Senate Votes to Take Up Immigration Bill; Markey, Gomez Debate in MA; Noem Won't Run for SD SEN

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • The Senate immigration debate began in earnest Tuesday with an unusually overwhelming vote of 82-15 to end debate on the motion to proceed to floor deliberations. That first vote should not be construed as overwhelming support for the bill, however, as many who voted "yes" did so for the purpose of amending it in different directions (National Journal Daily).

  • Pres. Obama will travel to Miami Beach, FL, on Wednesday for a DNC fundraiser "where donations could reach as high as $32,400 per person" (Miami Herald).

  • MA SEN Special: "Economic issues took center stage" as Rep. Edward Markey (D) and ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R) "sparred in their second debate" in Springfield Tuesday night (Springfield Republican). In a new Gomez TV ad, a narrator "shows images from an attack ad recently launched" by the DSCC and "declares in a theatrical voice that, 'Gabriel Gomez is a very bad man. He kills old people. He hates women. He even leaves the toilet seat up'" (Boston Globe). Obama will headline "a rally" in Roxbury on Wednesday prior to his trip to South FL, and "before the rally, Obama will also attend a smaller private event," which a WH official "described as 'a photo line for donors'" (Boston Globe).

  • NJ SEN Special: Sources "connected" to NJ Educ. Assn and the Communication Workers Assn of America say "they do not expect their organizations to endorse a candidate" in the Dem primary, leaving Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) with one fewer "obstacle on his expected march to victory" (RealClearPolitics).

  • VA GOV '13: "[D]espite what he described in a news release as 'overwhelming support' for his effort," ex-WH party crasher Tareq Salahi (I) "was apparently unable to collect the necessary" 10K signatures "to make the ballot ... by Tuesday's deadline" and is now running as a write-in candidate (Washington Post).

  • MI SEN: Rep. Mike Rogers (R) will announce on Friday whether he's running but would not confirm speculation that he has decided against it, nor did he characterize the delivery or setting of Friday's announcement (National Journal).

  • SD SEN: Rep. Kristi Noem (R) "announced late Tuesday afternoon" that she won't run and will instead seek reelection, but ex-Gov. Mike Rounds (R) "won't necessarily have a clear path" to the GOP nod (Sioux Falls Argus Leader).

  • FL-26: The NRCC is running "Spanish-language radio ads highlighting a scandal involving aides" to Rep. Joe Garcia (D) (Miami Herald).

  • GA-01: State rep./'10 GOV candidate Jeff Chapman (R) "announced his candidacy late Monday night via emails and an entry on his Facebook page" (Savannah Morning News).

  • PA-12: Ex-Rep. Mark Critz (D) "is leaning toward a comeback bid and plans to make a decision on whether to challenge" Rep. Keith Rothfus (R) "in the coming weeks" (The Hill).

  • IL GOV: Businessman Bruce Rauner (R) launched two introductoryTV ads on Tuesday, focused on reforming gov't and job creation (release).

  • MI GOV: In an "open letter" published Tuesday and "signed by more than two dozen" tea party "activists," some "prominent names ... are calling on conservatives to 'sit out'" Gov. Rick Snyder's (R) reelection campaign "because of his push to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act" (MLive.com).

  • PA GOV: Treas. Rob McCord (D) formed a new campaign cmte "called 'McCord for Governor,'" but a McCord spokesperson "didn't specify a timeline for an official announcement" (PoliticsPA.com).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Rob Portman wants to improve internal job site enforcement. John Cornyn and Deb Fischer want to remove a pathway to citizenship. Mitch McConnell wants to talk costs. Expect GOPers, even those looking to get to a yes, to tout the changes they helped make to the bill. It's a first step toward mollifying critics on the right, some of whom will need placating after the vote.

• Ken Cuccinelli has reason to worry about the candidate chosen as his running mate, but Terry McAuliffe may be more concerned about who wasn't. In an election where minority turnout could be key to a McAuliffe victory, Dem primary voters could have chosen an Indian-American technology executive and an African-American for LG and AG, respectively. But it was two white men who captured those nods. It's not all bad news for McAuliffe: LG nominee Ralph Northam was a key player in last year's push against the ultrasound bill and could be helpful in painting the GOP ticket as anti-woman.

• Time to stick a fork in the SD SEN race? With Noem passing on a primary contest with Rounds, the last would-be high profile candidate decided against running. Rounds could still get a conservative primary challenger, but with Noem and the top Dem recruits sitting this one out, he looks poised to cruise.

• While GOPers see health care as a major issue likely to help them in 2014, health care conflicts continue to roil the GOP at the state level. As an exasperated AZ Gov. Jan Brewer called a special session -- without consulting her party's legislative leaders -- to push through a Medicaid expansion with mostly Dem votes, the ID GOP is considering requiring candidates to get approval from the central cmte before they can appear on a ballot. It's a reaction to GOP elected officials' controversial decision to have the state create and run its own health insurance exchange.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • A federal jury in Tucson, AZ, on Tuesday found ex-Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) "guilty on 17 of 32 felony charges brought against him, including conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion, racketeering, money laundering and making false statements to insurance regulators" (Arizona Republic).

  • Ex-Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) "collected nearly" $450K "in questionable payments from four federally funded nuclear labs after she left office" and before her "unsuccessful" '12 NM SEN bid, the Energy Dept.'s IG said in a new report (AP).

