NRSC Weekly Rundown: DSCC wants Hillary on the campaign trail, Dems’ ironic platform, Menendez in trouble, Heitkamp’s dangerous judgment and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRSC Weekly Rundown:
National: DSCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen told reporters Senate Democrats would “welcome” Hillary Clinton to the campaign trail in 2018. Her arrival would certainly bring heartburn to Dems like Joe Manchin, Claire McCaskill, Heidi Heitkamp, Jon Tester and Joe Donnelly, who are running in states that soundly rejected her out-of-touch politics.
National: Remember the Democrats’ dud of a platform that totally flopped last year? Well Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer decided to just wait a few months and try again! The Democrats’ platform, “A Better Deal for Democracy,” amounted to little more than a cheap knock off of #DrainTheSwamp. If you can’t beat Trump, you might as well join him. In the new platform, Democrats bashed President Trump, playing into the impeachment talk pushed by their far-left base. But ironically, Democrats seem to have already forgotten the corruption scandal of one of their own, disgraced Senator Bob Menendez, who is fresh off the heels of his trial for bribery and corruption charges. Leave it to the Democrats to point fingers in a desperate attempt to find any semblance of a strategy going into the midterms.
National: American economic optimism is soaring under the Republican Senate Majority and President Trump, with 67% of Americans agreeing now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S. It’s no surprise American optimism is at a historic high. The Republican Senate Majority, alongside President Trump, has cut countlessburdensome Obama-era regulations and passed historic tax cuts allowing over 500 businesses to give pay raises and bonuses to hardworking Americans, and to boost investment in their workforces.
#NDSen: Heidi Heitkamp wrongly predicted President Trump’s “drastic trade policies would instead come back to hit American farmers and ranchers where it hurts.” But the exact opposite of what Heitkamp predicted has happened. In a major win for North Dakota farmers and ranchers, President Trump announced that China has agreed to buy “massive amounts of additional farm/agricultural products” from the U.S. This is the latest example of Heitkamp’s dangerous judgment on the issues that matter to North Dakotans. As KX4 host Chris Berg highlighted, Heitkamp “just does not seem to understand negotiation, business deals, and especially foreign policy.”
#FLSen: While touting himself as a moderate voice in Washington, Bill Nelson has veered further and further to the left since he began his political career nearly half a century ago. During his time in the Senate, Nelson has earned a radical record, voting in tandem with his party bosses, like Chuck Schumer, 92% of the time. As a thank you for his loyalty, Chuck Schumer’s Super PAC is funneling money into Nelson’s uphill battle for reelection against Governor Rick Scott.
#INSen: Anti-Trump comedian Rosie O’Donnell tweeted yesterday that she “maxed out” to Sleepin’ Joe Donnelly’s struggling reelection campaign. Rosie has received backlash for attacking President Trump’s then 10-year-old son and promoting a video game in which the player kills the President. Hoosiers deserve to know why Donnelly is accepting cash from a disrespectful Hollywood D-lister like Rosie.
#TNSen: Phil Bredesen released a new ad this week touting his record as governor. But there’s one major problem – it wasn’t as rosy as he remembers. In the ad, Bredesen claims he created 200,000 jobs, when in reality Tennessee’s unemployment rate nearly doubled during his tenure. So while Bredesen claims he knows how to ‘fix it,’ Tennesseans know that he was responsible for nearly 150,000 Tennesseans being sent to the unemployment line.
#WVSen: Once again this week, Joe Manchin continued to flip flop on whether or not he’ll welcome President Trump to the Mountain State during election season. Taking his third position in two weeks, Manchin says he’d welcome President Trump to West Virginia “any time after November.” Manchin knows he’s in an uphill battle for reelection so it’s no surprise he’s trying to box out a President who carried the state by 42 points.
#NJSen: A new poll from Farleigh Dickinson University shows disgraced Senator Bob Menendez’s reelection campaign is in deep trouble, with businessman Bob Huginwithin 4 points of the two-term incumbent. Menendez has the support of just 28% of voters, an astonishingly low number for a two-term incumbent that is sure to cause heartburn among national Democrats hoping to avoid spending on what will be an extremely expensive race.
