Here’s a news roundup from some House and Senate races I’m keeping an eye on. The video at the second-to-last link will let you see Kelly Ayotte pull a face like somebody just farted.
Grassley Says No Easy Answer To Healing Racial Rift In America - You will be unsurprised to learn that the white guy in his eighties doesn't have a lot of novel thoughts on race in America. What is encouraging about this is how muted it is. Twenty years ago Grassley would've been leading the choir to condemn anyone refusing to stand for the national anthem.
OH-14: Phone Bank for Democratic Candidate Michael Wager in Solon on September 7th - Retaking the House remains a very long shot, but for it to happen we'll need OH-14. Thanks to John Kasich (the reasonable one!) and friends, this is literally the only Ohio House district that can even kinda be considered competitive.
Where you can see Dold and Schneider discuss issues before the election - Speaking of must-take districts, IL-10 has gone back and forth between these two same guys since 2010. They're going to have eight(8) combined appearances for debates and town halls, starting on September 25th. If this is your district, make some plans.
Labor Day a time to celebrate, look ahead, union members say | The Gazette - Senate candidate Patty Judge and House candidate Monica Vernon were stumping for labor votes yesterday in Iowa. And this is your early frontrunner for understatement of the week (emphasis added):
Vernon, Judge and several state and local Democratic candidates joined the labor council’s celebration. The Democratic Party-union link is a standard of modern American politics, but Mike Olson wished there was bipartisan interest in union members’ votes.
“The other side doesn’t compete for our votes,” Olson, the registrar for IBEW 405, said about the Republican Party. “I’d like to see more competition for our votes.”
No, Mike, they don't.
Evan Bayh visits Fort Wayne during Labor Day Picnic | WANE - Bayh is smooth:
Bayh said he thinks too many jobs are going overseas in the wrong fashion.
“We lose about 200 billion dollars a year on intellectual property theft. Where American businesses, Hoosier companies have invested, they’ve innovated, they’ve created new goods and services and they’re just ripped off,” he said.
When talking about globalization in general, Bayh said some may be inevitable but America can’t keep up.
“I don’t think we can turn our backs on the rest of the world. We’ve got a lot of Indiana businesses that sell products abroad, we sell agriculture commodities abroad, that’s all good but it’s got to be a fair deal for everybody,” he said.
He hits points for every audience: big business likes to hear about "intellectual property theft" while regular Hoosiers get "agriculture commodities".
What's on tap: Who says an old fashioned has to be for old men? · The Badger Herald - Another reason to love Russ Feingold, he's wet:
Though brandy and the old fashioned’s courtship is extremely prevalent in Wisconsin, the combination perplexes many outsiders, including a reporter who witnessed former State Sen. Russ Feingold throw them back with fervor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“I mean, you go to the supper clubs all over the state and people are drinking brandy, and particularly these brandy old fashioneds,” Feingold said. “We’re a brandy state, amongst other things. Beer, bratwurst, cheese.”
Bill to shield retired miners divides coal-state Republicans | The Olympian - Here's another way Portman's hard to nail down in Ohio:
Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois — both in tough re-elections in two months — back the legislation, but face resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell, a staunch defender of his home state's coal industry, blocked the pension measure last year and says he's not going to fast-track a plan that some Republicans warn amounts to a bailout.
[...]
Portman calls the bill a matter of fairness.
"These are people who not just power our country but power their communities," said Portman, who has been endorsed by the mine workers union as he faces a challenge from former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland.
I doubt Portman will be fighting McConnell tooth an nail for retired miners, but he looks like he is.
Heroin And One Failing Senate Campaign May Keep Mitch McConnell In Power - And while there are a lot of criticisms to be made of Strickland, it's useful to remember that the playing field isn't exactly level:
Democratic operatives who were willing to talk about the campaign on background said it came down to a few simple reasons, with the biggest being that Strickland has simply failed to raise the money needed to keep up in a state that has a dozen media markets. According to federal election reports tallied by the Center for Responsive Politics, as of June, Portman had out-raised Strickland $21 million to $7 million.
GOP turns McGinty victory into attack - And speaking of money in politics:
"Special deals, special interests. Katie McGinty: getting ahead at our expense," says the latest TV ad from Freedom Partners, a Super PAC aligned with the conservative Koch brothers. The group has bought $7 million worth of airtime to oppose the Democrat.
None of these missives, however, points to anything illegal or a violation of ethics law, and they rely on a selective set of facts, many of which distort or exaggerate her record.
As a reminder, the blandly named "Freedom Partners" is Koch money. Seven million dollars is a rounding error to them.
Senator Ayotte talks about her campaign and views on Donald Trump | Politics - WMUR Home - Skip to the 1:00 minute mark to watch Ayotte's tight grimace when Trump comes up. She beats it back with email server crap, but her exasperation is priceless.
Sanders Works on Labor Day - Sanders stumped for Clinton and Hassan, nothing really new there, I just enjoy the headline.