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
● NY-11: Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, the establishment favorite in the race to take on freshman Democratic Rep. Max Rose, has revealed herself to be both startlingly ignorant of major issues and bizarrely sympathetic to anti-vaxxers … but we repeat ourselves.
Campaign Action
For a new piece (with some very enjoyable quotes!) framing the battle over New York's 11th District as a "bellwether" of GOP hopes for taking back the House, BuzzFeed's Alexis Levinson also asked Rose, Malliotakis, and former Rep. Mike Grimm about their views on mandatory vaccination—a topic of paramount local importance given the record-smashing measles outbreak that's centered in Brooklyn.
Rose and even Grimm were fully in support of mandatory immunization, but Malliotakis' comments were something else. After first complaining to Levinson that her query was "like, a random question"—note that the 11th District includes a section of Brooklyn—Malliotakis stammered, "I haven't really thought about—I mean, I'm more for vaccinations than not."
More for vaccinations than not! We're in the middle of a major health crisis, with schools getting closed and new cases being reported daily, and yet a public official is giving aid and comfort to those who oppose the only way to prevent illness and death. What's more, Borough Park, which is one of two main sites where the epidemic has raged, is literally next door to Bay Ridge, which is not only part of the 11th District but also represented by Malliotakis herself in the Assembly. She might want to start paying a little more attention to her own backyard—and come down on the side of saving lives.
Senate
● AL-Sen: On Monday, state Rep. John Rogers told Roy Johnson of AL.com that he was considering challenging Sen. Doug Jones in the Democratic primary, adding that he would decide in "two or three weeks." Rogers continued, "I've got to raise a million dollars. If I raise a million, I'll run," which seems like a very difficult goal to hit. Rogers, who is 78, has represented a Birmingham-based seat since 1982, and he and Jones were longtime friends. However, the two recently had a public falling out.
Last week, the Alabama House passed a bill that would make it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion; the state Senate is planning to take it up this week. Rogers spoke out against the House legislation and declared, "Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or kill them later," telling the GOP majority, "You bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, you send them to the electric chair. So, you kill them now or you kill them later."
Rogers' comments quickly drew national attention, with Donald Trump Jr. wasting no time to bash him. Rogers responded by saying that Trump was "evidently retarded" and his mother "should have aborted him." Jones was not amused, and he tweeted in response, "The rhetoric of Rep. John Rogers gets more appalling each time he speaks. He does not speak for the people of Alabama and is in fact offending all Alabamians with his crude and reprehensible comments." The state House Democratic caucus has also condemned Rogers.
Rogers, who later apologized for using the word "retarded," was infuriated by this reproach from Jones. Rogers said that Jones twice called him and claimed the second conversation ended with the senator yelling at him. Jones responded by saying that he did indeed contact Rogers twice to express his dismay with him but offered a different version of events, saying the state representative "did most of the talking. I couldn't hardly get in a word."
● GA-Sen: Investigative filmmaker Jon Ossoff, who was the Democratic nominee in the 2017 special election for Georgia's 6th District, told a group of state Democrats on Sunday that he was considering taking on GOP Sen. David Perdue. Ossoff raised a massive $30 million for his House bid in an ancestrally red district, and while he lost to Republican Karen Handel, his campaign helped lay the groundwork for Lucy McBath's upset victory the following year.
● KS-Sen: GOP Rep. Roger Marshall has been mulling a Senate bid for months, but it remains anyone's guess when he'll make up his mind whether or not to seek this open seat. Marshall told the National Journal last week that he was in "no hurry at all" to make his move, though he added that he was putting "the very serious, final touches" on his decision.
For now, though, the congressman is certainly raising money as though he plans to seek a promotion. Marshall, who represents a safely red seat in western Kansas, brought in $706,000 during the first three months of 2019, and he ended March with $1.27 million in the bank. By contrast, state Treasurer Jake LaTurner, who entered the race in early January and still has the GOP primary to himself, raised $305,000 and had $282,000 in the bank.
● ME-Sen: Democrat James Howaniec, whom the Sun Journal describes as a "highly visible defense attorney," told the paper this week that he was considering challenging GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Howaniec added that his decision probably wouldn't come until the fall because of his current legal work, including his role representing Maine resident Steven Downs in a high-profile murder trial in Alaska.
Howaniec won office as mayor of Lewiston all the way back in 1989, and the paper writes that he led the city through a difficult recession and backed gay rights at a time when it was politically unpopular to do so. Howaniec was last on the ballot in 1994 when he ran for the open 2nd Congressional District and took fourth place in the primary with 14% of the vote (just ahead of Howaniec was now-Gov. Janet Mills, who took 18%). However, Howaniec got back into politics in 2017 when he chaired a successful campaign to stop a merger between the cities of Lewiston and Auburn.