  • AK LG Mead Treadwell (R), "who is contemplating running" for SEN, "was snapped this past weekend holding a bottle of wine with a homemade label touting 'No Joe, No More' and featuring a picture of" '10 SEN nominee Joe Miller (R) (Alaska Dispatch).

  • A "stone monument" in Rex, GA, "celebrating" Michelle Obama's "great-great-great grandmother," Melvinia Shields, "was knocked over from its pedestal onto a concrete slab" last Saturday night" (CNN).

  • "If they come and ask for the money, you say to them, 'What do you stand for?' ... I want to tell people what these four stand for. And then people can make up their own minds" -- NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), on "a personal letter" he plans to send "to hundreds of the biggest" Dem donors in NY "urging them to cut off contributions" to Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mark Begich (D-AK), Max Baucus (D-MT) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), "who helped block a bill in April that would have strengthened background checks on gun purchasers" (New York Times).

  • The Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police on Tuesday "released an itemized list" of how they spent "nearly" $50M for security at the '12 Dem Convo, including $450 to a Rock Hill, SC, company "called Scoot D Doo Inc. to remove horse droppings," and $949 "for something described only as chainsaw rentals" (Charlotte Observer).

  • "It's the mullet budget. It's conservative up front, but it's liberal in the back" -- CA state Assemb. Jeff Gorell (R), on a budget agreement reached by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and Dem leaders in the state legislature (Los Angeles Times).

  • IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D) and MA Gov. Deval Patrick (D) "have agreed to a gentleman's wager as they back their home teams" in the Stanley Cup Finals, which begin Monday night, with the loser volunteering "at a food bank of the winner's choice" (Chicago Tribune).

  • "After five months in a cramped temporary office in the basement of another Senate building," Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and his staff "were finally given an official office Tuesday, complete with a bronzed nameplate" and ME's state seal "adorning the entryway" (Portland Press Herald).

  • Luntz Global (R), "which has worked on behalf of the NFL and other sports leagues during labor disputes in recent years, is conducting a football focus group" in Alexandria, VA, on Thursday, "where it will pay participants $100 to share their opinions" about the NFL and the Washington Redskins, the NFL franchise "embroiled in controversy and a federal trademark lawsuit involving its name" (ThinkProgress)

REMEMBERING DOUG BAILEY

  • "Mentoring young people was second nature to him, and he always made time to guide and teach and listen. A walking idea factory, Doug was constantly dreaming up new projects that he hoped would change the world. And these projects were invariably staffed by young people whose careers and outlooks would be shaped by the man who led them. I suspect there are thousands of us around Washington and other cities today, people who seek to retain a sliver of Doug’s optimism in a world often filled with gloom" -- Ex-Hotliner Karl Eisenhower

  • "It's hard to imagine there was once a time when you didn't instantly know what was in some other papers or the latest polls across the country but he sensed there was a market and there was. We were glad for the exposure it gave our stuff and it was useful to me as a reporter to understand what others were writing and saying" -- Ex-Des Moines Register chief political writer David Yepsen

  • "Political consulting is a field that wants to keep doing things the same way over and over. Doug Bailey was a guy who found ways to do things differently and that's what I'll remember about him" -- Dem consultant Mark Nevins

  • "In the early 1990s, I took a class at GWU with Doug Bailey. It was that class and his infectious enthusiasm for politics that really inspired me to get into political advertising. I remember him showing us the ad his firm produced for President Ford's re-election with the soundtrack, 'I'm feeling good about America.' In hindsight, that really captured Doug Bailey: He made you feel good about politics and America" -- GOP consultant Erik Potholm

  • "Doug was always ready to talk to many of us just starting out in the political consulting business in the 70s and to make our work more professional" -- GOP consultant Michael Belefski

  • "Doug inspired a generation of new leaders through Freedom's Answer, a GOTV effort he led with the help of high school students throughout the country. He believed in every idea, taught us how to work hard and lead, and most importantly reminded us to never stop dreaming about how American politics should change" -- Bain & Co. consultant Dane Anderson

  • "He was one of the most courteous self-effacing political personalities I have ever met. And yet his presence was deeply powerful and awe-inspiring. It was an extraordinary and unique combination" -- Ex-"NBC Nightly News" senior graphics ed. Charles H. Riggs III

  • "Doug had a strategy, to inspire thousands of young people who came to work for The Hotline, many of them in their first jobs out of college, to love truth, the facts, and most of all, our precious Democracy. His strategy worked, and he leaves a legacy of fun and instructive memories in the hearts and minds of everyone privileged to know him" -- Ex-Hotline Editor-in-Chief Craig Crawford

  • "He was never, ever, without a new idea. He was, what we affectionately called him in his last campaign, 'the visionary.'" -- The Can Kicks Back co-founder Nick Troiano (thecankicksback.org).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Julie Krone is the only female jockey to win a Triple Crown race, capturing the '93 Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair.

  • The winner is Dawson Hobbs, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "This weekend, the U.S. Open will be played at Merion on the shortest course in recent years. The revolution in driver technology has necessitated this move to longer courses. Name the first player to win a major championship using a metal driver and the event, and the last player to win a major using a persimmon driver and the event." The 1st correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Ed has such [a] quick wit and such an amazing way with words -- I can't even count the number of times where I walked out of the committee room shaking my head thinking, 'Why can't I think of things like that?'" -- Al Gore, at a Markey fundraiser Tuesday night in DC (Boston Globe).

...CHASER

"It's really not math. It's just arithmetic" -- Markey, at Tuesday night's debate (Springfield Republican).

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor