The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.
Embedded Content
● ND Redistricting: A federal judge has once again imposed a new electoral map after Republicans refused to do so themselves in the face of a court order, but obstinacy has gotten the GOP nowhere.
North Dakota's new legislative map will undo a key part of a previous Republican gerrymander that had split a pair of Native American reservations between two districts, a move that had violated the Voting Rights Act by preventing Native voters from electing their preferred candidates. But Republicans have appealed, and they're advancing a very dangerous argument that could bring an end to all litigation under the VRA.
Read Stephen Wolf's new post to learn more about what this case means for a community that has long faced discrimination in North Dakota—and what the GOP's ticking time bomb could do to voting nationwide.
● MS-Sen: Former state Public Service Commission Brandon Presley tells Mississippi Today he won't challenge Republican Sen. Roger Wicker even though reporter Taylor Vance writes that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer traveled to Presley's hometown to recruit him. The candidate filing deadline is Thursday, so it would be a surprise if a prominent Democrat steps forward at this late date.
However, we may not have seen the last of Presley, who held Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to a 51-48 victory last year—the state's closest gubernatorial race since 1999. Days after that narrow loss, Mississippi Today asked Presley if he was interested in running to succeed the termed-out Reeves in 2027. "I am not walking off the political stage," he responded. "I see Tuesday as a bump in the road."
● NJ-Sen: Rep. Andy Kim just earned the backing of AFSCME, which the New Jersey Globe says represents 20,000 public sector workers in the state, ahead of the June 4 Democratic primary.
● OH-Sen: Secretary of State Frank LaRose finally got some air support this week when Leadership for Ohio Fund, a super PAC funded by conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein, began what AdImpact reports is a $2.6 million TV ad campaign. LaRose's two wealthy rivals in the March 19 Republican primary, businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, have already spent millions on the airwaves, while this is the first notable pro-LaRose buy of the contest.
The super PAC's first commercial touts LaRose's Army service and features clips of him calling for increasing border security. It does not mention either of his intra-party opponents or the man they're all hoping to unseat, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
● VT-Sen: Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, said Monday he'd announce in the "near future" whether he'll seek a fourth term. Vermont's filing deadline is May 30.
● MO-Gov: Democratic state Rep. Sarah Unsicker launched a surprise campaign for governor on Monday, a move that came less than a month after her colleagues expelled her from the party's caucus for spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and associating with a Holocaust denier. It is not clear if Unsicker plans to retain her party affiliation for this race.
● CO-04: Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas announced this week that she'd run for the state House rather than campaign to replace retiring Rep. Ken Buck, a fellow Republican.
● GA-06: Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson announced Tuesday that she'd run for the revamped 6th District, but she'll need to beat 7th District Rep. Lucy McBath in the May Democratic primary if she's to claim victory.
The two candidates have a particular distinction in common: They were both victims of Republican gerrymandering this year. McBath, though, has even more experience in this department, since GOP mapmakers targeted her the previous cycle as well, yet she still ousted a fellow incumbent despite campaigning on unfamiliar turf.
Check out Daily Kos Elections' piece for more on this unfolding battle in the Atlanta suburbs.
● IN-06: Republican Rep. Greg Pence, who is the older brother of Mike Pence, announced Tuesday that he would not seek a fourth term in Congress. The congressman's eventual successor, however, will likely need to get through a tougher primary than the one Pence faced in 2018.
Pence's family connections helped him easily win the nomination that year even as he dodged questions about his family's chain of gas stations that went bankrupt on his watch, forcing Indiana taxpayers to pay for decontamination efforts. That wasn't the last unwelcome headline he'd have to deal with, however, in the years before his short political career came to an end.
But is it really over? Check out more from Jeff Singer about Pence's time in the spotlight, and why he may yet appear on the ballot this year for a more low-profile office.
● IN-08: Both the Indiana Capitol Chronicle's Whitney Downard and the Evansville Courier & Press' Thomas Langhorne examine the unfolding GOP primary to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon in what's become a reliably red district in southwestern Indiana.