A number of Democrats have shown an interest in taking on Collins, but no major candidates have jumped in yet. The newest name to add to the list of potential candidates, also courtesy of the Sun Journal, is Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, but there's no word about his interest.
● WY-Sen: There is no shortage of Wyoming Republicans who could end up running to succeed retiring Sen. Mike Enzi, several of whom we listed in our last Digest. Over at Roll Call, Nathan Gonzales plays Great Mentioner and provides several more possibilities:
- 2016 House candidate Leland Christensen
- 2018 gubernatorial candidate Foster Friess
- 2018 gubernatorial candidate Harriet Hageman
- former Rep. Cynthia Lummis
- former Gov. Matt Mead
- state Treasurer Curt Meier
- 2016 House candidate Tim Stubson
Gonzales also notes that if Rep. Liz Cheney runs for the Senate, some of these people might end up running to succeed her in the state's only House seat. There is no word, however, as to whether anyone in this group is in fact interested in running for federal office at either level.
The last time we had a competitive Senate GOP primary in Wyoming was when Enzi first won this seat back in 1996. Enzi, who was a state senator from the Gillette area, narrowly beat physician John Barrasso 32-30 that year; Barrasso was appointed to the state's other Senate seat in 2007, and the two former rivals have served together ever since. Enzi's 54-42 win over Democrat Kathy Karpan, a former secretary of state, also remains the closest Senate general election in Wyoming since the state’s very tight 1988 race.
Gubernatorial
● KY-Gov: Former state auditor Adam Edelen is out with a new ad ahead of the May 21 Democratic primary. The spot begins with Edelen telling the audience that they know who state Attorney General Andy Beshear's dad is (former Gov. Steve Beshear), before Edelen introduces his own father as someone who "busted his back for us growing up."
House
● GA-07: On Tuesday, Marine combat veteran Harrison Floyd entered the GOP primary for this competitive open seat with a truly gross web video. Most of Floyd's announcement is pretty conventional, but after throwing out the now-obligatory attacks against Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Floyd tells the audience, "I'll fight socialists in Congress the same way I fought terrorists in the desert." In case it wasn't already obvious what he meant, those comments are accompanied by footage of Floyd in fatigues firing his rifle.
● GA-13: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently reported that former East Point Mayor Jannquell Peters is considering challenging Democratic Rep. David Scott in the primary, and they now write that she's "expected to announce her plans in the weeks ahead." There is still no word from Peters, who later served in Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' administration as chief service officer.
● IA-02: Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley confirmed that he would seek this competitive open seat on Monday, which makes him the first noteworthy Republican to announce a bid. Kedley was first elected mayor of this small community of about 5,000 in 2015. He made some news in 2017 when he announced that he would run across Iowa, a journey of about 225 miles, in 15 days if the community raised $250,000 for a new recreation center by the end of August of that year. It’s unclear whether or not this multi-day trek ever took place.
On the Democratic side, Scott County Supervisor Ken Croken said he expects to decide shortly after Memorial Day if he would jump in. Scott County, which includes Davenport, is the largest county in the district (though Jones County is home to more registered Democrats). That could give Croken a good base of support if he runs, though he only won office in November. The state progressive site Bleeding Heartland also writes that former state Sen. Rita Hart is "widely expected to enter the congressional race soon," though Croken did not rule out running even if Hart does.
● IA-03: On Monday, former GOP Rep. David Young announced that he would seek a rematch with freshman Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne. Iowa's 3rd District, which is home to Des Moines, has long been swingy turf, and as proof of that, it shifted from 51-47 Obama to 49-45 Trump.
Despite a shaky start (we'll never forget his classic "Good Meal" ad, which was pulled off YouTube years ago but thankfully lives on thanks to C-SPAN), Young pulled off double-digit wins in 2014 (when this seat became open) and 2016, but his luck didn't hold in 2018. Young ended up losing an expensive race to Axne 49-47, a loss that came as Democratic gubernatorial nominee Fred Hubbell was carrying the seat 51-47. Young showed some interest in a comeback a month after his defeat, though he doesn't appear to have said anything publicly about running again until his Monday announcement.
Also back in December, Young bemoaned the "Trump effect" on his race and explained to the New York Times, "That's why you see a lot of people, myself included—who are asked: 'Are you going to do it again?'—saying: 'I'm just going to wait and watch.'" According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump's national approval rating is about as bad now as it was the day Young lost re-election, so the former congressman is certainly risking another "Trump effect" by jumping in again.
