Hanabusa Will Primary Schatz; Herseth Sandlin Considers A SEN Bid; Charlie Rangel Sues Over Censure

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama has invited all 20 female senators to dine with him at the WH on Tuesday night, "as he continues his personal outreach to push his second-term legislative agenda" (CNN).

  • SC-01 Special: Ex-Gov. Mark Sanford (R) released his second TV ad of the general election targeting Stephen Colbert sister Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) for her ties to unions (Politico).

  • MA SEN Special: Rep. Stephen Lynch (D) "aggressively" challenged Rep. Edward Markey's (D) opposition to "forming the joint homeland security task force" and "other key security measures" in their first debate since the Boston bombings (Boston Globe).

  • VA GOV '13: Susan B. Anthony List is targeting ex-DNC chair Terry McAuliffe in a new radio ad -- the first paid advertising in the race -- for opposing "new regulations for abortion clinics." The ad is under a $50K buy (Politico).

  • AZ GOV: State Sen. Al Melvin (R) announced a bid, noting that his campaign will focus on "school vouchers and limits on jury verdicts" -- both goals "appear to run directly afoul" of the state constitution (Arizona Daily Star).

  • HI SEN: Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) has decided to mount a primary bid against Sen. Brian Schatz (D), "according to a source close to her campaign" (Honolulu Star-Advertiser).

  • SD SEN: Ex-Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D) is "seriously considering" a bid and will make a decision "in the next few weeks" (Sioux Falls Argus Leader).

  • MN-06: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) ex-CoS Andy Parrish said "in a signed affidavit" that Bachmann approved $7.5K in monthly payments to IA state Sen. Kent Sorenson (R) "who was barred" by ethics rules "from accepting money" for work on her WH '12 campaign (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

  • NY-13: Rep. Charles Rangel (D) is suing Speaker John Boehner and "six other lawmakers, charging that they mishandled the ethics investigation that led to his public censure in late 2010" (The Hill).

  • D.C. Mayor '14: The D.C. Office of Campaign Finance has completed its two-year audit of Mayor Vincent Gray's (D) '10 campaign, "but they declined to say" when they would release the findings (Washington Examiner).

NUMBER BRUNCHING

  • MI GOV: A new EPIC-MRA poll of "active voters," conducted 4/13-16, shows ex-Rep. Mark Schauer (D) leading Gov. Rick Snyder (R), 39-38%, and Snyder leading ex-Rep. Bart Stupak (D), 39-38% (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Hanabusa's decision to primary Schatz sets up a generational clash in a state party rife with factions (Schatz's appointment in the first place was Neil Abercrombie's way of asserting power). The outsider/reformer faction Schatz represents hasn't won a lot of primaries lately; support from the DSCC isn't going to go very far in a state that can't stand interference from the Mainland.

• Something else to keep in mind over the next year and a half: No sitting congressman, senator or governor from Hawaii has ever been defeated in a primary. Hanabusa has her own hills to climb.

• Drawing fewer than 40% of voters (with leaners!) against two little-known Dems puts Snyder firmly in Rick Scott territory when considering vulnerable GOV incumbents next year. Underwater job and fav/unfav ratings among Dems and indies suggests rehabilitating his tarnished image as a moderate won't be easy.

• As Brendan Johnson's camp moves quickly to consolidate support in a "Draft Brendan" movement, Stephanie Herseth's Sandlin's acknowledgement of interest is a necessary step if she has any hope of joining the Senate race. With SD Dems desperate to avoid a primary, her supporters needed a signal that the Brendan bandwagon's early start hadn't sealed off the nomination.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) launched a new Twitter account @anthonyweiner, replacing @repweiner, in another sign he may join the NYC mayoral race. "The number of people he's following? Zero" (CNN).

  • "If I have one regret about the decision it's that I wish I had waited longer" -- VA LG Bill Bolling (R), having second thoughts about taking a pass on an indie GOV bid (Richamond Times-Dispatch).

  • Billionaire Penny Pritzker, "who is being vetted" by the WH as a candidate for Commerce Sec., gave $250K to the Presidential Inaugural Cmte "and her private investment firm, PSP Capital Partners, L.L.C., gave another" $250K (Chicago Tribune).

  • "He can't go in to Florida and say, 'I did this gun control thing. (F***) you, this is how I roll'" -- FL GOP strategist Rick Wilson, arguing that NJ Gov. Chris Christie's (R) gun control push disqualifies him for WH '16 (BuzzFeed).

  • Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) married teacher Andrea Zetts "in a private ceremony over the weekend" in NYC (Akron Beacon Journal).

  • "We haven't had a cohort of people living permanently in US without full rights of citizenship since slavery" -- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) spokesperson Alex Conant, in a tweet on immigration (National Review).

  • Strategy Group for Media pres. Nick Everhart and "two associates were suddenly terminated earlier this month," according to an email Everhart "sent to his GOP contacts." Neither Everhart nor SGM would comment on the reason for his ouster, but Chief Creative Officer Brian Berry said that he was "'fired with cause'" (Roll Call).

  • "The chairman said something about you say to cows, 'we're only going to milk you seasonally, they don't like it' -- they don't know what you're saying" -- Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), calling Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) a "deadhead" (New York Magazine).

  • Trustee Louis Freeh, who is overseeing MF Global Holdings Ltd.'s bankruptcy, has sued ex-CEO/ex-NJ Gov. Jon Corzine (D) "and two other executives for their role in the brokerage's collapse." Freeh's lawsuit highlights "the alleged 'acts and omissions' of the officers that he says 'culminated in the business collapse of the company and the bankruptcies of the debtors'" (Wall Street Journal).

  • "Sarah Palin's Rack" -- headline on the cover of May's American Spectator (Hotline reporting).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • Bob Dylan has been on the cover of Rolling Stone 23 times, roughly double the number of "Top 40" hits he's had (12).

  • The winner is Bill Pascoe, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Australian Jason Day got off to a fast start in the final round of this year's Masters, with a birdie on the first hole, and an eagle on the second, before making par on the third. Who was the last golfer to start birdie, eagle, birdie in the final round of the Masters, and how long had it been since he won his first Green Jacket?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Charlie Rangel Files Lawsuit To Overturn Censure Decision" (AP).

...CHASER

"I'll sign whatever you want, just please stop talking about it" -- Cal Weaver ("Crazy Stupid Love").

Sarah Mimms, Editor