King 'Embarrassed' He Hasn’t Made Decision; Parnell To Make Announcement; Haley Group Launches Ad

National Journal

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WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama and other Dems "have mounted a behind-the-scenes campaign in recent days" to mollify liberal supporters disappointed in the reach of the Gang of Eight's immigration bill, warning that changes could jeopardize passage (Washington Post). Obama will campaign for the DSCC in Palo Alto, CA, on June 6 (Politico).

  • The RNC is "set to announce" a new "interactive data hub," which would be available "across all GOP party committees, consultants, vendors" and outside groups, and could cost up to $20M, "as the party moves to close a digital divide" withDems (Roll Call).

  • GA SEN: State Rep. Scott Holcomb (D) said that he is considering a bid, though he hasn't ruled out running against Gov. Nathan Deal (R) either (On Call).

  • IA SEN: Rep. Steve King (R) said "he's 'embarrassed'" that he hasn't yet made a decision about the race and does not know when he will (Des Moines Register).

  • CA-52: The NRCC commissioned an "encouraging" poll testing '12 San Diego mayoral nominee Carl DeMaio (R) as an openly gay, "new generation" GOPer who "would prefer that the GOP focus on fixing the federal government's finances rather than on social issues" (Roll Call).

  • NC-12: Rep. Melvin Watt's (D) nomination to the Federal Housing Finance Agency is "likely to be a casualty of the impasse in Washington over what to do about the future of housing policy." Senate GOPers already began expressing their opposition on Wednesday (Politico).

  • AK GOV: Gov. Sean Parnell (R) will "announce his plans for 2014" on Friday. It's unclear whether he'll seek reelection or run against Sen. Mark Begich (D) (Anchorage Daily News).

  • PA GOV: Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D) has hired ex-Obama PA staffer Pat Millham and ex-Obama PA state dir. Bill Hyers to build up her campaign (PoliticsPA).

  • SC GOV: The Movement Fund, which backs Gov. Nikki Haley (R), released a new TV ad attacking '10 nominee Vincent Sheheen's (D) support for "Obamacare" on Wednesday (Columbia State).

  • WI GOV: Gov. Scott Walker's (R) "premiere job creation agency repeatedly broke state law ... failed to adequately track money it awarded for economic development projects and sometimes gave money to ineligible recipients," according to a "blistering audit" (AP).

OUR CALL

Hotlineeditors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Watch for news on the Brian Schweitzer-led takeover attempt of Stillwater Mines today. As the Missoulian pointed out last week, it's unclear what will happen, but we can foresee some potential narratives as Schweitzer mulls a Senate run. A successful effort could   as a populist fighter and an active politician; failure could lend credence to the case that there's more bluster than substance to him.

• Gov. John Kasich has to be breathing a sigh of relief after Senate leaders shot down a proposal by fellow GOPers to make OH a right-to-work state. Kasich is still recovering politically from his polarizing push to limit collective bargaining and the ballot referendum that rejected it. Having to weigh in on right-to-work would have forced him to poke the labor hornets' nest again -- or further anger a base already unhappy with his support for a Medicaid expansion.

• It seems unlikely that GA Dem chair Mike Berlon will get his wish and avoid a SEN primary. The party's potentials seem to agree (with the possible exception of Michelle Nunn) that they won't run unless John Barrow opts out. But Vernon Jones is hinting he'll run regardless. As an African-American candidate from the Atlanta area, Jones could hold the more moderate Barrow under 50 percent and force a costly runoff -- much as he did in 2008. Other potentials could see Jones' entry as an opening, giving Democrats the same circus Republicans have already.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Ex-Obama deputy mgrs. Stephanie Cutter and Jen O'Malley Dillon, and ex-Obama digital dir. Teddy Golf "are launching a new consulting firm, Precision Strategies" (Washington Post).

  • "(M)y husband Dan and I are thrilled to announce that this fall, there will be yet another person in Southwest Washington who will - for their entire adult life - get to explain 'No, no, it's pronounced Butler.' That's right - we're expecting a baby!" -- Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) (Facebook).

  • Ex-CIA dir. David Petraeus "will teach part-time" at the Univ. of Southern California and "help mentor students who are veterans, officials are announcing" today (Los Angeles Times).

  • "I'm sure that many of these sightings can be explained, but not all of them. Balloons, clusters of balloons, searchlights off of clouds--that explains some UFOs. But even the Air Force has a list of 701 incidents they can't explain" -- ex-Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), at a hearing on UFOs (National Journal).

  • Atty Jim Porter of AL will take over as president of the NRA on Monday, replacing pres. David Keene, "whose two-year term concludes this week at the NRA's annual meeting in Houston" (CNN).

  • "Companies and trade associations" are buying up airtime on sports networks to catch the eye of Obama, a "rabid ESPN watcher" (Politico).

  • "Dating Site Study Says D.C. is 5th Most Superficial U.S. City" (CBS DC).

  • "The baton went cartwheeling into the violin section" -- TX LG David Dewhurst (R), sharing his embarrassing "guest conductor" story (Houston Chronicle).

  • "Judge Doubles Down On Double Entendres In Strip Club Case" (NPR).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • The 2013 America's Cup will be contested in the San Francisco Bay, the first time the race will not be held in open ocean waters.

  • The winner is James Kaplan, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "Following up on ships in San Francisco, and as the new Star Trek movie comes out this month, it is worth remembering that San Francisco was also the setting for an earlier Star Trek film. Which Star Trek film was set in San Francisco and what ship did the famous crew use to travel to San Francisco for their adventure in that film?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"Biden invites Martinez to his Cincode Mayo party" (Albuquerque Journal).

...CHASER

"Now, we lost my mom a couple of years ago. But if she was here you know what she'd say? I do. You wanna know what she'd say? She'd say, 'Joey, I hope your friends saved some room for dessert, because the Molten Chocolate Explosion Cake with Burnt-Caramel Gelato is outta this world, Joey. It is literally out of this world'" -- "Biden" (New Yorker).

Sarah Mimms, Editor