Downard writes that state Rep. Matt Hostettler is "rumored to be interested," though he didn't respond to inquiries. Hostettler is the son of former Rep. John Hostettler, who has the unwelcome distinction of being the last incumbent to lose the seat once nicknamed "The Bloody 8th" for its frequent turnover. The older Hostettler narrowly unseated Democratic Rep. Frank McCloskey during the 1994 red wave before getting swept out 61-39 by Democrat Brad Ellsworth amidst the 2006 blue tide.
State Sen. Greg Goode, meanwhile, didn't quite rule out a bid, though he doesn't sound likely to go for it. "[O]ne never says no to potential opportunities," he told Downard, "but I’m deeply, deeply honored to be serving where I am right now and that’s what I’m focused on." Goode challenged Ellsworth in 2008 but went down 65-35, which makes him the last Republican nominee to ever lose here. Finally, Langhorne mentions state Sen. Mark Messmer, who as far as we know has no connection to the 8th's last Democratic congressman, as a possible candidate.
On the Democratic side, former state Rep. Dave Crooks tells Langhorne he's thinking about running. Crooks challenged Bucshon in 2012 for the last incarnation of the seat and lost 53-43, though he ran ahead of the top of the ticket, where Mitt Romney was prevailing by a wider 58-40 spread. The district is much redder now, however, as Donald Trump won it 64-33 in 2020.
● MD-03, MD-Sen: Businessman Juan Dominguez announced this week that he would end his campaign for the Senate and run instead in the Democratic primary for the district held by retiring Rep. John Sarbanes. Dominguez, who would be the first Latino to represent Maryland in Congress, ended last year with a mere $30,000 in the bank, though he can use that money on his new effort.
● MD-05: Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer announced Monday that he'd run for reelection despite stepping down last year after two decades as the number-two Democrat in the House. The 84-year-old incumbent ended speculation that he might finally leave behind the seat he first won in a 1981 special election when he told the Washington Post, "I am blessed to have the good health, strength, and enduring passion necessary to continue serving my constituents at this decisive moment for Maryland and America."
Hoyer, who continues to serve on the powerful Appropriations Committee, still faces a few intraparty rivals in the May 14 primary for this seat in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, but it's unlikely any of them will give him much trouble. His most familiar opponent is activist Mckayla Wilkes, who lost to Hoyer 64-27 in 2020 and then by a wider 71-19 margin two years later.
Also in the running is Andrea Crooms, the director of the Prince George's County Department of the Environment. Crooms, who would be the first member of Congress to use they/them pronouns, hasn't revealed their latest quarterly fundraising numbers, but they ended September with just $23,000 in the bank.
● MI-08: Republican state Rep. Bill Schuette said Thursday that he'd seek reelection rather than run to flip the swingy seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee. Inside Elections reported in November that Schuette's father and namesake, 2018 gubernatorial nominee Bill Schuette, was interested in a congressional bid, but we've heard nothing further since then.
● OH-02: State Sen. Shane Wilkin has publicized an endorsement from Rep. Mike Carey, who represents the neighboring 15th District to the north, for the busy March 19 Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup.
● UT-03: State Auditor John Dougall announced that he'd run for Utah's safely red 3rd District on Monday, which was the day the candidate filing closed. The auditor is one of 10 Republicans hoping to succeed GOP Rep. John Curtis, who is leaving to campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Dougall was first elected to his post in 2012 after he beat incumbent Auston Johnson in the primary. In 2020, he took advantage of an earlier decision by state election authorities to allow candidates to include their nicknames on the ballot and presented himself on the ballot with the name "John 'Frugal' Dougall."
One of his opponents slammed the move. "By allowing him to insert a descriptive nickname, the ballot becomes a government funded campaign advertisement," United Utah Party nominee Brian Fabbi charged. However, while Fabbi called for the state legislature to ban nicknames in the future, lawmakers haven't taken action, meaning that the auditor was able to once again file this year using that "Frugal" moniker.
None of the Republicans running for the 3rd District, though, are assured a place on the June 25 primary ballot thanks to Utah's challenging ballot access rules. We'll discuss these procedures, as well as take a wider look at the field running to succeed Curtis, in a future Digest.
