The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
● AL-Sen: On Thursday, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill publicly expressed interest in seeking the GOP nod to challenge Democratic Sen. Doug Jones and said he was looking to decide around Memorial Day. Merrill has served as Alabama's chief elections officer since 2015, and he's been a strong proponent of its strict voter ID laws while minimizing their consequences.
Campaign Action
In 2015, Merrill defended then-Gov. Robert Bentley's decision to close 31 driver's license offices, many located in predominantly black counties, by insisting that the move wouldn't make it harder to black citizens to register to vote. Bentley and his allies argued this was merely a cost-saving move and had no other intent. However, an investigation from the U.S. Department of Transportation concluded that this very much caused "a disparate and adverse impact on the basis of race." Those cost savings also reportedly amounted to no more than $300,000, money that was almost certainly lost in the legal battles over the policy.
Unfortunately, Merrill has not gotten any better over the years. In 2016, he blasted the idea of automatic voter registration declaring, "If you're too sorry or lazy to get up off of your rear and to go register to vote, or to register electronically, and then to go vote, then you don't deserve that privilege."
Merrill even invoked the civil rights movement as his justification. After describing how people fought and died "because of their desire to ensure that everybody that wanted to had the right to register to vote and participate in the process," Merrill insisted "I'm not going to cheapen the work that they did." He went on to say, "I'm not going to embarrass them by allowing somebody that's too sorry to get up off of their rear end to go register to vote―or now, because of what we've done, turn the computer on and register to vote―because they think they deserve the right because they've turned 18."
That same year, when documentary maker Brian Jenkins tweeted that his work in Alabama had taught him that the state's "registration process is complex and complicated," Merrill responded by telling Jenkins "as a resident of CA you're not registered to vote in AL & if UR we will be happy to prosecute." Jenkins never had claimed to be registered to vote in Alabama.
Oh, that's not all. In 2017, the GOP-dominated state government passed a law easing the Yellowhammer State's strict felony disenfranchisement regime, but Merrill confirmed that he would do as little as possible to inform the newly enfranchised that they could now register to vote. The secretary explained that when it came to people with felony convictions, "You're assuming they even want to vote," and "I don't know if they do and you don't either."
Merrill also isn't exactly open to criticism about his job performance. Merrill has a well-known habit of blocking people on Twitter, and in one Facebook exchange with a member of the state Democratic Party, he wrote, "Anybody that says voting is difficult in Alabama is either ignorant, ill-informed, or a fool." His comments came months after the New York Times published an article titled, "Seven Ways Alabama Has Made It Harder to Vote." Merrill has defended his approach by insisting to AL.com, "Most of these people are trolls. They're not interested in the facts," and that he refused to let them use "my platform to promote their issue."
It may also not surprise you to learn that Merrill remained an ardent defender of Republican Roy Moore during the 2017 special after multiple women accused Moore of preying on them when they were teenagers. Right after the Washington Post broke the news, Merrill responded by suggesting that he thought it was suspicious that these allegations only surfaced shortly before Election Day, and specifically wondered why a D.C. outlet—and not an Alabama publication—broke the story. A month later, after even more women came forward, Merrill remained in Moore's camp. Moore narrowly lost to Jones, and he's considering another bid this year.
Senate
● GA-Sen: ABC, citing "two sources familiar with" Democrat Stacey Abrams' plans, reports that she'll announce Monday or Tuesday whether or not she'll run for the Senate.
● KY-Sen: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his allies have reportedly been trying to recruit 2018 House candidate Amy McGrath for a bid against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and she publicly expressed interest for the first time on Thursday. McGrath, a retired Marine combat pilot, told a veterans' event, "I'm going to take a look at everything and make a judgment on where I can best serve the country." Matt Jones, the host of the popular Kentucky Sports Radio, has also been considering seeking the Democratic nod, and he doesn't sound inclined to defer to McGrath if she runs.
