OFA Targets Dem Nays On Gun Control; DCCC Again Outraises NRCC ; FitzGerald To Announce OH GOV Bid

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama, for whom addresses "after national tragedies have become a grim routine," gave a "less somber, less policy-focused and less introspective" speech at a prayer service in Boston on Thursday, offering "the city and the country a pep talk" (Time).

  • VP Biden told WH "allies" that Obama will soon announce "new executive actions on gun violence" (BuzzFeed). Meanwhile, Organizing for Action "plans to mobilize constituents against" the Sens. who opposed the Toomey-Manchin bill on background checks, including Dems, namely Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) (Los Angeles Times).

  • The NRCC raised $8.1M in March and ended the month with $8.1M in the bank as well. The committee raised $17.5M overall in the first quarter, about $5M less than the DCCC (Roll Call).

  • SC-01 Special: The DCCC released its first TV ad in the race, hitting ex-Gov. Mark Sanford (R) on ethics violations he faced as governor and for "walking out on" voters (On Call). Sanford is "being outspent almost 3-1" on TV by Dems, according to a media-buying source (CNN).

  • NJ GOV '13: Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Wednesday that if he wins reelection "he will consider it a mandate from the people for a tax cut" (Newark Star-Ledger).

  • NYC Mayor '13: Billionaire John Catsimatidis' (R) campaign "claimed the Boston terror attack will boost his candidacy by reminding voters of his pro-cop positions" (New York Post).

  • IA SEN: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said that he sees "a path to victory," but that his "gut hasn't quite lined up yet" on a bid (On Call).

  • MT SEN: Baucus responded to controversy over his comment that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act would likely be a "train wreck," saying that he was not condemning the law itself (Missoulian).

  • OH GOV: Cuyahoga Co. Exec. Ed FitzGerald (D), who has been weighing a bid, will kickoff his campaign on April 24, according to multiple Dem operatives (On Call).

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • According to a new AP/GfK poll of nat'l adults, conducted 4/11-15, 50% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as POTUS, and 47% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted 1/10-14, 54% approved of Obama, and 42% disapproved (release).

  • NYC Mayor '13: A new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of Dem RVs, conducted 4/15-18, shows City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leading the Dem primary over ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner, 28-15%, with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at 11%, '09 nominee/ex-Comp. Bill Thompson at 10% and Comp. John Liu at 9% (release).

  • OH SEN '16: According to a new Quinnipiac Univ. poll, conducted 4/10-15, 40% approve of the way Sen. Rob Portman (R) is handling his job, while 31% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted 2/21-26, 44% approved of Portman, and 24% disapproved (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Ed FitzGerald's GOV bid comes as no surprise, and it would be shocking if he drew a primary challenger. While Richard Cordray is still named as a possibility, Ohio Dem leaders have said they don't want a primary to jeopardize their chances of beating Kasich. With FitzGerald consolidating early support, a November 2014 showdown with Kasich looks to be on the horizon.

• New Sen. Brian Schatz's first-quarter fundraising brought in $1.1 million, which is important. But it's also important to note who that money came from: a wide selection of Hawaii Dem big-hitters, including over 100 people who had previously donated to Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, currently considered his most likely primary opponent. Only a small fraction of them also donated to Hanabusa in the last three months, and only one of them gave more to Hanabusa than to Schatz.

• Although Thad Cochran is not a sure bet to run for re-election, none of Mississippi's GOP Reps used this quarter to prepare for a possible Senate bid. Two of three actually fell in cash-on-hand, and none raised more than $70,000.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "He's an entertainer. He's an Elvis impersonator, and he entertained at a party that my wife and I helped give for a young couple that was getting married. He was quite entertaining" -- Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), on accused poisoner Paul Kevin Curtis (CNN).

  • Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) "tumbled into the fountain at the National Building Museum" during last night's March of Dimes Gourmet Gala. "The senator took a serious dive. When he emerged, he was soaked to his neck, his suit was sopping and 'water had to be poured from his cowboy boots'" (Roll Call).

  • "When they're really trying to recruit, they say it's not going to be that different. It's not true. It is an earthquake" -- Columnist/Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) wife Connie Schultz, recalling watching two men in suits jump out of a white van to grab her trash shortly after Dems recruited her husband to run for office (National Journal).

  • Sec/State John Kerry "made a major gaffe Thursday" when he referred to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" -- "a song that's a major part of Boston Red Sox tradition" -- as "Sweet Adeline" (Huffington Post).

  • "Running for mayor is not a substitute for therapy. The voters won't pick someone to be their mayor who sent pictures of his penis to random women around the world. It's insane" -- a WH "insider," on ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-NY) potential NYC Mayoral campaign (New York Post).

  • Anheuser-Busch heir Adolphus Busch IV "has reportedly resigned" from the NRA over the group's "'distorted values' in the recent gun control debate" (Washington Post).

  • "The Scene From '300' the DCCC Uses to Rally Democratic Recruits" (National Journal).

  • We asked our Friday Feature what brought her to BuzzFeed, and here's what she said: "Michael Hastings. He was doing a Reddit AMA last year, and I made myself a Reddit account, logged in, and left a comment asking if he needed a part-time research assistant. I'd been following his work for a while, and was a big fan, and still am, and anyway, somehow this Reddit scheme actually worked. I started helping him with stories, and about a month or two later, he twisted enough arms to help me get a foot in the door at BuzzFeed." For more see today's Media Monitor in the Hotline's Latest Edition.

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Thomas Hart Benton was elected to the Tennessee Legislature, the U.S. Senate from Missouri, and the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri (in that order). He shares a name with his grand-nephew, a famous Missouri artist.

  • The winner is Randall Harrison, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "D.C. is full of people who got perfect scores on their college boards. that's not much of a cachet for brainpower any more. However, one Obama administration executive branch appointee was a five-time 'Jeopardy!' champion (when that was as far as you could go on the show). Who is it?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Martha Roby had a lot of people who, quite honestly, saw her as a young mother. They weren't sure that that's what they wanted to see. ... (They worried) that's a seat we've got to win -- why would we necessarily go and be for somebody who has a lot of family needs? We could lose the seat. Maybe she -- you know the issues. It's not second-guessing her; it's saying that, 'Does she have, you know, what it takes'" -- ex-NRCC chair Pete Sessions, on recruiting Roby in AL-02 (National Journal).

...CHASER

"I like when a woman has ambition. It's like seeing a dog wearing clothes" -- Jack Donaghy ("30 Rock").

Sarah Mimms, Editor