#PASen: In his first ad of the cycle, Bob Casey attempts to take credit for saving health care for Pennsylvanians in the coal industry. But, the real story is Casey has spent his career as a loyal foot soldier in Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s war on coal, and has worked to put miners out of work for nearly a decade.
NEWS AND NOTES:
CNN: Beating Republicans in November will be harder than Democrats thought
But in the near-term, the GOP’s choice to ally so unequivocally with such a unique president may have the paradoxical effect of producing a much more conventional midterm election than seemed possible earlier this year. And that means for Democrats to secure the gains they seek in November, they will need to overcome the typical challenges they face in a midterm election far more than they expected even only a few months ago. READ
Say Anything Blog: Democrats Say They’ll “Welcome Support” From Hillary Clinton on the Campaign Trail, Senator Heidi Heitkamp Hardest Hit
Even if Clinton doesn’t campaign in North Dakota, specifically, her visibility speaking on behalf of Democrats nationally is going to be a headache for the incumbent. Clinton is toxic here. Democrats like Heitkamp need her to unseen and unheard. READ
The Hill: Reuters poll shows Republicans leading generic ballot for first time
The poll showed 38.1 percent of registered voters said they would vote for a Republican candidate if midterm elections were held today, compared to just under 37 percent who said they’d vote for a Democrat. READ
NPR: Trump Is Sticking To His Playbook To Win The Midterms
The Senate battleground map is Trump country. There are 10 Democratic Senate incumbents running for re-election in states Trump won in 2016, and five of those states are deep red states he won by 20 points or more: Indiana, West Virginia, North Dakota, Missouri and Montana. So far, Trump hasn’t held a campaign rally in a state he didn’t win. And to help Republicans increase their majority in the Senate he won’t have to. READ
The Star-Ledger: Democratic ethics proposals spur attacks on Democrat Bob Menendez
Added National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Bob Salera: “Menendez needs to tell New Jerseyans whether he agrees that federal bribery laws need to be strengthened, or if he thinks corrupt politicians like himself should be able to walk free.” READ
The Tennessee Star: Phil Bredesen’s Dismal Record On Jobs
Summing it up, under Bredesen, the unemployment rate in Tennessee increased from 5.1 percent to 9.5 percent and the number of unemployed Tennesseans increased from 149,524 to 296,405, 98 percent increase during his time as the state’s governor. READ
Washington Post: Senate Democratic campaign chairman welcomes help from Clintons in the midterms
Democrats are defending 10 Senate seats in states where President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. Republicans have been eager to tether Democratic senators to the Clintons and Obama in ruby-red states hosting marquee races this year. “For those curious — the NRSC also welcomes Hillary Clinton to the campaign trail in 2018,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Katie Martin in a statement. READ
North Jersey News: New Jersey Senate Race: Menendez, Hugin Almost Even In New Poll, But Most Undecided
The poll said 28 percent of registered voters supported two-term Democrat Menendez while 24 percent backed Republican Bob Hugin. An additional 46 percent were undecided. By comparison, Menendez led Republican Joseph Kyrillos by 42 percent to 33 percent in an FDU poll taken in May 2012, the last time he was up for re-election. READ
Gallup: Optimism About Availability of Good Jobs Hits New Heights
Sixty-seven percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S., the highest percentage in 17 years of Gallup polling. Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percentage points since Donald Trump was elected president. READ
Investor’s Business Daily: Bad News For Dems: Household Income Hits All-Time High Under Trump … And He’s Getting Credit For It
Consider this: President Obama raised taxes, imposed massive new regulations and mandates, and routinely berated the private sector. The economy responded with the worst economic recovery in modern times. Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have gone in the exact opposite direction, with sweeping tax cuts and significant deregulation. And since then we’ve seen growth, income, optimism all moving upward. READ