Garcetti Defeats Greuel in L.A. Mayor's Race; IRS Official To Take the Fifth; Weiner's Officially In

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • An atty for IRS dir. of exempt organizations Lois Lerner "said she would invoke the 5th Amendment rather than answer questions" about the IRS's "improper scrutiny of conservative groups" and "why she didn't tell Congress about it." Lerner is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the House Oversight and Gov't Reform Cmte (Los Angeles Times).

  • The Senate Jud Cmte late Tuesday approved a bill that would give 11M undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship and require employers to electronically verify all new hires, potentially the biggest changes to immigration law in almost 30 years (National Journal).

  • L.A. Mayor '13: With 100% of precincts reporting, Councilor Eric Garcetti (D) defeated Cont. Wendy Greuel (D), 54-46% (L.A. city clerk). Greuel called Garcetti, who will become the city's first Jewish mayor, "early Wednesday morning to concede" (Los Angeles Times).

  • MA SEN Special: Ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R) on Wednesday "will unveil a scathing ad that labels" his opponent, Rep. Edward Markey (D), "dirty Ed Markey" for blaming Gomez for the '12 Newtown, CT, school shootings. "Despite what the ad says, Markey has not blamed Gomez for the Newtown ... shootings" (Boston Globe).

  • NJ GOV '13: State Sen. Barbara Buono (D) "is going on air" with a $1M TV ad buy, "strictly" for the NYC market, from May 28-June 4 (Politico).

  • VA GOV '13: Ex-DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe's (D) new TV ad links him "to the landmark transportation compromise championed" by Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) (Washington Post).

  • NYC Mayor '13: Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D) formally unveiled his campaign via a web video quietly unveiled late Tuesday night, casting himself as a middle-class warrior and acknowledging, "I've made some big mistakes" (Hotline reporting). A new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of Dem RVs, conducted 5/14-20, shows City Council Speaker Christine Quinn leading the primary over Weiner, 25-15%, with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio at 10%, '09 nominee Bill Thompson at 10%, Comp. John Liu at 6% and ex-Councilor Sal Albanese at 2%. In the previous poll, conducted 4/15-18, Quinn led Weiner, 28-15%, with de Blasio at 11%, Thompson at 10% and Liu at 9% (release).

  • KY SEN: '00 Miss America Heather French Henry (D) "is contemplating launching a challenge" to Senate Min. Leader Mitch McConnell and "has been contacted by officeholders in the state urging her to run" (The Hill).

  • MI SEN: A new EPIC-MRA poll of LVs, conducted 5/11-14, shows Rep. Gary Peters (D) leading Rep. Mike Rogers (R), 37-30% (release).

  • OH-16: The DCCC "conducted an automated telephone poll on Monday that asked voters ... who they'd favor in a rematch" between Rep. Jim Renacci (R) and ex-Rep. John Boccieri (D), whom Renacci defeated in '10 (Cleveland Plain Dealer).

  • MI GOV: A new EPIC-MRA poll of LVs, conducted 5/11-14, shows Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and ex-Rep. Mark Schauer (D) tied, 39-39%. In the previous poll, conducted 4/13-16, Schauer led Snyder, 39-38% (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• All jokes aside, the comparisons between Anthony Weiner and Mark Sanford miss one political truth: Sanford was the dominant political figure in SC-01. Weiner is hardly the best known commodity in New York City. But the media loves a comeback story (because it gives them a chance to rehash the underlying fall from grace), so Weiner's bid hurts other candidates struggling for oxygen.

• One contender who could be helped by Weiner's entry is Thompson, who remains the only serious black candidate running for mayor. With an increasingly crowded Democratic primary field, Thompson could land himself in a runoff against Quinn if he wins a large percentage of the black vote. The latest Q poll may understate Thompson's support among black Dems; Weiner (!) leads among that cohort.

• While the L.A. mayor's race commanded most of the attention in CA last night, there was also a state Senate special in a district that mostly overlaps with GOP Rep. David Valadao's CA-21 but is more Dem-leaning. Andy Vidak (R) currently leads the Senate race with 52% and all precincts reporting. His share could decline with further absentee and provisional vote counting, but the area's latest votes demonstrate why Valadao isn't an easy mark for Dems, even though he represents a 55% Obama district.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "A close reading of recently released" gov't e-mails that were sent during the editing process following the Benghazi attack, and interviews with senior officials from several gov't agencies, reveal then-CIA Dir. David Petraeus's "early role and ambitions ... apparently to produce a set of talking points favorable to his image and his agency" (Washington Post).

  • "Where does this stuff come from?" -- Ex-Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), dispelling rumors "circulating for months" that he would consider an indie GOV bid (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot).

  • "I don't have anything to rephrase or apologize for. I would just say people should not paint me as one-dimensional" -- VA LG nominee E.W. Jackson (R), who "says his faith and values inform his conservative stances on issues such as abortion and marriage" (Washington Post).

  • Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) "injured her hand so severely last week at softball practice that her ability to play" in the Fifth Annual Congressional Women's Softball Game on June 26 "is in question" (Roll Call).

  • "They're not really excited. They've sat around the campfire and figured out that they've got to act excited or they're not going to have any hope at all" -- CO Gov. John Hickenlooper (R), on the GOPers stepping forward to challenge him in '14 (Denver Post).

  • "Awaiting a federal grand jury indictment and facing calls for her resignation or ouster," AR Treas. Martha Shoffner (D) "stepped down Tuesday" (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette).

  • "Ahora, hermano, busco una esposa de Latina. Entonces voy a hablar perfecto" -- Newark (NJ) Mayor Cory Booker (D), on how marrying a Latina would improve his ability to speak Spanish (WPIX-TV).

  • "In a baby blue tie and a striped suit, with a gold watch on one wrist and a red banded bracelet on the other," Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid "took in the airy room, occasionally looking out the open massive arched French windows" -- How Women's Wear Daily covered a Reid '16 NYC fundraiser last week (Las Vegas Review Journal).

  • "He turns to me, and said, 'Come January 1st, when I am out of office, I am going to destroy your f--king industry'" -- NYC Taxi Club Management CEO Gene Freidman, "who won a court victory" over Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) over the so-called "Taxi of Tomorrow," recounting a chance meeting with Bloomberg last week at a Knicks playoff game (New York Post).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • The Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound" weighed approximately 75 tons.

  • The winner is Nathaniel Kronisch, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Who was the first championship professional baseball team to be invited to the White House? And who was president?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life, and I hope I get a second chance to work for you" -- Weiner, in his announcement video (YouTube).

...CHASER

"Give me another chance! Stalk me baby. Very hot" -- Weiner, in a '11 Facebook chat with a NV woman (New York Post).

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor