: Bizarro GOP Implosion Could Give Georgia Democrats a U.S. Senator
NEW YORK TIMES: “WARNOCK BRINGS SOMETHING ELSE TO THE TABLE.” A new New York Times profile shares how Reverend Raphael Warnock will work to win in Georgia and take his experiences as a pastor and community advocate to Washington. The piece also highlights how Warnock’s opponents in the special election, unelected Senator Kelly Loeffler and Congressman Doug Collins, “have been so busy attacking each other, and fighting to prove they are the more conservative candidate” that they’ve “left him free to define himself, emphasizing his up-from-poverty life story in ads.” New York Times: Can Raphael Warnock Go From the Pulpit to the Senate?
THE STATE EDITORIAL BOARD REITERATES HARRISON ENDORSEMENT AFTER GRAHAM’S DEBATE PERFORMANCE. The State Editorial Board doubled-down on their support of Jaime Harrison in the race against Senator Lindsey Graham, after the vulnerable incumbent spent most of the debate last Friday referring to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, instead of his own opponent. The Editorial Board pointed to “Harrison’s laser-like attention to the issues that directly affect average South Carolinians” as opposed to “Graham’s increasingly insular focus on the small-bore political games and partisan score-settling in Washington.” The State (Editorial): Did Lindsey Graham debate Nancy Pelosi or Jaime Harrison?
DAINES HAS A “SPLIT PERSONALITY” WHEN IT COMES TO BIG PHARMA. Washington Monthly took a look at how Senator Steve Daines originally supported a bipartisan drug price control bill, but then received “substantial campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry donors” and switched his support to a rival GOP bill. Campaign finance experts say “Daines’ increased contributions from pharmaceutical PACs and his endorsement of the Lower Costs, More Cares Act should raise eyebrows.” It’s just another reason why Montanans can’t trust Daines to put their own interests ahead of his special interest donors. Washington Monthly: When it Comes to Big Pharma, Montana Senator Has a Split Personality
DEM AD WATCH
AL – Doug Jones’ closing ad shares his Alabama values and how he will never quit fighting for his home state. Watch.
CO – John Hickenlooper’s closing TV ad features the former governor discussing his vision for changing Washington to solve the problems facing Colorado. Watch.
IN THE STATES
AL – Alabama Political Reporter: Tuberville’s charity for veterans spent little on vets, tax records show
AL – Slate: What Tommy Tuberville’s Former Auburn Players Think of His Alabama Senate Run
AK – Raven Radio: ‘This is who I am’: US Senate candidate Al Gross pushes values over ideology at Sitka rally
AK – Anchorage Daily News: Gross campaign, Anti-Defamation League call on Sullivan to remove ad seen as anti-Semitic
GA – NBC 41: Jon Ossoff holds “Get Out to Early Vote” event in Macon
IA – KNIA: THERESA GREENFIELD VISITS LACONA FARM FRIDAY
ME – Maine Beacon: Report: Collins accepted nearly $500k from Big Pharma, cast votes to benefit industry
MT – Helena Independent Record: Bullock, Daines fight to the finish line over pre-existing conditions
NH – WMUR: NH Primary Source: NH Police Association endorses Democrat Shaheen for US Senate
SC – CNN: Harrison to Graham: You can’t give anybody lesson on telling truth
SC – Charleston Post & Courier: Graham touts blocking liberal agenda, Harrison pitches people over party in Senate debate
TX – KVUE: US Senate candidate MJ Hegar touring Texas with VP candidate Kamala Harris
TX – San Antonio Current: Late attack ad by John Cornyn manipulates video to put words in opponent MJ Hegar’s mouth
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