NRSC Weekly Rundown: Heitkamp Announces Retirement, Republican Voters Are Fired Up , DSCC Put More $$$ In NJ and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRSC Weekly Rundown:
#ConfirmKavanaugh: From before he was even announced as President Trump’spick, Senate Democrats have vehemently opposed eminently qualified jurist Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and today they made good on that promise, voting NO on allowing a floor vote on his confirmation. The antics and outbursts from Senate Democrats have forever damaged the nomination process, and backfired as new polling from NPR shows Republicans are fired up across the country. With just 32 days until Election Day, red state Dems are facing intense pressure from the key voters they need in states carried by President Trump.
#TNSen: After 88 days, Phil Bredesen finally mustered up the courage to tell Tennessee voters where he stands on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, but voters shouldn’t take him at his word. Just like Alabama Senator Doug Jones,who promised voters on the campaign trail that he’d consider Republican policies, only to vote against them at every opportunity once he was elected, Tennessee voters can’t trust Phil Bredesen. At a candidate forum, Bredesen had the audacity to claim, “I have a zero-tolerance policy with any kind of harassment of women…it’s been something I’ve come down on very, very, very hard. But the Washington Free Beacon detailed how ridiculous Bredesen’s claims are, given the long and detailed reporting surrounding the sexual harassment issues that plagued his administration, even earning him the nickname “Shredesen” by local press for shredding evidence involving political aides accused of wrongdoing. And now, despite his desperate attempts to portray himself as a defender of the Second Amendment, Bredesen is ready to sidle up to the left’s chief gun-grabber, as former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to hold a high-dollar fundraiser next week for Bredesen in Bredesen’s home state of New York.
#NDSen: Heidi Heitkamp officially sold out North Dakotans, announcing she won’t support Judge Brett Kavanaugh despite two new polls revealing 56% and 60% of North Dakotans want Kavanaugh confirmed. Reuters reviewed the impact of Judge Kavanaugh on the North Dakota Senate race, interviewing one voter who said, “If Heidi Heitkamp votes no, I think it’s really going to hurt her here.”
#MOSen: When Claire McCaskill cited “dark money” as her reason for opposing Judge Kavanaugh, it was clear she wasn’t being honest with Missourians. And a story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch underscores that, showing McCaskill openly celebrating the “good news” of a dark money funded group coming to help her campaign. Meanwhile, Attorney General Josh Hawley is taking it to the airwaves with a new ad to blast McCaskill and Senate Democrats for their disgraceful conduct during Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. McCaskill’s hypocrisy continued this week when her campaign released an ad attempting to cozy up to President Trump, even going so far as to feature a picture of her sitting next to the President. But the picture is actually from a meeting at the White House where McCaskill rejected President Trump’s invitation to work across the aisle on his tax cuts. And behind closed doors, McCaskill is singing a different tune to her liberal supporters. In a video taken at a campaign event back in June, McCaskill tells a crowd that folks are begging her to “Save us!” from President Trump. McCaskill rounded out the week with yet another story detailing how she got rich at the expense of taxpayers. The latest report details how McCaskill’s husband used a “charitable foundation” that pays no taxes and makes less than $1,500 in charitable contributions to flip $273.3 million in tax credits intended to help low-income Missourians find housing.
#FLSen: During the first Florida Senate debate, Bill Nelson desperately tried and failed to defend his record of doing everything for Washington liberals and nothing for Floridians. Nelson has also been largely MIA on the campaign trail in Florida and hasn’t even been showing up for work in Washington. A report from the Tampa Bay Times shows “Nelson has missed 13 votes since January. That’s more than the seven other Democrats running in the tightest contests, none of whom have missed more than four.” And Nelson doesn’t show any signs of changing his ways as he skipped out on a hearing on rural broadband to try and save his taxpayer-funded job.