● MI Redistricting: A federal court has given Michigan's redistricting commission until Feb. 2 to draw a new map for the state House after striking down several of the state's legislative districts for relying too much on race. The commission is currently appealing to the Supreme Court, but if that appeal is unsuccessful, it will also eventually have to come up with a new state Senate map.
The court did not yet, however, set a deadline for the creation of new Senate districts. The upper chamber only goes before voters in midterm years, and the court declined to order special elections for affected seats this November.
● Cook County, IL State's Attorney: Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke has picked up an endorsement from Rep. Mike Quigley for the March 19 Democratic primary. Burke's intra-party rival, Clayton Harris, earned the backing of another Chicago-area representative, Robin Kelly, earlier in the week.
● Hillsborough County, FL State Attorney: Democrat Andrew Warren said Monday that he wouldn't seek to regain the post that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis permanently suspended him from in 2022. DeSantis ousted Warren for refusing to prosecute people who obtain or provide abortions and replaced him with Republican Suzy Lopez.
Warren argued this week that, while he could defeat Lopez at the ballot box in November, there was a "high risk" that DeSantis would remove him again. A federal judge ruled almost a year ago that, while the governor had violated state law by suspending Warren, the court didn't have the authority to reinstate him. Warren has appealed but his case remains pending.
Democrats have until the April 26 filing deadline to find a candidate to compete in the Aug. 20 primary. Joe Biden carried Hillsborough County, which is home to Tampa, 53-46, though DeSantis won it 54-45 during his 2022 reelection campaign.
Embedded Content
Leading Off
● ND Redistricting: A federal judge has once again imposed a new electoral map after Republicans refused to do so themselves in the face of a court order, but obstinacy has gotten the GOP nowhere.
North Dakota's new legislative map will undo a key part of a previous Republican gerrymander that had split a pair of Native American reservations between two districts, a move that had violated the Voting Rights Act by preventing Native voters from electing their preferred candidates. But Republicans have appealed, and they're advancing a very dangerous argument that could bring an end to all litigation under the VRA.
Read Stephen Wolf's new post to learn more about what this case means for a community that has long faced discrimination in North Dakota—and what the GOP's ticking time bomb could do to voting nationwide.
4Q Fundraising
- MI-Sen: Elissa Slotkin (D): $2.8 million raised, $6 million cash on hand
- NV-Sen: Jacky Rosen (D-inc): $3.2 million raised, $10.6 million cash on hand
- MT-Gov: Ryan Busse (D): $283,000 raised, $193,000 cash on hand
- MD-06: April McClain Delaney (D): $530,000 raised (no self-funding)
- MT-01: Monica Tranel (D): $482,000 raised
- NJ-07: Sue Altman (D): $275,000 raised, $525,000 cash on hand
- NJ-08: Ravi Bhalla (D): $957,000 raised, $900,000 cash on hand
Senate
● MS-Sen: Former state Public Service Commission Brandon Presley tells Mississippi Today he won't challenge Republican Sen. Roger Wicker even though reporter Taylor Vance writes that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer traveled to Presley's hometown to recruit him. The candidate filing deadline is Thursday, so it would be a surprise if a prominent Democrat steps forward at this late date.
However, we may not have seen the last of Presley, who held Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to a 51-48 victory last year—the state's closest gubernatorial race since 1999. Days after that narrow loss, Mississippi Today asked Presley if he was interested in running to succeed the termed-out Reeves in 2027. "I am not walking off the political stage," he responded. "I see Tuesday as a bump in the road."
● NJ-Sen: Rep. Andy Kim just earned the backing of AFSCME, which the New Jersey Globe says represents 20,000 public sector workers in the state, ahead of the June 4 Democratic primary.
● OH-Sen: Secretary of State Frank LaRose finally got some air support this week when Leadership for Ohio Fund, a super PAC funded by conservative megadonor Richard Uihlein, began what AdImpact reports is a $2.6 million TV ad campaign. LaRose's two wealthy rivals in the March 19 Republican primary, businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan, have already spent millions on the airwaves, while this is the first notable pro-LaRose buy of the contest.
