WASHINGTON – If it’s a Tuesday … President Biden warns that Putin’s ‘back is against the wall’ and could repeat itself with heavy tactics. … It’s Day 2 of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Senate confirmation hearing (Q&A time). … Eric Greitens’ ex-wife accuses him of abusing her and her son because opponents are calling for him to drop out of the Missouri Senate race. … Greitens denies the accusation. … In Alaska stands up for special elections to replace the late Rep Don Young.
But first: The latest indictment against Missouri Senate Republican candidate Eric Greitens underscores how messy, redundant and potentially flawed the GOP Senate fields of candidates are – with the House in November.
Consider all of these different issues:
- In Georgia, GOP front-runner Herschel Walker (who is much more likely than Greitens to win the Republican nomination and largely consolidate the party around him) admitted his own former violent behavior as part of his battle with mental illness.
- Republicans have recruited their top voters in Arizona (Gov. Doug Ducey), Maryland (Gov. Larry Hogan) and New Hampshire (Gov. Chris Sununu).
- The GOP’s field in Ohio has become turbulent and chippy (see last night’s debate, which we return to below).
- And even in a solid-red state of Alabama, Donald Trump has considered withdrawing his support of Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.
Now with the general political environment, Republicans can still win in places like Arizona, Georgia and certainly in Ohio – and eventually come up with solid nominees.
But they – and especially Trump (with his endorsements, non-endorsements and beef with Ducey / Hogan) – have done themselves no favors with their fields of candidates.
Democrats have a lot of problems. But they are not close to the candidate question that Republicans are experiencing.
Tweet of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … $ 29.8 million
That’s how much money Republicans have spent on ads so far in the Ohio GOP Senate primary, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Investment banker Mike Gibbons, who financed most of his campaign himself, spent the rest of the field spending $ 8.7 million on advertising. Gibbons’ ads helped him establish himself as a leading candidate, and made him the former state treasurer Josh Mandel’s main target on the debate stage.
Outside groups supporting Mandel and author JD Vance have spent millions more, such as state Sen. Matt Dolan ($ 3.9 million), former state GOP president Jane Timken ($ 3.1 million) and Mandel’s Campaign ($ 2.1 million).
And spending is intensifying. Yesterday, Mandel’s campaign made a $ 914,000 television ad purchase, starting today and running until May. From now until May 3, Gibbons had reserved $ 3 million for airtime, but he was pulled out by Dolan, another wealthy self-financier who reserved $ 3.6 million in advertising time.
Other numbers you need to know today:
3.5 million: The number of people fleeing Ukraine for refugees since the beginning of Russia’s attacks on the country, according to the UN Human Rights Council, of which 2 million arrived in Poland.
3: The number of Black senators who served on the Judiciary Committee. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, the first black man to serve on the panel, heard his opening statement during the Supreme Court hearing yesterday confirming the “historic nature” of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination.
25 percent: That was the increase in alcohol-related deaths between 2019 and 2020, according to a new report looking at the consequences of the increase in alcohol consumption at the start of the pandemic.
0: The number of countries that have met the World Health Organization’s air quality standard in 2021.
79,975,691: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, according to the latest data from NBC News and health officials.
977,118: The number of deaths in the US from the virus so far.
Midterm Roundup: Accusations rock the Missouri Senate race
Former Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens has resigned in 2018 following several scandals. And in new court documents released yesterday, Greiten’s ex-wife detailed allegations of domestic abuse against the now-Senate hopeful.
In a sworn affidavit as part of an ongoing child abuse case, Greitens’ ex-wife accused him of physically abusing her and their children, as well as threatening herself and her family while they were married. Greitens closed Steve Bannon’s podcast and called the allegations “completely baseless”, and accused his ex-wife Conspiracy with Allies by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who opposes Greitens.
Three GOP Candidates – Rep. Vicky HartzlerRep. Billy Longand State Attorney General Eric Schmitt – just like Democrat Lucas Kunz Greitens asked to drop out of the race. And Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, who supported Hartzler, tweeted to call the sameadded “if you hit a woman or a child, you belong in handcuffs, not the US Senate.”
Elsewhere on the Campaign Trail:
Ohio Senate: Monday night marked another debate in Ohio’s increasingly chippy GOP Senate primary. Some highlights: no candidate is committed to vote for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as Majority Leader, Dolan and Vance have been involved with Ukraine and the Cleveland Guardians baseball team (which owns Dolan’s family), and moderators have Field asked to clarify controversial comments they have made in recent weeks.
Pennsylvania Senate: Lt Governor John Fetterman has pledged to take part in the April 27 Senate debate, with the other top Democrat, Rep Conor Lamb, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Meanwhile, the Lam campaign has reserved an additional $ 2.6 million in TV ads through the May 17 primary, per AdImpact. A super PAC-backed Lamb has released a poll showing Congressman leaving Fetterman with 30 points, Politico reported.
Alabama Senate: It looks like someone is trying to push former President Donald Trump to the GOP rep. Mo dump Brooks after Trump said he could consider supporting the Brooks in the Alabama Senate race. The group “No More Mo” reserves $ 55,000 worth of cable ads in the West Palm Beach media market, per AdImpact, where Trump lives.
Alaska At-Large: Alaska is set to run in special elections to replace the late Rep. Don Young.
Mask Policy: Axios reports that DCCC President Sean Patrick Maloney and other vulnerable House Democrats have signaled that they are open to supporting a GOP bill to abolish mask mandates in public transit.
Watch Ad: Debt Biden
In a new announcement released yesterday, former hedge fund manager and Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate David McCormick accused President Joe Biden of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia invaded Crimea under Obama. They invaded Ukraine under Biden. You know what Russia did not do when Trump was president? Invade everywhere,” McCormick said in the ad.
“Joe Biden’s weakness was an invitation to invasion because tyrants like Putin respect only one thing: strength,” he adds.
It’s an argument that has occupied Trump himself in the weeks since the invasion – and the announcement comes days after NBC News reported that he loved Trump’s wife, Melania, McCormick’s primary enemy, celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz.
ICYMI: What’s happening elsewhere in the world?
NBC’s Sahil Kapur wraps up Day 1 Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hearing.
The president of the Federal Reserve said he was open to raising interest rates higher if deemed appropriate to tackle inflation.
The United States describes Myanmar’s attacks on Rohingya Muslims as genocide.
Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has vetoed a bill banning transgender women from attending girls’ school sports, saying it “falls” to offer “justice in K-12 sports.”
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