WASHINGTON — Friday is a good day to be in Washington. Reports of new Ukrainian shelling raise fears about invasion. … New York judge orders Donald Trump’s and his children to appear under oath during civil probe. To avoid government shutdown, Congress sent spending bill on to Biden’s desk. … House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy endorses challenger for Rep. Liz Cheney. … and Jessica Cisneros surpasses Henry Cuellar in the primary race to enter the home stretch of Texas’ 28th Congressional District.
First, we want to tell you that the top Democratic primary candidates were keeping their fires lit so far in regard to attacks and negative ads.
We were able to access a NBC10 Philadelphia interview Lauren Mayk conducted for Conor Lamb, the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Candidate. Lamb discusses his comparison with John Fetterman, the Democratic frontrunner.
We’ll air the interview on Sunday. But, here’s a peek at what Mayk sent to us.
Q. Why should Pennsylvania’s next senator be you?
Lamb “I believe I have the experience to do the job of serving in Washington. I’ve voted on most of the important bills we need to send our next senator. … I have also proven that I can win in difficult areas.”
Q. Are you able to represent Philadelphia’s progressive voters
Lamb “I ask people every day how they define progressive. It should be defined by the results and not the rhetoric or speeches that you give. What results do you get? We got one of our most innovative pieces of legislation in our lifetime by electing Joe Biden, Philadelphia’s president, and sending people like me back into Congress to keep us in the majority. It was the American Rescue Plan.
Q. Are you a progressive?
Lamb: “Absolutely, yeah. “I’m someone who does this job because it allows me to make progress.”
Q What makes you stand out from John Fetterman
Lamb “I believe based on our records. It’s not about the achievements but about getting things done. All the bills that I have voted for and passed are available to me. … I have won three elections in a difficult spotlight. His experience is very different. He doesn’t possess those votes and he hasn’t achieved any achievements as a legislator. He has never been beaten by a Republican in a major race.”
Fetterman versus Lamb, along with Malcolm Kenyatta, is undoubtedly the top Democratic primary. This contest is crucial for Democrats’ ability to retain their Senate majority.
And this establishment/progressive/results/ideology debate comes as Democratic strategists and candidates assess whether they went too far to the left during the Trump years, as the Washington Post writes.
Data Download: The number for the day is… $707,000
According to the most recent round of FEC reports Jessica Cisneros, Democratic challenger, raised $1,04,5 million between January 1 and February 9, which is a huge advantage over her primary opponent, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.
Cuellar raised only $147,000.
Cuellar, however, had a spending advantage over Cisneros at that time. He dug into his cash reserves and spent $1.2 million. By February 9, he had nearly $1.3million in cash. Cisneros had $410,000 and spent $791,000. Both candidates spent the majority of their campaign cash on advertising. Cuellar spent $794,000 on media purchases and ads, while Cisneros spent $583,000 on TV spots.
You need to be familiar with the following numbers:
21 The number days before the new funding deadline for government after senators approved a billlast evening averting government shutdown and extending it to March 11.
67 Percent: The two-week average number of Covid cases has fallen by Thursday evening. This trend has prompted cities all over America to relax their vaccination requirements.
57 Percent: The proportion of voters who responded to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s internal polling that said Democrats had “taken things too far with their pandemic response”, per SFGATE.
11.6 Million: This potential Hispanic voter for this year’s midterm election is based on an estimate by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.
Roundup of the midterm
Yesterday, Kevin McCarthy , House Minority Leader, endorsed Harriet Hageman in her primary race against Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo).
Elise Stefanik (House GOP Conference Chairwoman) replaced Cheney as leader and today announced that she will back Hageman.
Yesterday, former President Donald Trump issued a statement supporting a Wyoming bill which would end the practice of allowing voters to choose their party affiliation during primary day.
The GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund is aligned to McCarthy and is spending ahead the March 1 Texas primary elections. According to AdImpact, CLF spent $528,000 on airwaves in support of Morgan Luttrell’s bid for the solidly Republican 8th District. The group also launched in the 15th district to knock Monica de la Cruz’s primary rival. Yesterday, De la Cruz was also honored with Trump’s endorsement.
After learning that Mehmet Oz was absent, Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate, pulled out of Monday’s GOP Primary Debate. The decision was first reported by Politico . In the Keystone State, Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty supported McCormick.
The Ohio Democratic Party supported Rep. Tim Ryan in spite of Ryan’s primary challenger, Morgan Harper.
Nicholas Kristof , a former columnist for the New York Times, won’t be on Oregon’s ballot after the Supreme Court of Oregon refused to overturn his decision that he did not meet residency requirements.
Former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell (D-Fla.) announced yesterday that her intention to not run for Congress in this year’s election.
According to AdImpact, a new ad accusing Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wiss.) of corruption and questioning him integrity is airing on Wisconsin’s radio waves. Opportunity Wisconsin has funded the third such ad to attack Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wiss. The ad was launched last month after he announced his bid for reelection.
The ad begins with a narrator saying that Johnson should have used his power in Wisconsin. Instead, Ron Johnson served him.” The ad accuses Johnson of advocating for a tax loophole to the 2017 tax law which benefited his family and wealthy donors. (Johnson justified his effortsin order to simplify the tax code in order to help businesses remain competitive.
“Ron Johnson has more than doubled his wealth since he took office.” The narrator at the end of this ad says, “Look up the facts and tell Ron Johnson not to pass tax laws that benefit him.”
Opportunity Wisconsin continues to use this refrain in its ads against Johnson. A January ad shows a Navy retiree repeating that message.
ICYMI: What other happenings around the world
Texas voters sent wrongly thousands upon ballot requests to the secretary-general’s office, instead of to local election offices under the direction of the Lt. Governor. The Texas Tribune reports on Dan Patrick’s campaign.
The Special Council John Durham that Trump created to investigate Russia’s investigation, disassociated himself from the right-wing media outcry about a court filing from his investigation, according to the New York Times.
Donald Trump will host a fundraiser at Mar-A-Lago in Florida next month in support of former Senator David Perdue’s campaign to unseat Brian Kemp, Georgia’s governor.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) is under scrutiny for being too close to union leaders who have been indicted on or convicted of corruption charges.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) pitches for reform of the 1887 Electoral Count Act. This is in a New York Times op ed.