Bloomberg Develops Gun Scorecard; OFA Gets Cyber-Squatted; Pat Miletich, Liz Cheney for Senate?

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) "is ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers by launching a new system to grade them based on their votes and statements on gun issues" (Washington Post)

  • "An arbitrator has denied" Organizing for Action's "effort to obtain the domain name organizingforaction.net, registered by a quick-moving computer technician in Castle Rock, Colo., on Jan. 18, when the news broke that Obama's former advisors were launching the group" (Los Angeles Times). Pres. Obama himself "will appear at a cozy reception for fewer than 65 guests with tickets priced at $32,400 per couple at the Manhattan home of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and his designer wife Georgina Chapman on May 13" (New York Post)

  • NJ GOV '13: "One New Jersey," a group "formed to push back" on Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) record, "is launching a $500,000 cable ad buy in the state" today (Politico)

  • Boston Mayor '13: City Councilor Felix Arroyo "is expected to launch a bid" today, "making him the first Latino candidate to run for the office" and "the sixth major candidate" in the race (Boston Globe)

  • IA SEN: Mixed martial artist/ESPN commentator/ex-UFC champion Pat Miletich (R) "says he is considering a bid," but "said it was possible he could run as an independent." He "tweeted last week that people could pencil his name in next year for Senate, adding 'Bruce Braley cannot win that seat.'" (Quad City Times)

  • KY SEN: Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell (R) raised $1.8M in the 1stQ and has $8.6M CoH (AP)

  • LA SEN: Ex-Rep. Jeff Landry (R) said the launch of his super PAC "doesn’t necessarily close other doors for his political future. But he emphasized that the super PAC is a long-term project, which most likely lowers the odds of a challenge" to Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) (Politico)

  • MA SEN: Reps. Ed Markey (D) and Stephen Lynch (D) "sparred on drone strikes, student debt, health care and campaign spending during a debate Monday" (AP). Meanwhile, state Rep. Dan Winslow (R) filed a request with the FEC Monday "for guidance on whether his campaign can accept contributions from same-sex married couples as they are allowed to for straight couples" (Time)

  • WY SEN: Dick Cheney daughter Liz Cheney (R) "is still seriously considering running," although over the weekend, Sen. Mike Enzi (R) "told a meeting of the GOP state party committee that he is looking forward to running for re-election" (Daily Caller)

  • ME GOV: '10 candidate Eliot Cutler (I) "is headed to D.C. in May to raise money from a pretty ritzy list" of DC lobbyists. The invitation "lists about 20 former Carter Administration officials, lobbyists and Democratic Party and campaign officials as 'hosts.'" (Bangor Daily News)

  • NM GOV: Gov. Susana Martinez (R) "has stockpiled" nearly $1.5M for her re-election campaign, "far more" than AG Gary King (D), who has $103K CoH (AP)

  • PA GOV: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) "launched her campaign" Monday, declaring that Gov. Tom Corbett's (R) "failed leadership" has crippled the PA economy. "Her staff said that $3.1 million in her congressional campaign account would be transferred" to her GOV campaign cmte (Philadelphia Inquirer).

  • WH '16: Ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) "will speak at the 13th Annual Spring Kick Off of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition" April 15 in Urbandale, IA. His "remarks will focus on the future of the Republican Party and what must be done to ensure our party's future viability" (Sioux City Journal)

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • According to a new CNN/ORC Int'l poll of nat'l adults, conducted 4/5-7, 51% approve of the way Obama is handling his job as POTUS, while 47% disapprove. In the previous poll, conducted 3/15-17, 47% approved of Obama, and 50% disapproved (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day


• Schwartz's decision to jump into the PA GOV race emphasizes just how vulnerable Democrats think Gov. Tom Corbett is. A favorite of leadership, Schwartz has seen her power grow in the House Democratic Caucus, but she's giving up her increasingly prominent role in DC for a shot at the Governor's Mansion, even though she could face multiple credible foes in the Democratic primary.

• With Dems desperate to avoid a primary in SD, it appears Brendan Johnson's supporters have determined it's more important to claim frontrunner status (and potentially head off former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin) than to avoid charges of political nepotism. Nearly all of the state's Dem leaders have been approached by the "Draft Brendan" campaign, and the rapid gathering of support suggests the movement has been in the works for some time. If Herseth Sandlin is serious about a bid, she doesn't have long to make her own show of strength.

• The looming CO-06 battle between Rep. Mike Coffman (R) and Andrew Romanoff (D) looks like an early front-runner to be 2014's most expensive congressional race. It has plenty of key ingredients so far: a closely divided electorate, a big media market, a state with plenty of up-ballot activity, and, most importantly, two seasoned candidates who are both fundraising like incumbents, with each bringing in over $500,000 in the first quarter of 2013.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) "became the latest prominent Democrat to declare his support Monday for same-sex marriage," leaving "only three of 53 Democrats in the Senate" who do not: Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) (Sioux Falls Argus Leader)

  • "Right now I’m grateful to live in a city, in a state, in a country where I strongly support my mayor, my governor and my president and my senators and my representative. If at some point that weren’t true and I thought I could make a meaningful and measurably greater impact, you know, I’d have to ask and answer that question." -- Chelsea Clinton, on possibly running for office (New York Daily News)

  • "The Emanuel brothers -- Ari, Rahm and Zeke -- crack Town & Country’s new list of America’s most powerful families ranking ahead of the Kennedys, McCains and Pritzkers. (The trio sits at No. 4 while the Bush family’s perched on top.)" (New York Post)

  • "If she were here today, she would have read 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'" -- Susan Ford Bales, on her mother/ex-FLOTUS Betty Ford (Grand Rapids Press)

  • "With the Alaska GOP set to meet Monday evening to decide the fate of party chairwoman Debbie Brown of Kasilof, she has seized the Republican headquarters in Anchorage and is threatening to arrest anyone who tries to enter the building" (Alaska Dispatch)

  • "I think you’ll see, hopefully, a chastened Supreme Court is not going to make the same mistake in the (current same-sex marriage) cases as they did in Roe v. Wade" -- Ex-Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) (Des Moines Register)

  • Ex-Rep. Merrill Cook (R-UT) "will participate in a mock hearing with several other former Congress members to explore the subject of UFOs. Cook says he skeptical, but open minded" (Salt Lake Tribune)

  • "Candidate says Haitian Vodou being used to get her to drop out of North Miami mayoral race" (Miami Herald)

  • "Bob Seger fan, 79, ready to see rocker after awakening from five-year coma" (Flint Journal)

  • "I'm going to go there just like I went to Calcutta and Japan ... to sense the dynamism. They're building stuff, 5,000 miles of high-speed rail, and 100 years ago the British were feeding them opium." -- CA Gov. Jerry Brown (D), who left CA for China on Monday, talking recently to the Financial Times of London (Sacramento Bee)

  • "TaB turns 50 and those who love the fizzy diet cola celebrate" (Lexington Herald-Leader)

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce are the two generals that served in the Mexican-American War and later became President.

  • The winner is Sam Kaplan , and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Which Presidents of the United States were generals in the Civil War?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"I don't want to pay for a sex change operation. I'm not interested. I like being a boy." -- GA SEN candidate/Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) (Barrow County Times)

...CHASER

"I Enjoy Being a Girl" -- Flower Drum Song, Rodgers & Hammerstein

Sarah Mimms, Editor
Quinn McCord, Guest Editor