#MTSen: In the first Montana Senate debate, Jon Tester tried to run away from his liberal record and hide the fact he has spent the last 12 years in Congress cozying up to lobbyists and doing the loyal bidding of his liberal party bosses. It’s clear Montanans want to see Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmed, but Tester couldn’t care less. Tester announced he will be voting no on Kavanaugh, kissing goodbye his chances of getting reelected. This week, Fox News released a deep dive in Montana looking at how the Democrats’ disgraceful smear campaign against Judge Kavanaugh has dramatically backfired, “galvanizing” Montana Republican voters like never before. Tester’s no vote prompted Matt Rosendale to release this powerful ad highlighting Tester’s record of smearing a good man’s name for politics, just as he did with Admiral Ronny Jackson.
#INSen: When Sleepin’ Joe Donnelly announced he was selling out Hoosiers and voting no on Judge Kavanaugh, he cited the need for an FBI investigation. But the Washington Post reported this week that the results of the investigation will be irrelevant to his vote. Just yesterday, National Journal reported that Kamala Harris, one of the ringleaders of the circus Senate Dems created around Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, sent out a fundraising email titled “re: Kavanaugh’s nomination,” and asked supporters to send a donation to Sleepin’ Joe’s campaign. It’s now clearer than ever that Sleepin’ Joe planned to oppose Judge Kavanaugh all along to appease Chuck Schumer and his liberal base.
#NJSen: A new poll from Stockton University shows disgraced Senator Bob Menendez’s lead down to 2 at 45% – 43% in deep blue New Jersey. Menendez’s favorability remains deep underwater, with just 30% of New Jerseyans having a favorable opinion of the crooked Senator, compared to 54% who view him unfavorably. And now the DSCC is putting more than $400,000 into TV ads in the state starting today. With polls across the country showing red state Dems in tight races, it’s notable that Senate Democrats’ campaign arm has hit the panic button and is plowing hundreds of thousands of dollars into a deep blue state to prop up a hopelessly toxic candidate.
#NVSen: If anyone needed additional confirmation that Jacky Rosen is attempting to infiltrate Nevada with California values, look no further than the California Women’s List at UC Davis and Davis College Democrats who are “invading” Reno to help elect Rosen. The California liberal invasion comes on the heels of the NRSC’s new ad, which warns Nevada voters that Rosen is doing everything she can to please the California donors who have given her nearly $2 million. And just yesterday, Rosen continued her reliance on coastal elites, spending the day hobnobbing in NYC at a ritzy high-dollar fundraiser.
#WISen: Tammy Baldwin was in hot water after Leah Vukmir blasted her for supporting a socialist government takeover of the health care system, saying Baldwin’s radical plan would “destroy health care as we know it.” Then, Senator Baldwin got more bad news when Tomah whistleblower Ryan Honlhammered Baldwin over her mishandling of the Tomah VA opioid scandal saying it would be “immoral” to vote for her. From Baldwin ignoring problems at the Tomah VA, to her support for a radical government-run health care plan, it’s clear that Baldwin just doesn’t have Wisconsin’s best interests at heart.
#MNSen: Minnesota Senate candidate Karin Housley is calling out Tina Smith for her blatant hypocrisy when it comes to allegations of harassment and abuse, demanding a serious investigation of the domestic abuse allegations levied against Minnesota Democrats’ candidate for attorney general, Keith Ellison. Smith, who has demanded an FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh despite declaring her opposition hours after his nomination was announced, has continuously stood by her good friend Keith Ellison even after abuse allegations came to light.
#AZSen: Kyrsten Sinema confirmed that her whole “independent, just like Arizona” schtick is a total fraud, and announced that if she were in the Senate, she’d side with her liberal party bosses to oppose Judge Kavanaugh. Despite polling this week from The Arizona Republic showing that most Arizonans support Judge Kavanaugh and want to see him confirmed to the court, Sinema is making sure voters know that she only stands with her party’s most extreme and unhinged radicals who’ve stooped to incredible new lows to smear Judge Kavanaugh and obstruct this nominee – no matter the cost.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Gallup: Trust in U.S. Legislative Branch 40%, Highest in Nine Years
Americans’ trust and confidence in the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government is at its highest point in nine years, with 40% saying they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in it. This latest confidence reading marks a slight, five-percentage-point uptick for the legislative branch since last year and brings it in line with the executive branch’s 42% confidence rating for the first time in a decade. READ
Fox Business: US wage growth hits 17-month high
National wage growth is at the highest it’s been in nearly 17 months — and, according to a new study released by Glassdoor, it’s not expected to slow down anytime soon. Wages grew 2.6 percent year-over-year from 2017 to $52,664, making it the fastest wage growth seen since April 2017. READ
CNN: Unemployment rate falls to 49-year low
The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in September, the lowest level since December 1969. The US economy added 134,000 jobs last month, below expectations and the monthly average for the year. READ
The Hill: Poll: Heitkamp trails Cramer by 12 points in North Dakota
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) was 12 points behind challenger Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), according to a poll released Wednesday, the second survey in as many days showing her trailing by a double-digit margin.A Fox News poll showed that 53 percent of likely voters in North Dakota back Cramer, while 41 percent support Heitkamp, who is considered among the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection. READ
NPR: Poll: Amid Kavanaugh Confirmation Battle, Democratic Enthusiasm Edge Evaporates
Just over a month away from critical elections across the country, the wide Democratic enthusiasm advantage that has defined the 2018 campaign up to this point has disappeared, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. In July, there was a 10-point gap between the number of Democrats and Republicans saying the November elections were “very important.” Now, that is down to 2 points, a statistical tie. READ
The Atlantic: Conservative Women Are Angry About Kavanaugh—And They Think Other Voters Are, Too
In interviews with roughly a dozen female conservative leaders from as many states, this was the overwhelming sentiment: These women are infuriated with the way the sexual-assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have been handled. READ
FiveThirtyEight: Democrats Really Could Lose That New Jersey Senate Seat
So what’s potentially going wrong for Menendez? See the aforementioned scandal. Menendez was indicted on multiple counts of bribery, conspiracy and making false statements for taking inappropriate gifts from a doctor friend and then intervening on the doctor’s behalf with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. (The doctor friend in question overbilled the agency to the tune of $8.9 million.) While his 2017 court case ended in a mistrial, his reputation took a massive hit. The Senate Ethics Committee formally condemned Menendez, and Morning Consult ranked him as one of America’s 10 least popular senators for much of 2017 and 2018. READ
Fox News: Kavanaugh confirmation battle galvanizes Montana’s Republican voters, could swing Senate race
“You know, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a man of integrity with impeccable credentials,” Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday, to uproarious cheers and applause, at the end of a riff about other conservative judges President Trump has nominated. Pence’s lines about Kavanaugh got a bigger rise out of the crowd than anything he said about tax reform, Obamacare or even 2016’s most reliable rallying cry – a promise to build a border wall. “I think what it’s done is basically galvanize, certainly, the Republican voters,” said Montana Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale. READ
WFB: Bredesen Brags of ‘Zero Tolerance’ Harassment Policy as Tennessee Governor
Bredesen’s claim during the event flies in the face of reported facts during his tenure as governor, when reporters caught his administration covering up details of sexual harassment allegations and helping the accused land jobs elsewhere. Most egregious in the findings was the Bredesen administration’s practice of shredding documentation of the accusations, which was found by both The Tennessean and the Associated Press to be done only when the accused were high-profile members of the administration. READ
WFB: McCaskill’s Husband Makes Millions Flipping Government Tax Credits
Since Claire McCaskill joined the Senate, her husband Joseph Shepard has made at least $11 million through a business that buys up tax credits awarded to Missouri affordable housing developers and sells them to high-income entities seeking tax relief. Shepard’s company, the Missouri Tax Credit Fund, operates within the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a $9 billion a year federal program that awards tax credits to developers building qualified affordable housing projects. READ
CNN: New Jersey Senate: Incumbent Democrat Menendez appears vulnerable in new poll
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is in a surprising dead heat with his Republican challenger in New Jersey’s Senate race, a new poll finds. The poll of likely voters, released on Monday by Stockton University, found that Menendez, whose federal corruption trial ended in a mistrial last year, holds a two-point advantage over businessman Bob Hugin — 45% to 43%. READ
###