Last year, McGrath challenged GOP Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky's 6th District, a seat in the Lexington area that had backed Donald Trump 55-39. Thanks in part to viral ads focused on her service, McGrath raised a massive $8.5 million, and outside groups on both sides ended up spending heavily for a seat that hadn't been seriously contested during the prior two election cycles. However, Barr and his allies did everything they could to portray her as too progressive for this conservative area, and he defeated McGrath in a close 51-48 contest.
If McGrath challenges McConnell, she'll give Team Blue a candidate who will have access to plenty of money. McConnell has also long been unpopular at home, and Morning Consult gave him an underwater 36-50 approval rating in the first quarter of 2019. However, McConnell will also have no trouble fundraising, and the majority leader has proven to be a very aggressive campaigner in the past. Perhaps most importantly, McConnell will also be sharing a ballot with Trump, who carried Kentucky 63-33 in 2016 and will likely win the Bluegrass State again with ease next year.
Gubernatorial
● KY-Gov: Spectrum News' Michon Lindstrom takes a look at the campaign spending ahead of the May 21 primaries, and former state Auditor Adam Edelen has deployed considerably more than anyone else on either side.
Edelen, a Democrat, has spent $1 million so far on TV, radio, and digital ads, while his allied super PAC, KY Better Future, has dropped an additional $300,000. Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear has expended $500,000, while state House Democratic Leader Rocky Adkins has spent $225,000.
On the GOP side, Lindstrom writes that state Rep. Robert Goforth has spent $170,000 on TV ads against Gov. Matt Bevin. Goforth is also up with another spot, which his campaign says is their "fourth ad hit the airwaves today across Kentucky!" The commercial begins with a narrator declaring, "Matt Bevin says he's pro-life. But last year, he contributed to a Maine congressional candidate endorsed by Planned Parenthood!"
That's a reference to Bevin's decision to donate $1,000 to independent state Rep. Marty Grohman, who took 9% of the vote last year against Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree in Maine's safely blue 1st Congressional District. Bevin and Grohman were friends when they attended boarding school together, and the two later had a business relationship: Bevin's contribution was also his first donation to an individual candidate anywhere in the nation since he was elected governor in 2015. Grohman, who left the Democratic Party a year before his failed congressional bid, twice earned a 100% rating from the Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund when he was in the legislature.
The rest of the Goforth ad charges that Bevin falsely claims to be a fiscal conservative when in reality he "hired his old Army buddy and increased his salary to $375,000." The narrator also argues that Bevin "doesn't tell you his hedge funds have profited $400 million in management fees on the backs of taxpayers and pension holders."
This is one of those unremarkable commercials that, rather than focusing on one theme, just throws a ton of disparate messages at the audience and hopes that one of them sticks. Indeed, if anything, the crack on Bevin's "old Army buddy" may just unnecessarily remind the viewer that Bevin is a veteran. The spot doesn't mention Goforth at all except to say, "Vote Robert Goforth for governor" at the very end.
Bevin is also airing ads, but it's not clear how much he's spending. However, Lindstrom notes that the governor is buying ad time during the Kentucky Derby on May 4 that is costing him $70,000. Medium Buying also reports that the governor, who has the White House's support, is benefiting from a $94,000 radio buy from the RGA-affiliated group Putting Kentucky First. That's not much, but the RGA's decision to get involved on Bevin's behalf before the primary could be a sign that they think he could use some aid in the primary.
House
● CA-48: In one of the most unusual campaign announcements we've ever seen, Orange County Supervisor Michelle Park Steel kicked off a bid against freshman Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda on Thursday with a press conference that, for more than a day, went unreported outside of Korean-language media (click here for a Google Translate version). As of Friday afternoon, Steel hadn't even posted anything to her Twitter account or Facebook page, though the Orange County Register did finally put up a piece by the end of the day.
