| | | | |  | | By Liz Crampton and Madison Fernandez | | | Democrats have a new strategy for going after Republicans who deny the results of the 2020 presidential election: Knock them out at the local level. And today, a Democratic candidate recruitment group, Contest Every Race, is rolling out its first-ever endorsements of Democrats challenging far-right GOP officials in that effort. Part of progressive incubator Movement Labs, Contest Every Race works to recruit Democrats to run for office in down-ballot races, including in deep red areas. Today the group is endorsing 43 Democrats running for positions ranging from the state legislature to county recorder, and many are seeking office for the first time. The endorsements, shared first with Score, mark a shift in strategy by specifically targeting the most far-right members of the GOP to try to defeat “the cult of Trump,” said Lauren Gepford, executive director of Contest Every Race.
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Joy Banks, one of the endorsed candidates in Arizona, is challenging incumbent Peggy Judd, pictured, in Cochise County, who, along with another supervisor, was charged with delaying the certification of election results and interfering with the secretary of state’s statewide canvass. | Pool photo by Mark Levy | | Many of these candidates are long shots. But Gepford said it marks a step forward in building the bench of down-ballot Democrats as the party grapples with being outrun by Republicans at the local level. An internal data analysis from the group found that Democrats did not compete in nearly 32 percent of races in 2022 in the top seven swing states that will determine the presidency. That translates to 2,452 races where a Republican went unopposed. Republicans, however, only left 13 percent of races uncontested in the same states. “Overall national Democrats have ignored this down-ballot candidate problem for a really long time, which has left GOP extremists unchecked and uncontested,” Gepford said. The endorsed candidates will get campaign support and training, along with connections to the group’s donor network. Public Wise, a left-of-center voting rights and research organization, counts nearly 350 elected officials in seven battleground states who have undermined or cast doubts on election integrity, some of whom have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Joy Banks, one of the endorsed candidates in Arizona, said she felt “horrified” when her GOP county supervisors dragged their feet in certifying the results of the 2020 election. Now she’s challenging incumbent Peggy Judd in Cochise County, who, along with another supervisor, was charged with delaying the certification of election results and interfering with the secretary of state’s statewide canvass. Judd pleaded not guilty to the felony charges last year. “People need to come forward and say we can’t go down this road,” Banks said. “The MAGA right has destroyed faith in our elections and I don’t know how we’re ever going to stop it unless we say things about it.” What will it take for Gepford to feel good on Election Night? Democratic turnout that's 1 percentage point to 5 percentage points higher, she said, a change on the margins that could create a reverse coattails effect and boost Vice President Kamala Harris in important swing states. One of those key races is in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Brad Chambers, another endorsed candidate, is facing off against state Rep. Brett Miller in a district that Democrats view as flippable and crucial to the party’s broader fight to maintain control of the chamber. Miller is part of a group of Pennsylvania Republicans who have cast doubt on election results. “If you are divorced from reality to an extent that you’re going to tell people elections are unfair, except the one you’re in, there’s no way you’re engaging honestly with voters,” Chambers said. Happy Tuesday. Thanks to Liz (lcrampton@politico.com, @liz_crampton) for today's top. Hope you all had a nice rest of your August and are ready for a busy fall! Hit me up: mfernandez@politico.com and @madfernandez616. Days until the Delaware, New Hampshire and Rhode Island primaries: 7 Days until the 2024 election: 63 Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | TRAIL MIX — Harris and President Joe Biden hit the trail on Labor Day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for their first joint appearance in a battleground state since she officially became the Democratic nominee. Biden is also slated to stump for Harris in Michigan and Wisconsin later this week. "Deploying Biden represents both an opportunity and a risk," POLITICO's Holly Otterbein and Eli Stokols write. "Biden remains an unpopular president, and Republicans are seizing on her position in his administration to convince voters that Harris would be Biden 2.0 if elected. ... But Harris’ team is still planning to deploy Biden strategically, particularly in Pennsylvania and other Rust Belt swing states where he retains the most appeal." BALLOT BATTLE — Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent months trying to get on the ballot. And now that he ended his presidential bid and endorsed Trump, he’s locked in legal fights to get off. He said he’ll remain on the ballot in some states, but is working to get off in swing states like North Carolina, where he’s suing to remove his name. He withdrew his name in Pennsylvania, but is unable to do so in Wisconsin and Michigan. IN THE STATES — Trump’s positions on two high-profile ballot initiatives in his adopted home state of Florida could have an impact on their success come the fall. Trump said he will vote against the state’s abortion-rights initiative, which would codify access to the procedure, but said he still opposes the state’s six-week abortion ban that’s currently on the books. As for the initiative that would legalize the use of marijuana for adults, the former president “stopped short of formally endorsing the measure but asserted that — ‘whether people like it or not’ — marijuana legalization ‘will happen,’” POLITICO’s Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Arek Sarkissian write.
