The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.
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Leading Off
● Anchorage, AK Mayor: Far-right Mayor Dave Bronson's three years in office have been defined by acrimony and scandal. Now three credible candidates are all hoping to unseat him this spring.
- "Alaska's my home. How dare you?" Bronson was narrowly elected in 2021 by campaigning against the city's pandemic health measures, and he's done nothing to shed his hardline image. Among his many headline-making incidents included a proposal to send homeless people to warmer areas—permanently.
- An ugly lawsuit. The city's former municipal manager has publicly accused Bronson of allowing sexual harassment to flourish in his administration. Among other things, she's said the mayor refused to act after one of his senior officials passed out "genitalia-shaped cookies to the staff."
- "This is the earliest I've seen this kind of ratcheting up." One Democrat and two unaffiliated candidates have already spent months campaigning against Bronson ahead of April's officially nonpartisan primary. Local Democrats, though, have yet to consolidate behind a single option.
Jeff Singer has far more on the battle in the Last Frontier―including even more Bronson scandals we couldn't fit in here.
SENATE
● MN-Sen: Joe Fraser, a banker who previously served in the Navy, became the first notable Republican to announce a campaign against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Monday. So far, though, major conservative outside groups haven't signaled that they plan to seriously target Klobuchar, who earned reelection with a dominant 60-36 win in 2018 just before launching an unsuccessful presidential bid. Minnesota Republicans, despite some tight losses over the years, haven't won a race for any statewide position since 2006.
● WI-Sen: The Hill writes that multiple GOP sources expect wealthy businessman Eric Hovde to announce his long-anticipated campaign against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin sometime in February. One unnamed person adds that they believe his launch would take place sometime between the Super Bowl, which is on Feb. 11, and the end of the month.
GOVERNORS
● ND-Gov: Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said Monday that she would not run to succeed her fellow Republican, retiring Gov. Doug Burgum.
HOUSE
● MD-02: Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced Tuesday that he would run to succeed retiring Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger in Maryland's reliably blue 2nd District. Olszewski, who often goes by "Johnny O," joins Del. Harry Bhandari in the May 14 Democratic primary.
Olszewski, the son of a former member of the County Council, began his own political career in 2006 when local Democrats picked the then-23-year-old to fill a vacant seat in the state House. The Baltimore Sun described him in 2013 as a member of the "traditional blue-collar, pro-labor but socially conservative wing of the Democratic Party." The story noted that Olszewski had opposed then-Gov. Martin O'Malley's gun safety legislation and a bill to repeal the death penalty, though he also supported legalizing same-sex marriage.
Olszewski ran for the state Senate in 2014, but that year's red wave helped carry Republican Johnny Ray Salling to a 48-45 victory. Olszewski sought a comeback four years later when he ran for Baltimore County executive, a post once held by Ruppersberger. (The late Republican Vice President Spiro Agnew also occupied that office in the mid-1960s.)
In that race, Olszewski sought to rebrand and campaigned as "the progressive Democrat" in the primary. He ended up defeating state Sen. James Brochin 32.88-32.86―a margin of 17 votes―with County Council member Vicki Almond just behind. He had no trouble winning that year's general election, however, and secured reelection in 2022 without any serious opposition. In June, he began raising money for a potential bid to replace Ruppersberger, who confirmed last week that he would retire.
The executive's Baltimore County base is home to 76% of the 2nd District's residents, with Carroll County making up another 20% and the balance residing in the city of Baltimore. (The city, which is surrounded almost entirely by the county, became an independent jurisdiction in 1851.) Olszewski himself acknowledges he lives "just barely" outside the district, though members of Congress aren't required to reside in the constituencies they represent.
● MD-06: Businessman Altimont Mark Wilks, who won two lawsuits against the federal government after he was denied access to federal programs because of his prior criminal history, became the 12th Democrat to join the race for Maryland's open 6th District. Wilks and his many rivals are competing to succeed Democratic Rep. Dave Trone, who is running for the Senate.
Wilks, explains The Frederick News-Post, was released from prison in 2018 after serving a 13-year sentence for drug and firearm-related crimes. He went on to open a convenience store, and in 2020 he sought loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, the pandemic-era government program designed to help keep businesses afloat.
The Small Business Administration initially refused to allow him to participate in the program because of his conviction, but a judge sided with him. Wilks, though, wasn't entirely happy with the result. "I felt elated, but at the same time, it didn't change much," he said. "It just changed the rules, which means they can change the rules again."
Wilks faced similar obstacles last year when the U.S. Department of Agriculture permanently denied his application to become a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailer because of his background. Wilks once again sued, telling WYPR, "I'm being discriminated against, because I made bad choices in life. But I served my time." The USDA ultimately settled by allowing Wilks to become a SNAP retailer and agreeing to rework its rules.