Steel's event also did not take place in the district she's seeking to represent. Rather, she announced her candidacy at the Korean American Chamber of Commerce near downtown Los Angeles—about 30 miles from the nearest corner of the 48th Congressional District, which is located well to the south in Orange County. As Register reporter Jeong Park explained, though, Steel likely chose this site to take advantage of the proximity of Korean media. (It was Park, by the way, who first unearthed this story.)
Her atypical entry aside, Steel is now the first Republican elected official to challenge Rouda. She may not be a great fit for this race, however. Like many other parts of Southern California, the 48th reacted with great hostility to Donald Trump: Though it voted for Mitt Romney by a 55-43 margin in 2012, just four years later, voters there backed Hillary Clinton 48-46.
Steel, though, is a vocal Trump backer: Earlier this year, she was appointed to Trump's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, two years after most of the panel quit in protest over Trump's immigration policies. Steel, by contrast, supports Trump's virulent attacks on sanctuary cities, though she's somehow convinced herself in an op-ed that "deporting Vietnamese refugees who have committed crimes is not in the same category." Why Latino immigrants should be treated differently from Vietnamese is a mystery, except inasmuch as the latter group has been a reliably Republican voting bloc and makes up 10% of the 48th District's population.
● GA-06: Noah Pransky of Florida Politics reported on Friday that former GOP Rep. Tom Price, who gave up this seat to (briefly) become Trump's secretary of Health and Human Services, spent $19,500 from his old campaign account in late January for polling, but there’s little reason to think he’s currently eyeing a comeback here. Price endorsed former Rep. Karen Handel in late March, two months after the survey was conducted. On Friday, the National Journal's Kyle Trygstad also wrote, "A GOP consultant with knowledge tells me Price is NOT running.”
● MA-06: While women's health advocate Jamie Zahlaway Belsito has already filed with the FEC and sent out an email to friends and acquaintances earlier this month saying she was seeking the Democratic nod, she isn't committing to run yet. Belsito told the Salem News she was still "exploring" a bid, and has no timeline for deciding. This seat, which includes several communities north of Boston, is held by White House candidate Seth Moulton, who says he'll run here again next year if he fails to win the Democratic presidential nod.
● MN-08: On Thursday, 2018 Democratic nominee Joe Radinovich resigned his post at the Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation in the midst of questions about the circumstances of his hiring. Back in March, the department hired Radinovich for a $100,000-a-year managerial post after the job was listed as open for just 24 hours. The department had also produced an organizational chart five days before Radinovich was hired that showed him at this post.
Radinovich said at the start of this month, before any of this became public, that he would decide over the summer whether to seek a rematch with freshman GOP Rep. Pete Stauber, who beat him 51-45 last year. It's not clear if Radinovich still has any interest in another congressional bid, but this story probably won't boost his stock with state and national Democrats.
● NC-03: Days ahead of the April 30 special election primary, the state auditor's office released a report that criticized how Democrat Allen Thomas ran the North Carolina Global TransPark when he was its executive director.
The report doesn't mention Thomas by name, but it writes, "The Executive Director and Controller (management) did not implement a proper system of internal control to ensure the financial statements were accurate and complete," which increased the risk of fraud. Thomas, a former mayor of Greenville, defended his tenure, saying that he knew he was taking over a "dysfunctional entity" in 2017, and added, "This was a challenged asset that needed change and I appreciate the audit findings which support the changes we made." Thomas is one of six Democrats competing here.
● OK-05: On Thursday, businesswoman Terry Neese announced that she would seek the GOP nod to take on freshman Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn. Neese joins state Sen. Stephanie Bice in the primary for this 53-40 Trump seat in the Oklahoma City area.
Neese, who founded a local staffing agency, is a former president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, and News9 writes that she's also been "nominated to multiple national councils under presidents of both parties." Neese also unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor twice in the 1990s. In 1990, she lost the general election by a wide 61-39 margin; four years later, she lost the GOP primary runoff 53-47 to Mary Fallin, who eventually went on to become governor.
