Rice to Replace Donilon as NSA; Markey and Gomez Debate Tonight; Christie Kicks Off NJ SEN Special

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • "In a major shakeup" of Pres. Obama's foreign-policy inner circle, Nat'l Security Adviser Tom Donilon "is resigning and will be replaced by" U.S. Amb. to the UN Susan Rice. Obama "plans to nominate" NSC official Samantha Power as the new amb. to the UN (New York Times).

  • MO-08 Special: State House Speaker Pro Tem Jason Smith (R) "easily defeated" state Rep. Steve Hodges (D) in Tuesday's special election, 67-27%, amid "very low" turnout (Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian).

  • MA SEN Special: The campaign "will enter a critical final phase Wednesday night" as Rep. Edward Markey (D) and ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R) "bring their message directly to voters in the first of three televised debates," airing at 7 pm on WBZ-TV (Boston Globe). Obama "will visit Boston next week to campaign" and raise money for Markey (Boston Globe).

  • NJ SEN Special: Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday "called for a special election" to fill the seat of late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) and "said he will make a temporary appointment ... within days." The primary will be 8/13, with the special general election on 10/16. The filing deadline is 6/10 (Newark Star-Ledger). Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) "tiptoed Tuesday around whether he would run ... but virtually no one in Newark seemed to believe him" (Newark Star-Ledger). Rep. Rush Holt (D) "told" three Dem county chairs "that he plans" to run (PolitickerNJ.com). Rep. Frank Pallone (D) "is talking to party leaders, and making calls to party members informing them of his intent" to run (PolitickerNJ.com). '06 nominee/state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R) and '12 nominee/state Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R) "did not return phone calls seeking comment" (Newark Star-Ledger). Conservative activist/'09 GOV candidate Steve Lonegan (R) "is mulling a bid" (Newark Star-Ledger).

  • NJ GOV '13: Christie and state Sen. Barbara Buono (D) "easily won" their parties' nods in the primary Tuesday, "setting up a general election showdown largely over what Christie has done to fix the state's economy" (AP). In his victory speech Tuesday night, Christie "never uttered Buono's name," although "he mentioned his predecessor," ex-Gov. Jon Corzine (D), "twice" (Philadelphia Inquirer).

  • AR SEN: Senate Conservatives Action "will launch Wednesday the second in a series of three TV ads" attacking Sen. Mark Pryor (D) (Roll Call).

  • WV SEN: Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO) CoS Chris Hansen "will serve as" mgr. of Rep. Shelley Moore Capito's (R) camp. Hansen also managed Rep. Mike Coffman's (R-CO) '12 camp (TheColoradoObserver.com).

  • IA-01: Cedar Rapids city Councilor Monica Vernon (D) announced Tuesday "that she is running" to replace Rep. Bruce Braley (D) (Des Moines Register).

  • NY GOV: According to a new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of RVs, conducted 5/29-6/3, 58% feel that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) "deserves to be reelected," while 31% feel "he does not deserve to be reelected" (release).

  • NC: Rep./Federal Housing Finance Agency Dir.-designate Mel Watt (D) testified Tuesday in the state's redistricting trial that "he met with" state Senate redistricting chair Bob Rucho (R) in April '11. to talk "about the need to redraw" Watt's plurality-black CD, but "Watt said the plan adopted was not what the two had discussed." In response, Rucho "said ... [Watt] should 'be careful what he says under oath'" (Raleigh News & Observer).

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • According to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll of nat'l adults, conducted 5/30-6/2 by Hart (D)/McInturff (R), 48% approve of the job Obama is doing as POTUS, while 47% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted 4/5-8, 47% approved of Obama, and 48% disapproved (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Markey would seem to have the most to lose from tonight's debate, as he continues to lead the polls in a relatively low-profile race. Yet his campaign is running radio ads today urging voters to tune in tonight, signaling that they think Gomez is more likely to commit a gaffe of his own than land a race-altering hit on the Dem.

• Both sides' internal polls show Obama's fav rating hovers between the mid-50s and 60% in the Bay State. That makes Obama's visit to Boston next week much more valuable to Markey than his drive-by for Martha Coakley was in 2010.

• After a disastrous '12 in which its surveys were biased toward the GOP, Gallup says it has a plan to fix its polling. The centerpiece of that plan, editor-in-chief Frank Newport said Tuesday, is an "overhaul" of their likely-voter model. Experiments will start with this fall's NJ and VA races, but it's not clear if off-year elections will provide valuable lessons about presidential turnout -- especially now that NJ is holding two statewide elections in fewer than three weeks.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Ex-Sec/State Hillary Clinton (D), VP Biden and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) "will speak at the funeral services" for Lautenberg, to be held Wednesday at the Park Avenue Synagogue in NYC (Newark Star-Ledger).

  • Top aides to VA Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) "expressed concerns" about McDonnell's "participation" in a '11 event at the governor's mansion "that marked the launch of a dietary supplement made by a major McDonnell campaign donor, according to newly released e-mails" (Washington Post).

  • "I'm not advocating beating your children" -- VA LG nominee E.W. Jackson (R), issuing a "quick caveat" after he lamented "the social unacceptability of corporal punishment" in a sermon this past Sunday (National Review).

  • Ex-Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) "is looking to open a new law firm" in Raleigh this Sept. (CNN).

  • Ex-Rep. Allen West (R-FL) "has converted" his campaign cmte "to a federal PAC and registered it as Deep Strike PAC" (Roll Call).

  • The Nature Conservancy sent out a press release Tuesday "to thank freshmen" Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Denny Heck (D-WA) "for setting up" a Cong. Puget Sound Recovery Caucus, but the original release "mixed up" Kilmer with actor Val Kilmer (SeattlePI.com).

  • The NY state ethics cmte "that investigated sexual harassment allegations" against then-Assemb. Vito Lopez (D) "mysteriously omitted from its final report a document" in which an atty "representing two Lopez staffers who accused Lopez of groping them ... suggests" state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D) "had an inappropriate relationship with a top aide" (New York Daily News).

  • A day after his 50th birthday, House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor will celebrate Friday night with "a soiree fundraiser with 'desserts, drinks and dancing'" at the Science Museum of Virginia (RichmondTimes-Dispatch).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Ex-Sen. Mike Mansfield (D-MT) was the last WWI vet in the Senate.

  • The winner is Anthony Foti, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "What current Spring Training host city boasts the longest lasting relationship with a major-league baseball team?" The 2nd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"The young folks who are coming into each of your services are anywhere from 17 to 22 or 23. Gee whiz, the hormone level created by nature sets in place the possibility for these types of things to occur" -- Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) (Huffington Post).

...CHASER

"My gosh, it's such [sic] inexpensive. You know, back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn't that costly" -- GOP donor Foster Friess ("Andrea Mitchell Reports," 2/16/12).

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor