NRSC Weekly Rundown: President Trump Hits the Road, NJ Moves to Toss-Up, “Those Crazy Democrats” and more!
And here’s this week’s edition of the NRSC Weekly Rundown:
NRSC’s New Ads: #INSen, #MOSen, #MTSen
#MOSen: Claire McCaskill is really going to great lengths to spin her vote against Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The Missourian reported this week that McCaskill is desperately trying to distance herself from the liberal mob’s attempt to block Justice Kavanaugh, saying “Mistakes were made by both sides. I hope Missourians will notice I stayed out of it.” Then, McCaskill released a new radio ad that insists she’s not“one of those crazy Democrats.” But, unfortunately for Claire, she is one of “those crazy Democrats,” with a record to prove it. And in yet another flat debate performance, McCaskill remained on the defensive as it’s clear Missourians have seen through her empty rhetoric and are ready to elect Josh Hawley to the Senate. McCaskill did herself no favors when she went on a rant calling President Trump a liar. Then, Fox News revealed that McCaskill’s husband’s company evicted at least five former homeless veterans between 2015 and 2016. In one case, a veteran was put out on the streets over just $233.25 in back rent.
#AZSen: At his rally in Mesa this past weekend, President Trump tore into “far left extremist” Kyrsten Sinema for saying it’s ok for Americans to join the Taliban and laid out the stark contrast between terrorist defender Sinema and American Patriot Martha McSally. Sinema hit a snag in her quest to convince voters she’s “independent,” when newly surfaced audio revealed Sinema proudly calling herself “the most liberal legislator in the state of Arizona.” Adding to the string of bad press for Sinema, theArizona State Troopers Association decided to rescind their endorsement of her, saying their initial decision had left members “terribly disappointed.” After Sinema voted against increasing penalties for violently assaulting police officers, and voted to restrict law enforcement’s ability to enforce our immigration laws, it’s no surprise that law enforcement wouldn’t want to be associated with her campaign.
#NDSen: This week, Heidi Heitkamp proudly announced that she would campaign withformer Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. That’s the same Chuck Hagel who said of the President, “Donald Trump is a doing great damage to our country internationally. He’s an embarrassment.” That won’t go over well in a state President Trump won by 36 points. As Heitkamp trails by double-digits in the polls, her campaign released a new addesperately trying to cover up her out-of-touch record in Washington. And to top it off, just one week after she recklessly outed sexual assault victims without their consent in a campaign ad, Heitkamp’s campaign was caught using a WWII veteran’s image without his permission. It’s clear that despite her apologies, Heitkamp hasn’t learned a thing since her disastrous campaign mistake and continues to run the worst campaign in the country.
#NVSen: In the first debate, Dean Heller showed exactly why he is positioned to win another term as U.S. Senator, hammering Jacky Rosen over her lack of accomplishments, liberal record and failure to put Nevadans before her Hollywood donors. And while in Elko this past weekend, President Trump laid out the dire consequences Nevadans will face if Rosen and her Democratic colleagues take control of Congress,saying they “would eliminate the private insurance of 1.6 million people from Nevada” and “destroy Medicare and terminate Medicare Advantage for almost 200,000 Nevada seniors who depend on it.” Rosen released a new ad this week attempting to claim she’s accomplished something in Congress, but she has done ZERO for Nevadans, failing to write a single piece of legislation that’s become law.
#NJSen: This week’s debate made even clearer what was already evident to so many New Jersey voters – disgraced Senator Bob Menendez is unfit to serve in the United States Senate. As his campaign is faced with abysmal favorability numbers, and handicappers move the race to a toss-up, national Democrats are pouring ANOTHER $3 million into the Garden State, bringing their total to $7 million.
