| | | | |  | | By Madison Fernandez | | Presented by |  | | | | | Crime has been a sore spot for Democrats. But as Vice President Kamala Harris leans into her background as a prosecutor, Democrats with similar experiences are hopeful that her messaging will benefit them further down the ballot. Harris — who was San Francisco district attorney early in her career before serving as California attorney general — repeatedly cites her time as a prosecutor in her stump speeches and on the airwaves in an attempt to position herself as tough on crime and immigration, and to create a contrast with former President Donald Trump as a convicted felon. That hasn’t stopped Republican attacks on crime. Trump and his allies have tried to flip it, pointing to Harris’ record to label her as a “liberal DA.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly cites her time as a prosecutor in her stump speeches. | Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images | But down-ballot Democrats with a similar background still view Harris’ legal experience as a plus, despite the attacks, and are thrilled to have her at the top of the ticket. Will Rollins, who’s challenging Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in CA-41, told Score shortly after Harris announced her bid for president in July that the “prosecutor-versus-corruption, prosecutor-versus-felon narrative is so, so uniquely helpful” for him as a former federal prosecutor. He’s highlighted his biography to bolster his campaign message of going “after corruption in both political parties,” as he promoted in a recent campaign ad that featured police officers. “The nice thing about being a prosecutor and running for office is you can talk about crime in a way that's authentic, because you've been on the front lines with police officers, federal agents, working to keep our communities safe,” he said. “Now with a prosecutor at the top of the ticket, we've got somebody who can explain how to keep communities safe.” Carl Marlinga, a former county prosecutor who’s taking on Republican Rep. John James in MI-10, agreed that he views Harris’ message as a boon for his campaign. He said that he and Harris were “part of a new breed of prosecutors” who prioritized substantive justice. “There are plenty of people who really don't have any knowledge of me or association with me in my years as prosecutor and or judge, but with Harris at the top of the ticket, she'll deliver exactly the type of nuanced message … that we’re here for justice for all of the people,” he said. “She's a woman of color, and these are often African American precincts, and so she will bring out that vote, and then being part of the same tradition of prosecution, being on the same ticket, I'm going to get some coattails.” Other Democrats running in competitive races have also leaned into their times as prosecutors. Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who’s in a high-stakes race against former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for Maryland Senate, discusses cutting down on crime as state’s attorney. And Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has emphasized his record fighting crime as the state’s top prosecutor as he fends off a challenge from Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Republicans aren’t going to stop the crime attacks anytime soon, especially with how successful that messaging was for them in House races during the midterms. Like Harris, they’ve tried to turn Democrats’ prosecutorial records on their heads to paint them as “soft on crime” who let criminals walk free. Paul Junge, the GOP candidate running for open MI-08 and a former criminal prosecutor, noted that having that experience as a prosecutor doesn’t fully insulate Democrats from critiques on crime. “The Democratic Party, when it was fashionable, a great many of them were all about ‘defund the police,’ and ‘police are bad news,’” he said. “Democrats have figured out, if nothing else, it's bad politically to be bad mouthing police, so they changed their messaging. I think if you are a former prosecutor, you probably get a little extra credibility, as long as you weren't clearly a terrible one.” Happy Monday. Reach me at mfernandez@politico.com and @madfernandez616. Days until the 2024 election: 43 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
| | | | A message from PREMION Political: New 2024 Report! Streaming TV and the Political Market. When it comes to ad spending, CTV has ushered in a new media reality in the political space. Premion’s new report with Campaigns & Elections unpacks key findings from our latest political survey. Click to download the report now. | | | | | FIRST IN SCORE — MINORITY WINS — Seventy candidates running in congressional and statewide primaries won this year without earning a majority of the vote, according to a report from FairVote, a group that advocates for election reform, including ranked choice voting. While many of those were in safe seats — meaning the candidate who received less than a majority of votes will likely win in November — there are dozens of these candidates running in general election battlegrounds, too. See the full list here. The report says that “plurality wins in safe seats allow more polarizing candidates to take office.” It also argues that “when a party advances a plurality winner to a competitive general election, that party harms its chance of winning the race” because “a majority of that party’s voters have to vote for someone they did not want representing them on the general election ballot, or help the opposing party win.” CLEANING HOUSE — “Top staff on Mark Robinson’s campaign team have resigned from their roles, the campaign announced Sunday, three days after the embattled Republican candidate for North Carolina governor denied making years-old salacious posts on a pornagraphic website,” POLITICO’s Natalie Allison writes. “Conrad Pogorzelski III, Robinson’s general consultant and senior adviser; campaign manager Chris Rodriguez; finance director Heather Whillier; and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk all stepped down just weeks before the election, according to a press release from Robinson’s campaign. Robinson, who vowed on Thursday not to exit the race, remained defiant.” BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — NRCC added six candidates to its “Young Guns” list, which boosts Republican challengers. They are former state Del. Neil Parrott, who’s running in open MD-06 against Democrat April McClain Delaney; Paul Hudson, who’s challenging Democratic Rep. Hillary Scholten in MI-03; former state Sen. Russell Prescott, who’s looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in NH-01; Drew Johnson, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in NV-03; former state Assemblymember Mike LiPetri, who’s looking to reclaim NY-03 from Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi; and Orlando Sonza, who’s competing against Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman in OH-01. They join the more than 30 candidates the committee has already named to the list. FOR YOUR CALENDAR — Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred will debate on Oct. 15. Some Democrats are hoping that Texas (and Florida) will get some investment from the national party in the final weeks of the campaign, though the DSCC is focusing on protecting its vulnerable incumbents.
