🤫 Doom for Dems

Plus: Squad's BIF cleanup | Monday, November 08, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Nov 08, 2021 Welcome back to Sneak. 📅 Join Axios' Joann Muller tomorrow at 12:30pm ET for a virtual event about the shift to cleaner transportation and manufacturing. Guests include Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Redwood Materials co-founder and CEO JB Straubel. Register. Smart Brevity™ count: 949 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: More doom for Dems Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Republican-controlled states have been cranking out new congressional maps that spell trouble for Democrats unless courts intervene, Axios' Stef Kight reports. Why it matters: Last week's Virginia and New Jersey results set off alarm bells for the party, but Democrats' lack of control of the redistricting process in states like North Carolina and Ohio could make Republican wins next year even greater — and longer-lasting. Driving the news: The North Carolina's General Assembly approved a new map that would leave Republicans with as many as 11 seats to just three for Democrats. That would be up from the current split of eight Republicans and five Democrats, according to the Cook Political Report's Dave Wasserman. (The state picked up an extra seat through reapportionment this decade.) In Ohio, Republicans are eyeing maps that would give them up to 13 congressional seats — up from an already impressive 12. Due to slower population growth, the proposed map also would eliminate a second Democratic seat in the state. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which is measuring map fairness through various metrics, gave an overall "F" to both. What to watch: Democrats' best shot at mitigating the damage is through the courts. Top Democratic attorney Marc Elias has already filed redistricting-related lawsuits in Texas, North Carolina, Alabama and other states. Keep reading.     2. The Squad's BIF cleanup Via Twitter   Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is trying to tweet her way out of her vote against the Democrats' $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill — even correcting President Biden's claims about its benefits, writes Axios' Alexi McCammond. Why it matters: AOC, the rest of The Squad and two other progressives were the only Democrats to vote against the bill. That prompted criticism from their colleagues and social media followers, since the road-and-bridge spending will so directly impact their constituents. Thirteen Republicans helped cover their lost votes. "We did not fund the replacement of every child's [lead water] pipe & we shouldn't tell people we did," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about Biden. The other five Democrats who voted against the bill have released their own statements and explanations on Twitter. They placed blame on other factors — like the president, "corporate polluters," conservative Democrats, procedural issues and agreements, as well as a refusal to "choose" between supporting union workers or child care and health care workers. The big picture: The Squad's argument is that the bipartisan infrastructure bill is the beginning of transformational change — not the end. Ocasi0-Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) say they weren't willing to vote for it without an assurance of passing the larger, $1.75 trillion "Build Back Better" social spending package. Joining them in the no-votes were Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). Critics have complained they let the perfect become the enemy of the good. An AOC spokesperson declined comment beyond her tweets. Keep reading.     3. Parties pile cash into midterm ads Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Midterm ad campaigns are already pumping millions of dollars into efforts to define next year's key policy fights, not even a week after Election Day, write Axios' Hans Nichols and Lachlan Markay. Why it matters: After the Democrats' drubbing in Virginia and close call in New Jersey, party operatives know they need to pump up the president's dismal poll numbers if they want a shot at retaining the House and Senate — or minimize their losses. Republicans are working to tie vulnerable House Democrats to Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better agenda. They want to force them to either embrace every aspect of the tax-and-spending plan or make its contents — including massive social and climate spending — so toxic it fails in Congress. What's happening: Unite the Country, a pro-Biden super PAC, is dropping $1.2 million on television ads to boost Biden's standing in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The group has an eye on competitive House races in both states and open Senate seat in Pennsylvania. The other side: Conservative groups are trying to seize on their strong showing in Virginia and New Jersey by ramping up their own ad campaigns. The Coalition to Protect American Workers, led by Marc Short, who was chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, is spending $2 million to increase pressure on vulnerable House Democrats in Virginia and other swing districts. Keep reading. Go deeper: "Gubernatorial candidate Nick Kristof reveals torrid fundraising pace."     A message from Facebook Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations     Rochelle is one of many experts working on privacy at Facebook — to give you more control over your information. Hear more from Rochelle on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet's most pressing challenges, including federal privacy legislation.     4. NARAL president: "Scary moment" for reproductive rights NARAL president Mini Timmaraju. Photo: Lawrence Busacca/Getty Images for Women in Cable Telecommunications   When Republicans successfully captured voters by leaning into critical race theory as an education issue, it reminded the new president of NARAL how the GOP has "scared" Democratic candidates out of talking about abortion rights in past campaigns. What they're saying: "The right-wing misinformation machine is getting more sophisticated," Mini Timmaraju said during an interview with Lexi. "What we saw in Virginia — it's very similar to the tactics used to scare candidates from talking about abortion." Timmaraju said her goal is to help Democrats be more competitive — especially at the local and state level — by sharing NARAL's data and research around abortion access and reproductive rights with candidates to help inform their messaging. "Republicans know how popular this issue is, and [Democratic candidates] are concerned about how that's going to affect the midterms," she said. "We need to take full advantage of that by simultaneously fighting in the courts, fighting in the statehouses and the state legislatures." Roughly 60% of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Pew Research. Driving the news: Timmaraju was announced last week as the organization's newest president. She just wrapped up a nine-month gig advising the Biden-Harris administration on diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2016, she worked with Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign as its national women's vote director. Keep reading.     5. Pic du jour: Draped crusader Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images   FBI Director Christopher Wray is seen during a news conference about sanctions against two ransomware operators and a virtual currency exchange network.     A message from Facebook Facebook's industry-leading investments are stopping bad actors     We've invested $13 billion in teams and technology over the last 5 years to enhance safety. It's working: In just the past few months, we took down 1.7 billion fake accounts to stop bad actors from doing harm. But there's more to do. Learn more about how we're working to help you connect safely.   📬 Thanks for reading. A reminder your family, friends and colleagues can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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