A liberal veterans group is launching a television ad in North Dakota, criticizing GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer for comments about the military and for votes relating to pay raises for the military and Veterans Affairs funding.
VoteVets Action Fund is launching a $270,000 ad buy on both broadcast and cable networks throughout the state, starting Saturday and running through Aug. 3.
The open-seat race in California’s 49th District is already close, according to an internal poll from Republican Diane Harkey’s campaign, obtained by Roll Call.
Harkey, an elected member of the California State Board of Equalization that oversees taxation, led Democratic environmental lawyer Mike Levin, 46 percent to 43 percent. Nine percent of respondents were undecided.
Midterm elections typically have lower voter turnout than presidential ones. If that turns out to be the case in 2018, it won't be because of a lack of cash or candidates. In short, the midterm cycle is awash in campaign money. Breaking down some of the gobsmacking amounts and what it means for the control of Congress are Roll Call political correspondents Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman on the latest Political Theater podcast. Listen here:
The surge in Democratic candidates running for the House raised a critical question at the start of the cycle: Would crowded and costly primaries weaken the eventual nominees by draining their campaign cash? So far the answer appears to be “no.”
On average, Democrats in competitive races who faced expensive primaries have more than doubled their cash on hand from shortly before their primary elections to the end of the most recent fundraising quarter, campaign finance reports show.
Alabama Rep. Martha Roby survived her Republican primary runoff Tuesday night, rebounding from her sharp criticism of President Donald Trump in 2016 that sparked several challenges this year.
Roby won 68 percent of the vote compared to 32 percent for party-switching former Rep. Bobby Bright, according to The Associated Press’ vote count in the 2nd District race.
Republican John Chrin launched his opening argument Monday in his campaign against Democrat Matt Cartwright in Pennsylvania’s 8th District. The seat represents a rare pickup opportunity for the GOP this cycle in which it is largely on defense.
Republicans, hoping to stave off potential losses in the House, are looking to win in districts like the 8th, one of a dozen held by a Democratic lawmaker that President Donald Trump carried in 2016.
The California Democratic Party has endorsed state Sen. Kevin de León over Sen. Dianne Feinstein, backing a challenger who is taking on a longtime incumbent.
The endorsement came after Feinstein had encouraged party leaders not to endorse either candidate for Senate in the name of party unity. But on Saturday, de León won 65 percent of the delegates’ votes, surpassing the 60 percent threshold necessary to secure the endorsement.
Welcome to At the Races! You can keep track of House and Senate races with this weekly newsletter by subscribing here. We want to hear what you think. Email us at attheraces@cqrollcall.com with your questions, tips or candidate sightings. —Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman
Updated 1:30 p.m. | Rep. Joseph Crowley said Thursday he would not run against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated the New York Democrat in a primary last month. Ocasio-Cortez had accused him on Twitter earlier in the day of waging a third-party campaign against her.
Updated 2:29 p.m. | A poll commissioned by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed a hotly competitive race in New York’s 19th District, a top target for Democrats hoping to win back the House.
Freshman Republican Rep. John J. Faso trailed Democratic lawyer Antonio Delgado by 7 points in the poll. Forty-nine percent of respondents supported Delgado, while 42 percent backed the incumbent.
The National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday named the first members of its Young Guns “Vanguards” program for GOP candidates likely heading to Congress next year.
Young Guns is the committee’s program to boost House candidates in competitive general election races. But there’s also a Vanguards program for those Republicans in mostly open-seat races who are favored to win in November. The NRCC first launched the program in 2010 to connect these likely new House members to the committee and GOP lawmakers.
Eighteen months ago, it might’ve been a good bet that Alabama Rep. Martha Roby would lose her Republican primary. But ahead of next week’s GOP runoff for the 2nd District, she’s now favored to win.
That’s due in part to an endorsement from President Donald Trump, help from allies, and a primary opponent who used to be a Democrat.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is focusing on the Supreme Court in the first television ad of his Senate campaign, a sign the upcoming confirmation debate will be central to the Republican’s bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill.
Hawley’s ad will hit the airwaves Monday, the same day President Donald Trump will announce his pick to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who announced his retirement last month.
Welcome to At the Races! You can keep track of House and Senate races with this weekly newsletter by subscribing here. We want to hear what you think. Email us at attheraces@cqrollcall.com with your questions, tips or candidate sightings. —Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has decided not to seek her state party’s endorsement, calling for party unity ahead of the November election.
Feinstein and state Sen. Kevin de Léon, a fellow Democrat, advanced to the general election after finishing first and second respectively in the state’s top-two primary last month. The four-term incumbent wrote an email Tuesday addressed to the party’s executive board members — that also appeared to also be sent to her campaign fundraising list — calling for no formal endorsement. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Feinstein did not win the party’s backing prior to the June 5 primary.
Republican Senate hopeful Josh Hawley is launching a new digital campaign to highlight Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill’s previous positions on Supreme Court nominees, as the latest high court vacancy shakes up competitive Senate races across the country.
A new website by the Hawley campaign is highlighting McCaskill’s support for former President Barack Obama’s judicial nominees, with less than a week before President Donald Trump is expected to name a replacement for the retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. While Kennedy has often sided with the court’s conservative wing, he’s also been a pivotal swing vote on issues relating to abortion and same-sex marriage.
Republican Michael Cloud won the special election Saturday to replace former Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold, comfortably taking a majority of votes to avoid a runoff.
Nine candidates from multiple parties competed for the 27th District on the same ballot Saturday. With 63 percent of precincts reporting, Cloud, the former chairman of the Victoria County GOP, led the field with 54 percent, when The Associated Press called the race. Democrat Eric Holguin, a former congressional aide, was in second place with 32 percent.
Voters in Texas’ 27th District will head to the polls Saturday for a special election to replace former Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold, who resigned in April. But the election might not be over for two more months.
With nine candidates from multiple parties competing on one ballot, it is possible they could divide the vote and no one will secure a majority to win the seat outright. That would prolong the election to a runoff, likely in September.
Welcome to At the Races! You can keep track of House and Senate races with this weekly newsletter by subscribing here. We want to hear what you think. Email us at attheraces@cqrollcall.com with your questions, tips or candidate sightings. —Simone Pathé and Bridget Bowman
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