The super PAC's first commercial touts LaRose's Army service and features clips of him calling for increasing border security. It does not mention either of his intra-party opponents or the man they're all hoping to unseat, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
● VT-Sen: Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, said Monday he'd announce in the "near future" whether he'll seek a fourth term. Vermont's filing deadline is May 30.
Governors
● MO-Gov: Democratic state Rep. Sarah Unsicker launched a surprise campaign for governor on Monday, a move that came less than a month after her colleagues expelled her from the party's caucus for spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and associating with a Holocaust denier. It is not clear if Unsicker plans to retain her party affiliation for this race.
House
● CO-04: Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas announced this week that she'd run for the state House rather than campaign to replace retiring Rep. Ken Buck, a fellow Republican.
● GA-06: Cobb County Commissioner Jerica Richardson announced Tuesday that she'd run for the revamped 6th District, but she'll need to beat 7th District Rep. Lucy McBath in the May Democratic primary if she's to claim victory.
The two candidates have a particular distinction in common: They were both victims of Republican gerrymandering this year. McBath, though, has even more experience in this department, since GOP mapmakers targeted her the previous cycle as well, yet she still ousted a fellow incumbent despite campaigning on unfamiliar turf.
Check out Daily Kos Elections' piece for more on this unfolding battle in the Atlanta suburbs.
● IN-06: Republican Rep. Greg Pence, who is the older brother of Mike Pence, announced Tuesday that he would not seek a fourth term in Congress. The congressman's eventual successor, however, will likely need to get through a tougher primary than the one Pence faced in 2018.
Pence's family connections helped him easily win the nomination that year even as he dodged questions about his family's chain of gas stations that went bankrupt on his watch, forcing Indiana taxpayers to pay for decontamination efforts. That wasn't the last unwelcome headline he'd have to deal with, however, in the years before his short political career came to an end.
But is it really over? Check out more from Jeff Singer about Pence's time in the spotlight, and why he may yet appear on the ballot this year for a more low-profile office.
● IN-08: Both the Indiana Capitol Chronicle's Whitney Downard and the Evansville Courier & Press' Thomas Langhorne examine the unfolding GOP primary to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Larry Bucshon in what's become a reliably red district in southwestern Indiana.
Downard writes that state Rep. Matt Hostettler is "rumored to be interested," though he didn't respond to inquiries. Hostettler is the son of former Rep. John Hostettler, who has the unwelcome distinction of being the last incumbent to lose the seat once nicknamed "The Bloody 8th" for its frequent turnover. The older Hostettler narrowly unseated Democratic Rep. Frank McCloskey during the 1994 red wave before getting swept out 61-39 by Democrat Brad Ellsworth amidst the 2006 blue tide.
State Sen. Greg Goode, meanwhile, didn't quite rule out a bid, though he doesn't sound likely to go for it. "[O]ne never says no to potential opportunities," he told Downard, "but I’m deeply, deeply honored to be serving where I am right now and that’s what I’m focused on." Goode challenged Ellsworth in 2008 but went down 65-35, which makes him the last Republican nominee to ever lose here. Finally, Langhorne mentions state Sen. Mark Messmer, who as far as we know has no connection to the 8th's last Democratic congressman, as a possible candidate.
On the Democratic side, former state Rep. Dave Crooks tells Langhorne he's thinking about running. Crooks challenged Bucshon in 2012 for the last incarnation of the seat and lost 53-43, though he ran ahead of the top of the ticket, where Mitt Romney was prevailing by a wider 58-40 spread. The district is much redder now, however, as Donald Trump won it 64-33 in 2020.
● MD-03, MD-Sen: Businessman Juan Dominguez announced this week that he would end his campaign for the Senate and run instead in the Democratic primary for the district held by retiring Rep. John Sarbanes. Dominguez, who would be the first Latino to represent Maryland in Congress, ended last year with a mere $30,000 in the bank, though he can use that money on his new effort.
● MD-05: Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer announced Monday that he'd run for reelection despite stepping down last year after two decades as the number-two Democrat in the House. The 84-year-old incumbent ended speculation that he might finally leave behind the seat he first won in a 1981 special election when he told the Washington Post, "I am blessed to have the good health, strength, and enduring passion necessary to continue serving my constituents at this decisive moment for Maryland and America."
