May 20, 2014

Brendan Boyle (D) “easily defeated three other Democrats Tuesday night, including former Rep. Marjorie Margolies (D), to win an open-seat primary in Pennsylvania’s 13th District,” Roll Call reports.

“Margolies started the race as the odds-on favorite to succeed Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz, who ran for governor. Margolies’ name was still familiar to voters in the district thanks to her one term in Congress in the early 1990s, and she had ties to the Clinton dynasty as former first daughter Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law — making her appear to be a near lock for the nomination.”

Businessweek looks at efforts by companies to encourage their employees to vote for establishment Republicans.

“The aim of the corporate coalition is to avoid the nomination of untested candidates who could hurt Republican chances of taking control of the Senate away from the Democrats in November, as happened in the 2010 and 2012 elections. Republicans need a net gain of six seats to retake the chamber. It’s also a mission to boost candidates who are better steeped in and more supportive of the business community’s agenda, including ensuring that the nation doesn’t default on its debt.”

“Here’s how drastically Chris Christie’s political fortunes have turned: Bridgegate might not be his biggest problem,” Politico reports.

“Just as the New Jersey governor is trying to turn the corner on the traffic scandal and restore his national luster, now he’s getting blamed for a yawning budget deficit and recent downgrade of the state’s debt… Either way, the stream of bad headlines could undercut a central tenet of Christie’s comeback attempt and message in a potential 2016 bid: that he’s led an economic ‘miracle’ in the Garden State.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) “earned an extra $70,000 last year — an advance for her forthcoming tell-all book about Missouri’s 2012 Senate campaign,” USA Today reports.

“McCaskill announced last spring that she was working on a behind-the-scenes account of her headline-grabbing Senate race against then-Rep. Todd Akin. She has promised to detail how she helped boost Akin in the Republican primary, because she believed he would be the easiest candidate for her to beat.”

“Today is the closest thing to a Super Tuesday this primary season, and the results of voting in six states will set the stage for some of November’s marquee races,” Politico reports.

“The Democrats’ best hopes for Senate pick-ups are in Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell faces a tea party-inspired primary challenge, and Georgia, where a crowded field of Republican candidates will be narrowed to a two-way runoff.”

Poll closing times in Georgia and Kentucky are at 7:00 pm ET; Pennsylvania’s polls close at 8:00 pm ET; Arkansas’ closes at 8:30 pm ET; and Idaho’s and Oregon’s close at 11:00 pm ET.

Morning Line: “This is perhaps the biggest question of the night as the outcome could have far-reaching consequences for the battle this fall over which party will control the Senate next year. The Republican establishment would prefer to see one of three candidates ultimately emerge from the field of five contenders: businessman David Perdue, Rep. Jack Kingston or former Georgia secretary of state Karen Handel. The other two candidates running are Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, who some Republicans see as weaker opponents against philanthropist Michelle Nunn, who is expected to easily defeat three lesser-known candidates on the Democratic side.”

“No candidate in the GOP primary is likely to clear 50 percent on Tuesday, so the top two finishers will advance to a runoff, which means they will spend the next two months debating who the true conservative is in the race and draining resources that could be useful come September and October, when voters really start to pay attention.”