#MTSen: With polling showing Jon Tester in dire straits, the League of Conservation Voters, an out-of-state environmental extremist group, is spending $500,000 in Montana, proving his campaign is in free fall. Making matters worse, when confronted by NBC Montana on his D-rating from the NRA, Tester tried to spin his terrible record with a lie saying, “[The Second Amendment] is a tool to me… I use it when I’m able to go hunting.” But Fox News previously revealed that Tester hasn’t had a hunting license since the last time he was on the ballot. It’s just another example of #TwoFacedTester saying one thing in Montana and voting the exact opposite way in Washington. In an interview with KGVO, NRSC Chairman Senator Cory Gardner hit Tester for taking more money from lobbyists than anyone in the Senate. Chairman Gardner left Montanans with a simple question: “do we want somebody Washington D.C. loves or somebody Montana loves?”
#TNSen: The Tennessean released an in-depth look at the questionable actions Phil Bredesen took as governor to enrich himself on the taxpayer’s dime through his solar company, Silicon Ranch. In his official role, Bredesen pushed for millions in stimulus dollars for the industry and signed sweetheart solar tax breaks into law, all to put more money in his own pocket.
#WVSen: A new poll shows Attorney General Patrick Morrisey surging to a lead in West Virginia as the race heads to the finish line. With President Trump leading the way in a state he won by 42 points, Joe Manchin is clearly feeling the heat as he attempts to run from his record of siding with Washington liberals on everything from tax cuts to gun control.
#WISen: In the debate over the past weekend, Tammy Baldwin was left grasping at straws as she tried to cover up how she turned her back on veterans at the Tomah VA and supported far-left policies that put Wisconsin families at risk. Fox News reported Baldwin and Bernie Sanders promoted a 9/11 conspiracy theorist at their recent rally, noting thatSolo Littlejohn, who appeared on stage shortly before Baldwin and Sanders, expressed extreme anti-police rhetoric on social media, made explicit comments about rape, “shooting up your kids” and compared President Trump to Hitler. The President hit the campaign trail in Wisconsin this week, and put Baldwin on blast saying she “wants a socialist takeover of health care. She wants to restore job-killing regulations that are literally killing our country,”
#OHSen: In the second debate, Sherrod Brown showed that on critical issues Ohio voters care most about he has more in common with Democrats in Washington than folks back home. In a clear contrast, Jim Renacci demonstrated that he is focused on getting results for Ohio and working with President Trump to continue the policies that have created a booming economy.
#PASen: Bob Casey has failed to get results for Pennsylvanians throughout his career in Washington, and his record of failure was on full display in the first debate as he tried to explain it away. As the debate went on, it was clear Lou Barletta was the candidate with the ideas and the experience to get the job done for Pennsylvania.
NEWS AND NOTES:
Say Anything Blog: Poll: Cramer Leads Heitkamp by 16 Points
A few weeks ago two independent polls commissioned by media outlets showed Congressman Kevin Cramer with double-digit leads over Democratic Senate incumbent Heidi Heitkamp. One poll from Gray Television showed Cramer with a 10 point lead. A Fox News poll showed Cramer with a 12 point lead. Since then Heitkamp cast a controversial vote against the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and saw her campaign embroiled in scandal over the outing of sexual assault survivors. Now a new poll from Gray Television shows Cramer with 16 point lead over Heitkamp. READ
The Hill: Cook moves Menendez race in New Jersey to tossup
The Cook Political Report has shifted Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) reelection race to a toss-up in deep-blue New Jersey, a depressing development for Democrats who are having to protect a seat in a deep-blue state when they need to focus on protecting members in states where President Trump is more popular. Menendez is facing a tough challenge from Republican Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical company CEO, in what’s become a closer-than-expected race in a state that Trump lost by 14 points in 2016. New Jersey hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972. Jennifer Duffy, a Senate analyst for Cook, wrote on Friday that the race has become solely about Menendez’s ethic problems and voters’ lack of enthusiasm. Menendez, who has denied any wrongdoing, has weathered attacks over his 2015 indictment of bribery and fraud charges. READ
Fox News: Claire McCaskill’s husband invested in pro-veteran properties that tried to evict homeless vets over $233 owed rent
