Grassley Staffer Considers IA SEN Bid; NRSC May Sway WV Primary; Cuomo Won't Challenge Hillary

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama will nominate Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx (D) as his new Transportation sec. today, "choosing a rising young African-American from the South to balance out a cabinet criticized for a lack of diversity" (New York Times).

  • VA GOV '13: AG Ken Cuccinelli (R) said Friday that he had failed to disclose some gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams and that he has "asked the Richmond commonwealth's attorney to review his disclosure filings" (Washington Post).

  • IA SEN: Sen. Chuck Grassley CoS David Young (R) is reaching out to donors and "GOP power brokers to gauge support" for a bid (Politico). Meanwhile, the NRSC met with Ag. Sec. Bill Northey (R), state Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and businessman Mark Jacobs (R) and again, unsuccessfully tried to convince Gov. Terry Branstad (R) to run, rather than seek reelection (AP).

  • WV SEN: NRSC officials "said they would campaign and run ads against" ex-Del. Patrick McGeehan (R) "if he appeared to be a threat" to Rep. Shelley Moore Capito's (R) path to the nomination (AP).

  • CA-31: Atty Eloise Gomez Reyes (D) announced a bid on Saturday, becoming the fourth Dem to declare for Rep. Gary Miller's (R) seat (San Bernardino Sun).

  • ME GOV: Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) has decided against a bid, leaving Rep. Mike Michaud (D) and ex-Gov. John Baldacci (D) as "the most prominent" potential Dem candidates (Bangor Daily News).

  • MD GOV: LG Anthony Brown (D) "is in discussions" with Howard Co. Exec. Ken Ulman (D) "about joining his ticket," in a move that "would shake up a highly competitive" Dem primary (Washington Post).

  • NY GOV: '10 LG nominee Greg Edwards (R) said that he will not mount a bid (Capital Tonight).

  • DC Mayor '14: Ex-Admin./ex-Detroit emergency mgr. Robert Bobb "has taken discreet steps to explore a run for mayor" (Washington Post).

  • WH '16: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) "has quietly told associates" that he will not run and cannot win if ex-Sec/State Hillary Clinton enters the race (New York Post).

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • PA GOV: A new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of Dem RVs, conducted 4/19-24, shows Rep. Allyson Schwartz and '10 SEN nominee/ex-Rep. Joe Sestak tied, 15-15%, with Treas. Rob McCord at 3%, businessman Tom Wolf at 3%, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski at 1%, state Sen. Mike Stack at 1%, and ex-state Environmental Protection Sec. John Hanger with less than 1%. In general election matchups among all RVs, McCord (44-35%), Schwartz (47-34%) and Sestak (48-34%) all lead Gov. Tom Corbett (R) (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Faulting a Senate campaign committee for poor recruitment in April of the off year is a little premature. After all, Heidi Heitkamp, the best Dem Senate candidate from 2012, didn't jump in her race until December 2011. There have been failures in states like Iowa, to be sure, but A-list candidates like Mike Rounds in South Dakota and Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia shouldn't be overlooked.

• That's especially true if there's validity to the reports that TomLatham may be reconsidering. After a series of high-profile no-goes, IA GOPers would be ecstatic if their No. 1 choice decides the race is worth a second look.

• If the NRSC is willing to run pre-primary ads on behalf of Shelley Moore Capito, it's a sure sign Republicans now realize their hands-off policy regarding primaries in the last few cycles may have created more problems than it solved.

• Former Rep. Joe Sestak's first quarter fundraising report raised more than a few eyebrows, as it appears he is giving more serious consideration to running for governor than most in PA political cirlces originally thought. But looking at the today's Quinnipiac poll, it's easy to see why Sestak -- or any other Democrats -- would want to take a long look at the race. With Corbett's numbers in the tank, expect a crowded Democratic primary.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • "(H)e said, 'But don't worry, people will all just be talking about how you were on Hardball.' ... That's what this ass said" -- NJ state Sen. Barbara Buono (D), recounting a conversation with MSNBC's Chris Matthews after he mocked her NJ GOV bid in an interview (BuzzFeed).

  • "America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time." Had people voted in '12 "at the same rates they did" in '04, "when black turnout was below its current historic levels," ex-MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) "would have won narrowly, according to an analysis" (AP).

  • "I think I lost one race; he managed to lose about 12 of them in one night" -- ex-Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) -- who won't close the door on a return to Congress -- on ex-Bush adviser Karl Rove (Washington Post).

  • As Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid was considering atty Jennifer Dorsey for "a federal judgeship in May, two senior partners at her law firm" made $150K in contributions to a PAC associated with him, "records show" (Las Vegas Review-Journal).

  • "I'm not immune (to sequestration). I took an 8.2 percent reduction in my hairline" -- NRCC chair Greg Walden (Portland Oregonian).

  • "A typo is keeping" Obama from "signing legislation designed to end budget-related FAA air traffic controller furloughs blamed for widespread flight delays," according to a "congressional source. ... Apparently the holdup boils down to an 's' needing to be added somewhere in the Senate version of the bill -- it's not clear which word is the culprit" (CNN).

  • "This administration has so many Muslim Brotherhood members that have influence that they just are making wrong decisions for America" -- Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) (Houston Chronicle).

  • The ME GOP is "speaking out against" state Sen./"World of Warcraft" playerColleen Lachowicz (D) and state Sen. Margaret Craven (D), "who made a mockery of a serious DHHS public hearing Wednesday by wearing clown noses as citizens testified on a bill concerning availability of beds for low-income Mainers in nursing homes" (release).

  • "It reminds me of the Shakespeare line, 'thou protesteth too much'" -- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), who was so close (New York Magazine).

  • "Hilarious 'House of Cards' Spoof Opens White House Correspondents' Dinner" (Mashable).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • The record for consecutive home game sellouts in major league baseball was ended in Boston earlier this year. The previous record-holders were the Cleveland Indians, with 455 consecutive sold out games, from 1995-2001.

  • The winner is Scott Kuschmider, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Prior to Cleveland's sellout streak, the often-lousy Indians needed more creative promotions to draw fans. One infamous home game promo in 1974 resulted in a forfeit victory for the Texas Rangers after unruly fans stormed the field in the ninth inning and went after players of both teams. What was the name of the promotion and what famous Washington figure, at the time a law student, would later say of attending the game, 'I went with two dollars in my pocket. You do the math'?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Hoax emergency message sends police to Wolf Blitzer's house in Bethesda" (Washington Post).

...CHASER

"CNN's King says mistakes last week were 'embarrassing'" (WTOP).

Sarah Mimms, Editor