| | LOOKING FOR ALASKA — Republican Nick Begich is avoiding some major hurdles in his campaign against Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola for Alaska’s at-large House seat, after fellow Republican candidates dropped their bids to avoid a splitting of the GOP vote in November. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who originally had the backing of Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump, ended her campaign after she came in behind Begich in the nonpartisan top-four primary, where the top four vote-getters, regardless of party, proceed to the general election. Matthew Salisbury, a little-known Republican who came in fourth in the primary with less than 1 percent of the vote, withdrew as well. In addition to Peltola and Begich, John Wayne Howe of the Alaskan Independence Party and Democrat Eric Hafner — both of whom earned just hundreds of votes in last month’s primary — will appear on the November ballot, when Alaskans choose by ranked choice voting. Some Republicans attributed their loss in the midterms to the voting system, which was used for the first time that cycle. PARTY PROBLEMS — Colorado Republicans are fighting over who is the chair of their state party. Almost two weeks ago, opponents of Dave Williams, the embattled party leader, voted to oust him as chair. But over the weekend, Williams’ supporters held another meeting to reaffirm his position. “The dispute appears increasingly unlikely to be resolved internally by the state party, with both sides claiming that the meeting held by the other faction was illegitimate,” The Colorado Sun’s Brian Eason writes. “As a result, it may need to be settled by the Republican National Committee or in court.” (The RNC settled a similar debate over party leadership in Michigan earlier this year.) 2024 WATCH — Democratic state Sen. Nellie Pou will replace the late Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell on November’s general election ballot for safe blue NJ-09, Democratic county committee members decided last week. Pou had the backing of Pascrell’s family and Gov. Phil Murphy, and her potential contenders dropped their bids ahead of the special convention. She’ll face Republican Billy Prempeh, but she’s the heavy favorite. ENDORSEMENT CORNER — Former New Hampshire Democratic Gov. John Lynch withdrew his endorsement of former Democratic New Hampshire Executive Council Member Colin Van Ostern in the Democratic primary for open NH-02. Lynch switched his backing to Maggie Goodlander, a former DOJ official in the Biden administration. "I think his campaign is one of the nastiest I’ve seen in my 50 years of being involved in elections here in New Hampshire,” he told WMUR’s Adam Sexton. Van Ostern has the support of outgoing Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster. THE VIEW FROM DOWN-BALLOT — NRCC added four candidates to its “Young Guns” list, which boosts Republican challengers. They are Begich; Paul Junge in open MI-08; Mike Erickson in OR-06, who’s challenging Democratic Rep. Andrea Salinas; and Joe Kent, who’s running in WA-03 against Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez. The committee announced its initial list, which had more than two dozen candidates, back in July. ABORTION ON THE BALLOT — Nebraska is poised to have two initiatives on the November ballot that contradict each other on abortion rights — the first time that has happened nationally. The state Supreme Court last week “rejected fast-tracking a pair of lawsuits seeking to remove an abortion-rights constitutional amendment from the fall ballot,” the Nebraska Examiner’s Aaron Sanderford writes. Both that initiative and one that would limit abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy qualified for the ballot, and the secretary of state has until Sept. 13 to finalize what will appear before voters this fall. Abortion-rights supporters on Friday also filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court arguing that either both initiatives appear on the ballot in the fall, or neither do. ... In New York, "Democratic consultants for swing seat candidates are increasingly anxious that a well-organized campaign by conservatives to sink a proposed state constitutional amendment on abortion could hurt the party’s candidates in battleground seats," POLITICO's Nick Reisman writes. "The pushback from the right has relied heavily on anti-trans rhetoric, a line of attack that internal polling shows has proven persuasive to voters in battleground House districts."
