Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to November’s election.
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Anxious Dems eye increasingly difficult landscape
Democrats always knew that the 2022 midterms would be an uphill climb. But many say they didn’t know they would be facing the dire straits they are today — and frustration with the Biden administration is coming to the forefront.
With some of his biggest legislative priorities stymied, Biden is dealing with soaring inflation, gas prices, and a continuous slew of mass shootings. On top of that, Democrats and the abortion rights movement were dealt a major blow when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade late last month.
Biden’s hands are largely tied with most of these issues and he has attempted to take some action to alleviate the problems. The president signed a bipartisan bill aiming to curb gun violence and took some unilateral action to decrease gas prices. And to the delight of many Democrats this week, he called on the Senate to scrap the filibuster if needed to codify Roe v. Wade.
However, as The Hill’s Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant report, Democrats, who say they voted Biden into office to enact major change, are unhappy with the administration has handled hot-button issues.
“It’s infuriating,” said one top Democratic strategist told Parnes and Chalfant. “Our house is on fire and it seems like they’re doing nothing to put the fire out. They’re just watching it with the rest of us.”
Additionally, some Democrats and voters are growing angry with the president’s and party’s calls to storm the polls following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The Hill’s Hanna Trudo and Julia Manchester report that while progressives approved of Biden’s calls to scrap the filibuster to codify Roe, they remain frustrated with the “half-assed” and belated step.
“It’s just astounding that it took them this long and then when he finally gets to it, when he finally comes around on it, it’s a weak announcement at the end of a news week,” said another Democratic strategist.
Americans in general also seem fed up with the administration at this point. A Monmouth University poll released Tuesday found 88 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, with just 10 percent saying it’s on the right track. Meanwhile, a NewsNation/DDHQ poll released last month found that only 42 percent of U.S. voters approve of the job Biden is doing.
And all of this is making down-ballot Democrats anxious.
Biden was in Cleveland on Wednesday, touting his economic agenda and working to convince voters that he was trying to help the middle class. And while he was surrounded by the Buckeye State’s prominent Democrats, Democratic Senate nominee Tim Ryan and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley were nowhere to be found.
Ryan and Whaley’s campaigns both said their absences were the result of unavoidable scheduling conflicts, but that didn’t stop speculation that the two Democrats running in the red leaning state during a tough year for their party were distancing themselves from Biden.
The Trump Proxy Wars Continue
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) waded into the state’s gubernatorial race on Thursday, backing Karrin Taylor Robson, a developer, and setting up another proxy war against former President Trump, who’s backed former local news anchor Kari Lake.
Noting her work for former President Reagan, Ducey called her a Republican who’s “the real deal: pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-wall” and claimed “conservatives can trust Karrin.”
As Max Greenwood writes, it came after Trump’s latest statement issued from this PAC that reaffirmed his support for Lake while criticizing Ducey, who drew his ire over refusing to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump in May criticized Ducey, as well as Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R ), as “RINOs” or “Republicans in name only,” over their involvement in campaigning for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), another Republican official who ultimately rejected efforts to overturn the last election’s results.
Kemp later beat back a challenge from Trump-endorsed challenger former Sen. David Perdue (R) in the Georgia GOP gubernatorial primary.
What to watch for: Whether Ducey weighs in on Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bower’s (R) state Senate race following his testimony before the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot and after Trump made his own endorsement.
Trump said last month that he was endorsing former Arizona state Sen. David Farnsworth (R) who is challenging Bowers in the state’s 10th legislative district.
Bowers first drew Trump’s ire after making it difficult to pass legislation that would have allowed primary or general election results to be rejected by the state legislature. He also disputed the former president’s characterization of a call Bowers had with Trump, telling the House select committee last month “Anywhere, anyone, anytime has said that I said that the election was rigged, that would not be true.”
TRUMP HEADS BACK TO THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
The former president is scheduled to make stops in Nevada and Alaska this week.
On Friday, he will appear in Las Vegas with Nevada gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo and Senate candidate Adam Laxalt.
On Saturday, he’ll head to Anchorage, Alaska, where he’ll hold a rally for congressional candidate and former Gov. Sarah Palin, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R). Murkowski is the only Republican who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial who is running for reelection this year.
AD WATCH
North Carolina Senate hopeful Cheri Beasley (D) is telling voters “it’s time for something different” because “neither political party is getting it right” in a new 30-second ad that was first shared with The Hill.
“It’s time for something different — for someone who calls it like they see it,” Beasley, who’s taking on Rep. Ted Budd (R) in November, says in a spot that airs across the state today.
“That’s what I did as a judge when I held dangerous offenders accountable. And in the Senate, I’ll hold Washington accountable too, because the special interests have too much power and neither political party is getting it right.”
The North Carolina Senate seat, which is open due to Sen. Richard Burr’s (R) retirement, is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate seats for November. Trump won the state in 2020 by just over a percentage point and Cook Political Reports rates it as “lean Republican.”
EARLY QUARTER 2 NUMBERS
Campaigns are starting to release their second-quarter fundraising numbers, and we’re already seeing some eye-popping hauls.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn announced that he has raised a whopping $9 million for Republican Senate candidates, while incumbent New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan raked in over $5 million during the period.
In the House, incumbent Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) said she raised $1.5 million in the second quarter, while incumbent Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (N.J.) wrapped up the second quarter with over $1.28 million.
Additionally, Georgia’s incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) campaign told The Hill this week that he raised $3.8 million between May 1 to June 30. Axios reported this week that Georgians First Leadership Committee, a Kemp-aligned PAC, raised an additional $3 million during the same period.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.