👀 Scoop: Private McCarthy push

Plus: What Biden's reading | Wednesday, November 02, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Meta   Axios Sneak Peek By Alayna Treene, Hans Nichols and Zachary Basu · Nov 02, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. Smart Brevity™ count: 859 words ... 3 mins. 📺 Situational awareness: President Biden speaks at 7pm ET from Union Station — within sight of the Capitol — about democracy and political violence.     1 big thing — Scoop: McCarthy pushes for new Chamber leaders Photos: Roy Rochlin, Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images   House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is telling U.S. Chamber of Commerce board members and state leaders the organization must undertake a complete leadership change — and replace current president and CEO Suzanne Clark, Axios' Hans Nichols has learned. Why it matters: McCarthy's conversations make clear he won't work with Clark and her leadership team if Republicans win control and he becomes House speaker. But he's charting a potential path forward for the business group to reestablish a relationship with the GOP conference. The other side: Mark Ordan, chairman of the board of directors, told Axios that Clark has the executive committee's "complete support." "Staying true to that mission requires a smart, savvy, vigorous leader like our CEO Suzanne Clark," he said. "It is for that reason that our governing body, the executive committee of the board of directors, is unequivocally enthusiastic about Suzanne's performance." 👂 What we're hearing: Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has privately expressed interest in the job. The backstory: McCarthy's conversations with chamber board members mark another escalation in the open conflict between House GOP leaders and the chamber. The conflict stems from a 2020 decision by the chamber to endorse 23 Democratic freshmen for re-election. Fifteen of them won, putting the speakership out of reach for McCarthy at the time. Since then, conservative Republicans have been working to undercut the Chamber. The House Republican Study Committee hosted a potential rival group, the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, to an official meeting in June. 🔎 Between the lines: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has maintained a better relationship with Senate Republicans. Mitch McConnell addressed the group in September and expressed private optimism that the GOP can win back control of the Senate. In September, the chamber endorsed Mehmet Oz, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, after earlier directing $3 million to the McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund super PAC for the race. The intrigue: Clark answers to a 12-member executive committee, which voted last year for her to succeed longtime CEO Tom Donohue. The bottom line: Republicans in Congress are prepared to go to war with the business community, once the cornerstone of their coalition, for what many in their ranks view as an unforgivable shift — focusing less on profit and more on politics. Fortune 500 companies are already hiring white-shoe law firms to help prepare executives for hearings. Share this story.     2. 💰 Business plays it safe in midterms Data: OpenSecrets. Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios Visuals Despite populist turns in both parties, incumbents and sitting federal officeholders are raking in PAC money at a far faster clip than their challengers, records show. Why it matters: Main Street still values stability above uncertainty. 🧮 By the numbers: Seven incumbents in the nation's 10 most competitive Senate contests — five Democrats and two Republicans — are far out-raising their challengers among corporate PACs and trade associations, according to FEC data provided by OpenSecrets. Two open-seat races feature candidates who are sitting House members: Reps. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). Both are taking in far more corporate money than their opponents. The intrigue: One race that appears to defy the pattern is Pennsylvania's Senate contest, in which corporate donations to both candidates have been relatively meager. The Republican in the race, Mehmet Oz, pledged he would "not take one dime from corporate PAC money." FEC records show his campaign has refunded most of the handful it's received. Oz has taken donations from some large trade groups, but they're a small fraction of his total fundraising. Democrat John Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor, has received donations from just two business groups — the American Association for Justice, a trial lawyer trade association, and Pittsburgh chemical company Calgon Carbon's PAC. Share this story.     3. Axios dashboard: "Antisemitism" search surge Data: Google Trends (Data not available from Aug. 8-Sept. 4.). Chart: Jacque Schrag and Will Chase/Axios Google searches about antisemitism skyrocketed last week after the outcry around offensive remarks by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, Axios' Stef Kight and Jacque Schrag write from data for Axios' Midterms Dashboard. Why it matters: Days before midterms, the volume of nationwide searches on the topic outnumbered those related to top noneconomic issues driving the election. 🥊 Reality check: In some specific congressional districts in key states, Democrats' abortion messaging on abortion and Republicans' messaging on crime showed staying power. 🔬 Zoom in: Michigan was home to nine of the top 10 districts — with the 7th Congressional District topping the list — Googling about abortion. The battleground state will vote on a ballot measure codifying the right to abortion next week. National interest in gas prices fell below abortion for the first time in weeks. The bottom line: Economy-themed searches — jobs, wages, taxes — still dominate Americans' pre-election searches. Share this story.     A message from Meta Building more efficient cities will be possible with the metaverse     In the metaverse, urban planners will bring their designs to life and collaborate with engineers, architects and public officials in real time — paving the way for less congested cities. The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real. Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse.     4. 📚 What POTUS is reading Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters As President Biden boarded Air Force One yesterday, he was spotted carrying Jon Meacham's new tour de force, which came out Oct. 18: "And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle." More on the book.     A message from Meta Students will be able to explore outer space in the metaverse     With the metaverse, students in a classroom will be able to travel to the depths of our galaxy, helping them get up close to the planets and gain a deeper understanding of how our solar system works. The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real. See how Meta is helping build the metaverse.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight. This newsletter was edited by Margaret Talev and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. 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