| | PRESIDENTIAL — MICHIGAN — Trump has 46 percent and Harris has 45 percent, with third-party candidates included, in an EPIC-MRA poll conducted for the Detroit Free Press. Head-to-head, Trump has 47 percent and Harris has 46 percent (600 likely voters, Aug. 23-26, MoE +/- 4 percentage points). MI-Sen — Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin has 46 percent of support to Republican Rep. Mike Rogers’ 42 percent in the EPIC-MRA poll.
| | NO MONEY MO PROBLEMS — Republicans are privately and publicly warning donors that they're lagging behind Democrats when it comes to cash, POLITICO's Ally Mutnick reports. Top GOP donors have "expressed concern about how Harris' surge would affect House races." And in the Senate, "Democrats are outspending Republicans in six of the top eight Senate races. ... One bright spot for Republicans: At least two groups involved in Senate races have seen an uptick in donations since Biden’s exit that put them ahead of where they were at this point in past cycles by a sizable margin." THE AGE OF THE INFLUENCER — The Federal Election Commission last week determined that Caroline Gleich, a Utah Democrat running for Senate who is an influencer, is allowed to continue to appear in sponsored posts in the leadup to the election as long as they don’t promote, attack, support or oppose any of the candidates running in that race. Gleich, who The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz reported “appear[ed] to be the first full-time content creator to run for Congress,” said that “one brand pulled out of a deal because of the complexities of booking an ad campaign with someone running for office” and “that negotiating new deals also has become more difficult.” RANK IT UP — Opponents of ranked choice voting in Alaska are looking to repeal the system via a ballot initiative this fall — though they’re up against a ton of money. “The leading group in favor of keeping Alaska’s system of open primaries and ranked choice voting raised over $4.5 million in August from outside donors, which dwarfs all the donations received by a group seeking to repeal the state’s current voting system,” the Anchorage Daily News’ Sean Maguire writes.
| | PRESIDENTIAL — Preserve America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC backed by GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, features a father — whose son was killed by an undocumented immigrant — criticizing Harris’ crime record. MT-Sen — Democratic Sen. Jon Tester says that Republican Tim Sheehy will harm rural hospitals. The campaign emphasizes Tester’s support of Social Security in another spot. … Republicans for Jon Tester, a committee affiliated with the senator, touts his cross-partisan appeal. … WinSenate, a group affiliated with the Democratic Senate Majority PAC, goes after Sheehy over threats to privatize health care. NV-Sen — NRSC and Republican Sam Brown are running a coordinated spot saying that Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen and “career politicians” — namely Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — “don’t seem to care” and “don’t get us” when it comes to inflation and unemployment. OH-Sen — Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown promotes supporting American flags made in the country. … Defend American Jobs, a pro-crypto group, continues to boost Republican Bernie Moreno, saying he supports energy independence, protecting Social Security benefits and stopping “illegal immigrants from taking Ohio’s tax dollars.” PA-Sen — NRSC and Republican Dave McCormick feature a sheriff whose son died from a fentanyl overdose and blames Democratic Sen. Bob Casey for “back[ing] Biden’s open border.” … WinSenate accuses McCormick of not being from Pennsylvania. NH-Gov — Former Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte took down an ad attacking former Democratic Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig over crime because it falsely implied that the murder of a resident happened during her tenure, when it actually happened before Craig took office. Ayotte has since apologized for the spot. Ayotte and Craig both face primary challenges next week. … Democratic Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington is going after Craig, saying that she is “trying to smear” Warmington. The spot also accuses Craig of “personally profiting from the defense of drug dealers” and making “Manchester the epicenter of the opioid crisis.” … Former Republican state Senate President Chuck Morse connects Ayotte to former President Barack Obama over support of “amnesty” for immigrants, and attacks her for not supporting Trump in 2016. MI-08 — Democratic state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet highlights her work cutting taxes. MT-01 — Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke outlines his policy positions and achievements from his first term back in Congress. NM-02 — NRCC and former Rep. Yvette Herrell spotlight a “lifelong Democrat” who says she’s voting for Herrell this year because of the economy and safety. OH-09 — NRCC and Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin ties Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur to Biden on immigration. CODA — HEADLINE OF THE DAY: “Philadelphia Eagles Tackle Fake Kamala Harris Endorsement” — Newsweek | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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