Hoyer, who continues to serve on the powerful Appropriations Committee, still faces a few intraparty rivals in the May 14 primary for this seat in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, but it's unlikely any of them will give him much trouble. His most familiar opponent is activist Mckayla Wilkes, who lost to Hoyer 64-27 in 2020 and then by a wider 71-19 margin two years later.
Also in the running is Andrea Crooms, the director of the Prince George's County Department of the Environment. Crooms, who would be the first member of Congress to use they/them pronouns, hasn't revealed their latest quarterly fundraising numbers, but they ended September with just $23,000 in the bank.
● MI-08: Republican state Rep. Bill Schuette said Thursday that he'd seek reelection rather than run to flip the swingy seat held by retiring Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee. Inside Elections reported in November that Schuette's father and namesake, 2018 gubernatorial nominee Bill Schuette, was interested in a congressional bid, but we've heard nothing further since then.
● OH-02: State Sen. Shane Wilkin has publicized an endorsement from Rep. Mike Carey, who represents the neighboring 15th District to the north, for the busy March 19 Republican primary to replace retiring GOP Rep. Brad Wenstrup.
● UT-03: State Auditor John Dougall announced that he'd run for Utah's safely red 3rd District on Monday, which was the day the candidate filing closed. The auditor is one of 10 Republicans hoping to succeed GOP Rep. John Curtis, who is leaving to campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Dougall was first elected to his post in 2012 after he beat incumbent Auston Johnson in the primary. In 2020, he took advantage of an earlier decision by state election authorities to allow candidates to include their nicknames on the ballot and presented himself on the ballot with the name "John 'Frugal' Dougall."
One of his opponents slammed the move. "By allowing him to insert a descriptive nickname, the ballot becomes a government funded campaign advertisement," United Utah Party nominee Brian Fabbi charged. However, while Fabbi called for the state legislature to ban nicknames in the future, lawmakers haven't taken action, meaning that the auditor was able to once again file this year using that "Frugal" moniker.
None of the Republicans running for the 3rd District, though, are assured a place on the June 25 primary ballot thanks to Utah's challenging ballot access rules. We'll discuss these procedures, as well as take a wider look at the field running to succeed Curtis, in a future Digest.
Legislatures
● MI Redistricting: A federal court has given Michigan's redistricting commission until Feb. 2 to draw a new map for the state House after striking down several of the state's legislative districts for relying too much on race. The commission is currently appealing to the Supreme Court, but if that appeal is unsuccessful, it will also eventually have to come up with a new state Senate map.
The court did not yet, however, set a deadline for the creation of new Senate districts. The upper chamber only goes before voters in midterm years, and the court declined to order special elections for affected seats this November.
Prosecutors & Sheriffs
● Cook County, IL State's Attorney: Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke has picked up an endorsement from Rep. Mike Quigley for the March 19 Democratic primary. Burke's intra-party rival, Clayton Harris, earned the backing of another Chicago-area representative, Robin Kelly, earlier in the week.
● Hillsborough County, FL State Attorney: Democrat Andrew Warren said Monday that he wouldn't seek to regain the post that Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis permanently suspended him from in 2022. DeSantis ousted Warren for refusing to prosecute people who obtain or provide abortions and replaced him with Republican Suzy Lopez.
Warren argued this week that, while he could defeat Lopez at the ballot box in November, there was a "high risk" that DeSantis would remove him again. A federal judge ruled almost a year ago that, while the governor had violated state law by suspending Warren, the court didn't have the authority to reinstate him. Warren has appealed but his case remains pending.
Democrats have until the April 26 filing deadline to find a candidate to compete in the Aug. 20 primary. Joe Biden carried Hillsborough County, which is home to Tampa, 53-46, though DeSantis won it 54-45 during his 2022 reelection campaign.
Ad Roundup
- MD-Sen: David Trone (D)
- MT-01: Monica Tranel (D)
- TX-23: Tony Gonzales (R-inc)