Obama, Putin Can't Agree on Syria at G-8; Last MA SEN Debate Tonight; Daley Steps Up IL GOV Campaign

National Journal

Wake-Up Call! is Hotline's daily morning briefing on campaigns and elections. Click here to subscribe.

WHAT'S NEWS

  • Pres. Obama and his Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin "failed to resolve on Monday their significant differences over how to bring about an end to Syria's civil war, as each leader steps up military support for opposite sides in the worsening conflict" (Washington Post).

  • Obama told PBS' Charlie Rose, in an interview taped Sunday but aired Monday night, that it "would be 'very easy to slip-slide your way into deeper and deeper commitments'" in Syria, "cautioning specifically against a no-fly zone advocated by some" GOPers (CBS News).

  • MA SEN Special: Rep. Edward Markey (D) and ex-Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez (R) "are prepping for their final debate," being held Tuesday night "at the studios of WGBH-TV" in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston (AP).

  • IA SEN: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) "will star at two upcoming fundraisers" for ex-CoS David Young (R), though Grassley "has said he has no intention of endorsing Young" (Des Moines Register).

  • TX SEN: Sen. John Cornyn (R) began filing amendments to his financial disclosures last July to reflect that he had collected an $10,132 annual pension as a former judge as far back as '06, though he had not listed it on his original disclosure reports from '06-'10 (National Journal).

  • KY-06: Race for Education co-founder Elisabeth Jensen (D) "confirmed" that she will challenge freshman Rep. Andy Barr (R) (cn|2).

  • FL GOV: A new Quinnipiac Univ. poll of FL RVs, conducted 6/11-16, ex-Gov. Charlie Crist (D) leads Gov. Rick Scott (R), 47-37%. In the previous poll, conducted 3/13-18, Crist led Scott, 50-34%. Sen. Bill Nelson (D) also leads Scott, 48-38%, and Scott leads ex-state Sen. Nan Rich (D), 42-36% (release).

  • IL GOV: At a Chicago presser on Monday, ex-WH CoS Bill Daley (D) "excoriated" Gov. Pat Quinn (D) "for a lack of leadership over the state's pension crisis" and "criticized" AG Lisa Madigan (D), who is also considering running, "for not providing a legal opinion on the constitutionality of possible solutions" (Chicago Tribune). Daley contributed $100K of his own money to his campaign, "according to a report filed on Monday" (Chicago Sun-Times).

  • MA GOV: Ex-Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Admin. Don Berwick (D) "quietly launched his campaign" on Monday "in an e-mailed press release, sent while he was out of state, at a time public attention is focused on" next week's MA SEN special election (Boston Globe).

  • NY GOV: "Denouncing" Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) "as a 'schoolyard bully,'" state Assemb. Steve McLaughlin (R) "confirmed he is 'considering' a run against him" next year, "fueled by his opposition to Cuomo's new gun control law" (Albany Times-Union).

  • DC Mayor '14: "At least three of five members" of the city council's Gov't Ops Cmte oppose changing next year's primary date, so "it looks as though" it "will remain April Fools'," 4/1 (Washington Post).

  • KY: "State lawmakers may have to redraw the boundaries" of the state's 6 CDs "later this year when they meet in a special session to remake state legislative districts," Gov. Steve Beshear (D) "said Monday," but any changes "would affect no more than a few thousand voters" (Lexington Herald-Leader).

  • WH '16: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on Tuesday "announced her support" for Ready for Hillary PAC, the self-described "premier independent group urging" ex-Sec/State Hillary Clinton (D) to run (release).

OUR CALL

Hotline editors weigh in on the stories that drive the day

• Lest one didn't believe Bill Daley's sincerity, his shots across Gov. Pat Quinn's and AG Lisa Madigan's bows show he's serious about an IL GOV bid. It also foretells one of the nastier Dem-on-Dem primaries to come next year.

• "Personal" super PACs played a defining role in WH '12. But plenty of House and Senate candidates had race-specific super PACs supporting them -- the biggest, the pro-Dewhurst Texas Conservatives Fund, spent $5.8M just to bash now-Sen. Ted Cruz. This trend will only expand going forward, with the latest group to keep an eye on registering in Rep. Jeff Denham's (R) CA-10, one of the most expensive House battlegrounds of last year.

HAIR OF THE DOG

FRESH BREWED BUZZ

  • Ex-NC Gov. Jim Holshouser (R), who "broke decades" of Dem rule when he was elected in '72, becoming the first GOPer to govern the state in the 20th century, "died Monday after several months of declining health" (Raleigh News & Observer).

  • Ex-FL Gov. Jeb Bush (R) "said he hasn't decided to run for office again, but if he does, 'It will be based on what I believe and it will be based on my record, and that record was one of solving problems completely from a conservative perspective'" (CBN).

  • The production company "slated to chronicle" ex-WH party crasher Tareq Salahi's (I) VA GOV write-in campaign "is currently embroiled in legal battles and has been accused of targeting its film subjects for scams" (U.S. News & World Report).

  • "You've heard my ring tone -- 'God is great, beer is good' ... I was thinking of changing mine to 'Maybe, Baby' [sic]. You know, that song from that Canadian girl. Nothing's changed in Montana" -- Ex-MT Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D), on a possible SEN bid (The Hill).

  • Last Thursday night at the Capitol Hill Club, Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) "had a scary choking incident" on a piece of popcorn and "was thankfully aided by a doctor-turned-GOP-aide, Nick Muzin, who may have saved his life" (National Review).

  • The tombstone for ex-NYC Mayor Ed Koch (D), "who died in February after meticulously planning the details of his burial for years, was mistakenly engraved with the wrong birth date" (WNBC-TV).

  • NYC mayoral candidate Joe Lhota (R) "was observed buying three ... non-iron, cotton, button-down white dress shirts" at a Costco in Brooklyn for "$17.99 each" this past weekend. Lhota: "I go through two shirts a day and in summer I'll be going through three or more, so this was a good time to stock up" (Bloomberg News).

  • Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) "is engaged to marry his longtime friend Anna Flores," Castro's twin brother, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro (D) "disclosed in a Facebook posting" on Monday (San Antonio Express-News).

  • The FEC "took nearly five years to consider campaign finance charges against a nonprofit group that spent millions of dollars on ads" in '08 "seeking to link" Obama "to the 'terrorist' Weather Underground and its founder William Ayres," but Dem and GOP commiss. "deadlocked along party lines in a vote on staff recommendations, meaning the case was dismissed without a definitive legal ruling, according to FEC documents" (Bloomberg News).

SWIZZLE CHALLENGE

  • The Cable Act granted independent citizenship to women married to aliens eligible for naturalization..

  • The winner is Anthony Foti, and here's his Swizzle Challenge: "What college campus is the home of the world's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture?" The 3rd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question.

NJ'S EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

SHOT...

"When asked which would make a better President based on their personalities, 37% of voters choose a dog, 19% a cat and 45% aren't sure" -- A survey memo from Public Policy Polling (D) (IVR) on Monday (release).

...CHASER

"If a baby were president, there would be no taxes, there would be no war. There would be no government and ... things could get terrible. And actually probably it would be a better screenplay idea than a serious suggestion" -- "Michael Scott" ("The Office").

Reid Wilson, Editor-in-Chief

Steven Shepard, Executive Editor