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill has championed herself as a supporter of veterans in the run-up to the Midterms, but her husband’s past is coming back to haunt her again. Joseph Shepard’s Sugar Creek Capital, a company he founded, was listed in 2013 as an “Equity Investor (State)” and was the state’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) syndicator for the Salvation Army St. Louis Garrison Residence in Missouri. The development, designed specifically for homeless veterans and dubbed a “permanent solution” to the problem, received $815,000 in federal LIHTCs and $250,000 in state LIHTCs. But the residence attempted to evict at least five former homeless veterans between 2015 and 2016 for owing rent, according to documents obtained by Fox News. In April 2016, the Salvation Army St. Louis Garrison Residence filed an eviction lawsuit against Raymond Black for failing to pay $233.25 in rent. READ
Washington Examiner: New West Virginia poll points to GOP upset over red state Democratic senator
A new poll shows Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey inching ahead of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in West Virginia’s pivotal Senate race. The poll, commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, shows Morrisey, the state attorney general, leading Manchin 44 percent to 42 percent. Libertarian Rusty Hollen takes 3 percent, and 12 percent are undecided. Take Hollen out of the equation, and Morrisey leads Manchin 47 percent to 45 percent, with 8 percent undecided. READ
Fox News: Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Bernie Sanders shared stage with 9/11 conspiracy theorist
But Littlejohn’s social media reviewed by Fox News reveal that he shared a conspiracy theory that the September 11, 2001 terror attacks were staged, suggesting that the buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition. The Myspace post from 2009 also includes a link to InfoWars. He also listed his “influences” on Myspace, including Cuban revolutionary leader Ernesto Che Guevara, Black Panthers’ co-founder Huey P. Newton, and “all real revolutionaries.” READ
NBC News: Republicans outpacing Democrats in early voting in key states, NBC News finds
Republican-affiliated voters have outpaced Democratic-affiliated voters in early voting in seven closely watched states, according to data provided by TargetSmart and independently analyzed by the NBC News Data Analytics Lab. GOP-affiliated voters have surpassed Democratic-affiliated ones in early voting in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, Tennessee and Texas, the data showed. READ
Washington Examiner: Two late polls show Joe Donnelly really is in trouble now
An Indy Politics poll has Donnelly losing to Republican challenger Mike Braun, 47 to 43 percent. Conducted by Mason Strategies, the poll is the product of 600 interviews with likely voters and was conducted from Oct. 15-21. It has a margin of error of 3.9 percent. Despite the four-point lead, and because of that margin of error, Stephen Spiker of Mason Strategies says the race is neck and neck. READ
Tennessean: As governor, Phil Bredesen pushed for solar, then helped launch solar company
In its earliest days, Silicon Ranch raised questions about conflicts of interest for Bredesen and Silicon Ranch co-founders Reagan Farr and Matt Kisber, who were both state commissioners at the time. Both the timing of the company’s creation and the introduction of tax incentives directed at the solar industry spurred criticism of the governor during his last months in office. READ
Las Vegas Review-Journal: EDITORIAL: Return Dean Heller to the US Senate
When in comes to experience, the two resumes aren’t remotely similar. Sen. Heller, a former financial analyst, has a long history of serving the Silver State. He was elected to the state Assembly for two terms before winning three straight elections to serve as secretary of state. He then ascended to the U.S. House for three terms before winning election to the Senate in 2012. Meanwhile, Rep. Rosen had barely unpacked her bags in Washington, D.C., after earning a House seat in 2016 before she announced she would seek a promotion to the upper chamber at the behest of the retired Harry Reid. READ
Politico: Dem Senate hopes shift from winning majority to limiting losses
With the majority looking improbable, party strategists have started to cast their eyes further ahead, looking at the 2018 Senate battlefield as a margin game. Just how big the Republican majority will be — and just how many red-state Democrats can win reelection in two weeks — could decide whether the GOP will cement Senate control for years or whether Democrats have the opportunity to wrest back the majority in 2020, when a more favorable array of states have Senate elections. READ
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