Some great clicks over at Wonk Wire:
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think I’m fully capable of doing the job, and I don’t think it’s rocket science by any means — not if you just listen to the people.”
— High school student Saira Blair, quoted by the Martinsburg Herald-Mail, after beating an incumbent state delegate in West Virginia.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Well here’s the reality: If you go into a business, and I keep coming back to my background, it’s how I know how to relate is to refer back to it — I was never able to turn around a company just by cutting spending. You had to figure out a way to get revenue growing. And what I just said, there are five people in the U.S. Senate who understand what I just said. You know revenue is not something they think about.”
— Georgia U.S. Senate candidate David Perdue (R), in an interview with the Macon Telegraph.
Carroll Strikes Back at Scott
“More than a year after she was forced from office,” former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll (R) “continues to antagonize her former boss, Gov. Rick Scott (R), as he’s running for re-election,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“Appearing on a Cocoa Beach radio station, Carroll said Scott had ‘issues’ with Medicaid fraud and that his ‘good ol’ boy system’ was difficult for minorities. She said her loyalty to Scott was not returned… Carroll said she was given no reason why she had to resign, then raised another episode that Scott and his team would rather forget: chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth’s admission last December that he falsely claimed to have a college degree before actually earning it.”
Quote of the Day
“I can tell you my intent is not to run for re-election. To say I’m 100 percent sure, I would never box myself in like that.”
— Rep. Vance McAllister (R-LA), quoted by Alexandria Town Talk.
Many Pennsylvania Democrats Still Undecided for Governor
A new Franklin & Marshall College poll in Pennsylvania finds Tom Wolf (D) leading the Democratic primary for governor with 33%, followed by Allyson Schwartz (D) at 14%, Rob McCord (D) at 9% and Katie McGinty (D) at 5%.
Big caveat: 39% of registered Democrats are still not sure.
Can Republicans Get Immigration Reform Done?
First Read: “Immigration is really a ‘rock and a hard place issue’ for the GOP: If they don’t get the issue behind them, the GOP will struggle to win presidential elections. But the cost of getting the issue behind them — short term — could be more of a problem than many in the Acela Corridor realize. We’ve gone back and forth about whether we think immigration can get done either this year or EARLY next year. But judging by how divisive the issue still is — and how potent the issue still is in primaries — we’re just not sure how it gets done without causing major internal damage in the GOP.”
Congress Will Soon Be Even More Polarized
Morning Line: “Most wouldn’t think the House could get any more partisan, but it will. Retirements of moderates in at least half a dozen seats will likely mean even more ideological rigidity. And it’s not just on the Republican side. National Journal noted that the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats are down from a membership of 54 in 2010 to 19 today. (Part of that is, of course, that many of those Blue Dogs were targeted in 2010 by Republicans because they were in conservative districts — not because of primaries like on the Republican side.) Brookings has a great interactive on how things have changed in Congress since just before the Civil War. And polarization has gotten worse over the last 30 years. There are plenty of reasons for the trend — from members jetting home and not socializing anymore to the more partisan bents of gerrymandered districts. But whatever the reason, the reality is the next Congress will almost certainly mean more of the same inertia and incivility.”
Jon Stewart Takes on Karl Rove
The Week notes Jon Stewart poked holes in Karl Rove’s claims that Hillary Clinton might have brain damage.
Kasich Widens Lead in Ohio
A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds Gov. John Kasich (R) leading challenger Ed Fitzgerald (D) by double-digits, 50% to 35%.
This compares to a 43% to 38% Kasich lead in a February survey.
Deal Holds Narrow Lead for Re-Election in Georgia
A new Survey USA poll in Georgia finds Gov. Nathan Deal (R) 43% ahead of challenger Jason Carter (D) in the gubernatorial race, 43% to 37%, with Andrew Hunt (L) at 7%.
A new St. Leo University poll finds Deal leading Carter, 38% to 35%, with Hunt at 7%.
Perdue Continues to Lead GOP Field in Georgia
A new SurveyUSA poll in Georgia finds David Perdue (R) leading the GOP pack for the U.S. Senate nomination with 27%, followed by Jack Kingston (R) at 19%, Karen Handel (R) at 16%, Phil Gingrey (R) at 10%, and Paul Broun (R) at 10%.
A new St. Leo University poll finds Perdue leading with 26%, followed by Kingston at 16%, Handel at 15%, Broun at 13% and Gingrey at 8%.
Sasse Wins Big in Nebraska
Ben Sasse (R) pulled off a victory in Nebraska Tuesday night, winning the Republican Senate primary to become the nominee and likely the next senator from the Cornhusker State, Roll Call reports.
“Sasse benefited from massive spending by outside groups like the Club for Growth and Senate Conservatives Fund. Those groups did a lot of the dirty work, running a barrage of negative ads bashing first Osborn and, later, Dinsdale, while Sasse’s own campaign only ran positive spots about the candidate.”
Omama World Herald: “The Sasse campaign gained national attention for his Tea Party-aligned message, which won him backing from various Tea Party leaders and national conservative groups. Those outside groups contributed more than $2 million in campaign spending to boost Sasse and take down his rivals.”
Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down in Idaho
A federal judge ruled that Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the Huffington Post reports.
“U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale wrote in the decision that Idaho’s laws banning same-sex marriage unconstitutionally deny gay and lesbian citizens their fundamental right to marry.”
Judge Halts Investigation Into South Carolina Lawmaker
Huffington Post: “A South Carolina state judge ordered a grand jury on Monday to stop investigating state House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R), finding that only Harrell’s colleagues can begin a probe into allegations of corruption against him.”
West Virginia Set to Elect Female Senator
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Natalie Tennant (D) captured primary wins on Tuesday, “setting the stage for a historic U.S. Senate showdown in November that will give West Virginia its first female senator,” the AP reports.
“Capito, a seven-term congresswoman and daughter of former Gov. Arch Moore, and Tennant, the state’s secretary of state, each cruised to victory and will square off to replace Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller, who is retiring after 30 years.”
Cantor Tea Party Opponent Picks Up Momentum
Washington Post: “There was a time when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) sympathized with the tea party’s frustration with Washington. Now, he’s engaged in open warfare with the GOP’s insurgent wing.”
“This week, Cantor’s opponent in the June 10 primary — a tea party activist named David Brat — is gaining national attention as a potential threat to Cantor’s hold on his solidly Republican, suburban Richmond district… The intraparty drama is the latest reflection of the deepening chasm in the Republican Party across Virginia and the nation. And it is all the more remarkable because it is happening to a man widely seen as the likely next speaker of the House.”
Conversation with Wayne Slater
As we continue our state-by-state deep dives, let’s mess with Texas and talk politics with Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News. It’s a fascinating conversation.
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