Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told The Hill he has no plan to leave the Democratic Party and has not threatened to do so.
Said Manchin: “I’m not threatening to leave. Why would I? I’m very secure in my positions and honestly, I’m not the one stressed out.”
However, Manchin admitted that he told President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and his caucus that if it would help them “publicly” for him to become an Independent who still caucuses with the party.
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“Nearly a year after offering up a hefty bounty for evidence of voter fraud in the wake of Donald Trump’s loss, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has handed out his first reward,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
“But instead of going to an informant who smoked out fraud by Democrats, Patrick’s five-figure payout went to a progressive poll worker in Pennsylvania whose tip led to a single conviction of illegal voting by a registered Republican.”
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The View that she wept during the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.
Said Rice: “I thought: ‘I study countries that do this.’ I didn’t think it would happen in my own country.”
She added that it “was wrong” but then said it’s time for lawmakers to “move on.”
A new University of New Hampshire poll finds Gov. Chris Sununu (R) leading Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) in a possible U.S. Senate match up, 45% to 42%.
In other match ups, Hassan leads retired Gen. Don Bolduc (R) by a 47% to 42%. And she would run neck and neck against former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R), in a rematch of the race that Hassan won five years ago.
Georgia Public Broadcasting: “Apart from a prominent speech at a Trump rally in Perry, the former University of Georgia football star has largely juked typical campaign events, fundraisers and media interviews in favor of friendlier conversations on conservative media outlets such as Fox News.”
“A GPB News analysis finds Walker has done more than two dozen interviews in the eight weeks since launching his campaign, almost exclusively with Fox News personalities like Sean Hannity.”
A new CNBC poll finds that inflation now ties with the coronavirus as the biggest concern for Americans, up 16 points from the prior survey.
In addition, 47% of the public believe there will be a recession in the next year, up 13 points from when the question was last asked in 2019.
“New documents detail more than a dozen conflicts of interest Postmaster General Louis DeJoy faced because of his and his family’s investments in a number of companies closely tied to the U.S. Postal Service,” NBC News reports.
Vice President Kamala Harris broke a Senate tie yesterday for the 11th time since taking office, Politico reports.
For comparison, Mike Pence broke 13 ties in his entire 4-year tenure and Joe Biden never broke a tie while serving as vice president.
“Of the 19 former Trump aides, advisers and rally organizers subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, only one — Steve Bannon — has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation,” the Washington Post reports.
CNN: House to vote to hold Trump ally Steve Bannon in criminal contempt.
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A new CNBC poll finds just 41% of Americans approve of President Biden’s handling of the presidency, compared to 52% who disapprove — a 14-point swing in net approval since July.
“Behind the decline is a surge in negative views of his handling of the economy, with just 40% approving and 54% disapproving, a 7-point increase from July.”
“A bare majority of Americans still approve his handling of the coronavirus, but the margin narrowed considerably. Fifty percent now approve compared to 53% in July, and 45% disapprove, compared to just 38%.”
Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg discuss Facebook on the Sway podcast and conclude the company is “fundamentally unethical” at its core.
Wall Street Journal: Facebook is rebuked by its own oversight board.
“The Arizona State University Police Department is asking the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to charge four people with misdemeanors after they recorded themselves protesting against Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, interrupting a class she was teaching and continuing to follow and record Sinema in the bathroom on campus,” the Arizona Republic reports.
Donald Trump’s new social network — which he launched because he was “silenced” on other social media platforms — includes a terms of service that include a long list of prohibited activities, including that users have to agree not to “disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site,” Deadline reports.
“As Rep. Matt Gaetz gears up for potential charges to drop, the Florida Republican has gotten much quieter, with fewer cable appearances and campaign events—and that decision is manifesting itself in one distinct way: fundraising,” the Daily Beast reports.
“Contributions to Gaetz’s campaign committee, Friends of Matt Gaetz, have cratered, with the congressman posting a $100,000 net loss on the quarter after donations fell off by well more than half.”
“America’s coronavirus outbreak is rapidly improving as the Delta wave recedes, and vaccines for kids — which could become available within weeks — will help the situation improve even further,” Axios reports.
“Nationwide, the U.S. is now averaging about 79,000 new cases per day — a 22% drop over the past two weeks.”
“A creeping sense of worry among Democrats about the Virginia governor’s race spilled into the open on Wednesday, after the release of a new Monmouth University poll showing former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe deadlocked with Republican Glenn Youngkin less than two weeks before Election Day,” Politico reports.
“And the panic may be a good thing, some of them say.”
“Despite — or because of — the warning signs, Democrats hope the news will wake up slumbering supporters the way it did in California last month, when Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom appeared to be slipping into dangerous territory in polls before generating high turnout to beat back a recall attempt with ease.”
Axios: Reading the fundraising tea leaves in Virginia.
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
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