| | THE DEBATE DEBATE — Harris is committing to a second debate against Trump hosted by CNN on Oct. 23 in Atlanta, but the former president says that it’s “too late” for another faceoff since voters are already casting their ballots. Meanwhile, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) has said he’d be interested in doing another debate against Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the one they have scheduled for Oct. 1. Read more from POLITICO’s Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing. IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN — Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein cannot appear on the ballot in Nevada, the Supreme Court ruled last week. “The ruling is the final nail in the coffin for the Nevada Green Party’s efforts to gain a spot on the presidential ballot and marks another win for the Nevada Democratic Party, which sought to block the party from qualifying for the ballot amid fears that it could siphon off votes from dissatisfied left-leaning Nevadans,” The Nevada Independent’s Eric Neugeboren writes. “The Green Party has not qualified for the ballot in the Silver State since 2008.” BIG SPENDER — “Harris’ campaign spent nearly three times as much as Trump’s did in August — but raised so much that she still grew her cash advantage,” POLITICO’s Jessica Piper writes. “The massive spending disparity came even as the Trump campaign continued to scale up its expenses, which more than doubled from the month prior. … Her campaign reported taking in $190 million; his, just shy of $45 million. The vice president’s campaign outspent Trump $174 million to $61 million in August. But Harris’ preexisting cash advantage and superior fundraising mean that she ended the month with $235 million, $100 million more than Trump.”
| | | | PARTY TIME — Here’s how the party committees did from Aug. 1-31, according to the latest FEC filings. — The NRCC raised $9.7 million and ended the month with $70.8 million in the bank. It spent $12.3 million and had no debts. — The DCCC brought in $22.3 million and had $87.3 million on hand. It spent $27 million and had no debts. — The NRSC had a $19.1 million haul. The committee had $43.6 million in its coffers, spent $26.5 million and had no debts. — The DSCC raised $19.2 million last month and had $47 million on hand. It spent $31.6 million and had no debts. — The RNC brought in $40.4 million in August and had $79.3 million on hand. It spent $60.2 million and had no debts. — The DNC reported bringing in $68.7 million. It had $50 million in the bank, spent $84.5 million and owed around $446,000 in debts. MUSK READ — “Elon Musk stepped up his political giving in August, giving his largest-known political donation ever to boost House Republicans’ efforts to preserve their vulnerable majority” with a $289,100 contribution to the NRCC, Jessica and Alex Isenstadt write. “It is likely that Musk has given more to [pro-Trump super PAC] America PAC than the NRCC. The super PAC, which can accept unlimited amounts from individual donors, is due to disclose its financial activity for the third quarter of this year on Oct. 15, which will give a clearer picture of how much Musk has given to the group.”
| | | | A message from PREMION Political:   | | | | | IN THE STATES — Trump allies on Georgia’s elections board last week voted to hand-count ballots either the night of Election Day or the day after, a move that election officials say could lead to “serious risks of delays and errors that compound — rather than relieve — issues,” POLITICO’s Zach Montellaro and Kyle Cheney write. Over in Arizona, the state Supreme Court weighed in on an issue that could have had a major impact in the swing state. “Nearly 100,000 voters stuck in limbo following a citizenship tracking error will be allowed to vote a full ballot in November,” the Arizona Republic’s Sasha Hupka writes. “The decision temporarily resolves a quandary that could have disenfranchised the group and swayed down-ballot races across the state.”
| | PRESIDENTIAL — Harris narrowly leads Trump 49 percent to 44 percent in an NBC News poll (1,000 registered voters, Sept. 13-17, MoE +/- 3.1 percentage points). In a CBS News/YouGov poll, Harris has 52 percent of support and Trump has 48 percent (3,121 likely voters, Sept. 18-20, MoE +/- 2.1 percentage points). … PENNSYLVANIA — Harris earns 50 percent to Trump’s 46 percent on the full ballot in a MassINC poll for Spotlight PA (800 likely voters, Sept. 12-18, MoE +/- 4.0 percentage points). NE-Sen — An internal poll for Retire Career Politicians — a group supported in part by the liberal Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is backing independent Dan Osborn — finds a close race between him and Republican Sen. Deb Fischer. Fischer has 43 percent and Osborn has 42 percent in the poll conducted by Democratic firm GSG (600 likely voters, Aug. 26-29, MoE +/- 4.0 percentage points). PA-Sen — Democratic Sen. Bob Casey leads Republican Dave McCormick 49 percent to 42 percent in the Spotlight PA poll.
| | ROUNDUP TIME — Check out the latest batch of ads here. And here are some highlights: PRESIDENTIAL — Harris is looking to tie Trump to Robinson. The ad features clips of Trump praising Robinson, as well as videos of Robinson sharing his anti-abortion views. The narrator says that Trump and Robinson are “both wrong for North Carolina.” Some Republicans are worried that Robinson, whom Trump endorsed early on in the race, could drag him down in the battleground — and the Harris campaign has said that they see an opening given recent reporting. Trump didn’t comment on Robinson as he stumped in North Carolina over the weekend. AZ-Sen — Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego says that Republican Kari Lake lied about winning the 2022 gubernatorial race and is lying about Gallego to “distract from her own dangerous record on abortion.” NV-Sen — Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen attacks Republican Sam Brown over abortion, referencing a report that he said he’s “not for changing our existing law” with this fall’s abortion rights ballot initiative. (Brown hasn’t publicly said how he’ll vote on the measure.) CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It is kind of like a sick twist of fate.” — Democratic Delaware state Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton on Democratic Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long only serving as governor for two weeks after losing the primary for the seat.
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