● MO-01: Rep. Cori Bush confirmed Tuesday that she's under federal investigation, an unwelcome development for the second-term congressman that comes six months ahead of a difficult Democratic primary against St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell.
The Department of Justice has said little about its probe, but Bush, who has denied wrongdoing, indicated that it concerns her campaign's payments to her husband for security work. A previous complaint by conservative critics was dismissed by the Office of Congressional Ethics, but the DOJ has far more investigative firepower, including the ability to issue subpoenas.
Jeff Singer unpacks what we know of this unfolding investigation at Daily Kos Elections.
● NY-16: Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman told the Daily Beast's William Bredderman this week that he "regrets" using an old blog to spread conspiracy theories about the Sept. 11 attacks, ideas he says does not believe in. Bowman, Bredderman reports, posted a "free verse" poem in 2011 with lines like, "Allegedly/Two other planes/The Pentagon/Pennsylvania/Hijacked by terrorist [sic]/Minimal damage done/Minimal debris found/Hmm."
● NY-26: A spokesperson for Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins, who said in November that he would resign from the House, tells the Buffalo News that the congressman's last day in office will be Friday. Higgins' departure will kick off a special election to fill New York's solidly blue 26th District in the Buffalo area.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul will then have up to 10 days to call the election, which must then take place 70 to 80 days after her proclamation. Assuming Hochul sets the election for a Tuesday, possible dates would be April 16, 23, or 30.
Local Democratic leaders have chosen state Sen. Tim Kennedy as their nominee while Republicans don't appear to have picked a candidate yet. Kennedy also faces a June 25 primary for a full two-year term against former Grand Island Town Supervisor Nate McMurray.
● SC-01: An advisor for former state cabinet official Catherine Templeton tells The Post and Courier's Caitlin Byrd that his client will announce on Feb. 5 that she's challenging Rep. Nancy Mace in the June 11 Republican primary.
Templeton served in then-Gov. Nikki Haley's administration as director of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and planned to run to succeed the termed-out Haley in 2018.
Templeton went ahead with that campaign even after Haley resigned to join the Trump administration and Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster ascended to the top job, but her effort ended in failure. Businessman John Warren edged her out 28-21 for the second spot in the GOP primary runoff against McMaster, who took first with 42% and went on to secure a full term.
Templeton, though, isn't the only new name who could campaign against Mace. GOP state Rep. Sylleste Davis tells Byrd she's not ruling out a bid, though she says she might wait until the April 1 filing deadline to make up her mind. Meanwhile, Mace's former chief of staff, Dan Hanlon, also set up a campaign account last week, though he didn't immediately announce a bid. A June 25 runoff would take place if no one earns a majority of the vote.
ATTORNEYS GENERAL
● NC-AG: Campaign finance reports are in covering the second half of 2023, and they show Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson outraising his Republican colleague, Dan Bishop, despite the latter's nearly three-month head start. Jackson took in $2 million between his campaign launch in late October through the end of the year, while Bishop hauled in $1.4 million after announcing in early August. The Democrat finished the year with a $1.8 million to $1.3 million cash on hand advantage.
Jackson faces opposition from Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry in the March 5 primary, but she faces a huge financial deficit. Deberry, who announced her entry in early November, raised only $44,000 and finished with just $31,000 available. Bishop does not have any foes in the GOP primary, nor will he, since filing closed in mid-December.
STATE LEGISLATURES
● PA State House: NBC's Adam Edelman reports that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is deploying $50,000 to win a pivotal special election for the Pennsylvania House on Feb. 13, though he also notes that outside spending on advertising has otherwise been "minimal" so far. The DLCC did not specify what its infusion will be spent on, except to say the funds would go to the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus.
The race features Democrat Jim Prokopiak and Republican Candace Cabanas, who are facing off in the 140th District. The seat, which is based in Bucks County in the Philadelphia suburbs, was held by former Democratic Rep. John Galloway until he was elected as a local judge last fall. Galloway's resignation, however, dropped the chamber into an exact 101-101 tie between the parties, potentially giving Republicans the chance to wrest control from Democrats.
But the district voted for Joe Biden by a 55-44 margin, according to Dave's Redistricting App, and it's often been reliably Democratic further down the ballot: Galloway often ran unopposed and won his last contested election in 2020 by 20 points.
● WI Redistricting: As promised, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed new legislative districts passed by Wisconsin's Republican-run legislature, slamming the plans in a statement as "maps designed to undemocratically serve the politician who draft them." A lawsuit challenging the state's existing GOP-drawn districts remains ongoing before the state Supreme Court, which is in the process of selecting replacement maps.
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