However, Young may have more immediate primary worries. State Sen. Zach Nunn has been considering running for a while, and Bleeding Heartland notes he announced a "listening tour" all of nine hours before Young kicked off his own campaign. Nunn's release didn't mention Young by name, but his call for "a new generation of leaders" sounds like a not-so-subtle dig at the seat's former occupant.
One group that did mention Young by name is the radical anti-tax Club for Growth, and they were not thrilled to see him again. The Club tweeted that Young "has a record & it was a very bad one," and predicted, "A fresh face won't be scared away by a mediocre loser."
● TX-07: We hadn't heard former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett mentioned as a possible GOP candidate, but he made it very clear he wouldn't challenge freshman Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher. Emmett, who narrowly lost re-election last year, told Ken Hoffman of Culture Map Houston he had "absolutely no interest in running." Hoffman went on to ask Emmett if he would reconsider if Donald Trump called him and insisted that he run, to which the former judge responded, "No." Now this is the clear, unambiguous no that so many would-be candidates refuse to give.
● UT-01, UT-02: Veteran GOP Rep. Rob Bishop announced all the way back in August of 2017 that he would retire this cycle, and to our surprise, we still haven't heard any Republicans so much as express a whiff of interest in this safely red seat. Even our usually chatty friend the Great Mentioner has been silent when it comes to naming local politicians who could run for the 1st Congressional District, a northern Utah seat that includes Ogden and some of the Salt Lake City area.
Indeed, the only Republican we've even heard rule out running here, besides Bishop himself, already holds a seat in Congress: 2nd District Rep. Chris Stewart. Stewart told attendees at a state party convention on Saturday that unnamed state Republicans had pressured him to switch seats because the 1st District includes Hill Air Force Base, explaining that these suitors thought it would be good for an Air Force veteran like Stewart to represent the area.
Stewart, who first won the neighboring 2nd District in 2012, said this kind of swap would be "a solution that's too cute," and added, "I've never considered it, but I understand why they want me to." Stewart announced last month that he would be running for re-election in his current seat, which is also safely Republican.
● VA-02: On Monday, a special prosecutor indicted Lauren Creekmore, who'd been a staffer for former GOP Rep. Scott Taylor, on two counts of election fraud for her role in submitting bogus signatures to help an independent candidate, Shaun Brown, get on the ballot last year.
The prosecutor, Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell, also stated in a press release that Taylor gathered his staff and made the decision to assist Brown out of his congressional office, which would represent an ethics violation since federal office buildings may not be used for political purposes.
Taylor's team had hoped Brown would siphon some votes from Democrat Elaine Luria, but the effort not only failed miserably—Brown was booted from the ballot for "out and out fraud"—even Taylor thinks it contributed to his narrow loss last fall (we'll circle back to that in a bit).
Caldwell added that his investigation is ongoing, though for inexplicable reasons, he went out of his way to say that "circulating petitions in accordance with the law on behalf of a third party is not a crime," with emphasis in the original. Also oddly, he further asserted, "There does not appear to have been a directive or an expectation that these petitions would be circulated in violation of Virginia law."
However, at the very same time, Caldwell acknowledged that "what actually happened within the [Taylor] campaign headquarters is still a subject of investigation due primarily to the lack of cooperation of key individuals," and even concluded, "The full explanation of what happened will hopefully be answered in the months to come."
By Caldwell's own reckoning, then, we're still well short of a "full explanation," but that didn't stop Taylor from shrieking that the indictment of one of his own aides represented a "complete vindication" for him. He also made a reference to his "close loss" and said that the "call[] to service … has not subsided in me," which together sound like hints that he's considering a comeback bid—a possibility he didn't rule out back in November. The NRSC is also reportedly trying to recruit him to run for Senate next year, but they may want to reconsider.
That's because if there's one person whose pronouncements about Scott Taylor you should take with salt, it's Scott Taylor. Last year, shortly after Caldwell was appointed to investigate, Taylor declared the scandal a "nothing burger." And in a post-mortem on his defeat a few weeks after Election Day, Taylor insisted the debacle "didn't turn the election."
Now, though, he very much says it did. Howling about Democratic ads that he whined contained "numerous demonstrably false statements," Taylor concluded on Monday that "it is clear the the [sic] millions spent by the dishonest Democrats impacted the outcome of the race." He also threatened to bring a suit for defamation against the Virginia Democratic Party and the DCCC, but maybe he's just best off not yapping any further.
