We Did it: The acrimonious New Mexico primaries — RNC lays out safety protocols for convention

May 29, 2020

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Quick Fix

— A pair of House primaries in New Mexico have been incredibly brutal, as voters head to the polls on Tuesday to pick their candidates.

— The RNC outlined its safety protocols for its convention in a letter to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, and gave the Democratic governor a week to respond.

— Republican Susan Wagle announced that she was dropping out of the Kansas Senate primary, winnowing the field in a race that has national Republicans worried.

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Days until the D.C., Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and South Dakota primaries: 4

Days until the Democratic convention: 80

Days until the Republican convention: 87

Days until the 2020 election: 158

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TopLine

PRIMARY WATCH, CONTINUED — We're taking our tour of Tuesday's primaries to New Mexico, which is home to a pair of incredibly acrimonious primaries: Republicans in the swing seat NM-02, and Democrats in the blue NM-03.

In NM-02, two Republicans are squaring off for the right to face freshman Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in the swing district: former state Rep. Yvette Herrell, the 2018 nominee, and businesswoman Claire Chase. The primary between the two of them has been quite brutal, with the two camps sniping back and forth on everything from supportiveness of President Donald Trump to rumors about each personal lives.

The race has also seen a sizable amount of outside spending. As we reported in Tuesday's Score , Democrats have waded into the race in an effort to boost Herrell over Chase — seeing a rematch as more favorable to Torres Small — and both women have seen significant spending from Republican groups trying to push their preferred candidate over the finish line. All told, the races has attracted over $1.3 million in outside spending. That includes over $310,000 from Democratic groups, as well as major spending from the pro-Chase Citizens for a United New Mexico and Defending Main Street, and the pro-Herrell Make New Mexico Great PAC and House Freedom Fund. Both women are in the second level of the NRCC's Young Guns program.

Democrats, meanwhile, have had a just as bitter primary in the safe NM-03. The seat is open after Rep. Ben Ray Luján opted to run for the state's open Senate seat. There's a whopping seven candidates running for the nomination: Teresa Leger Fernandez, Valerie Plame, John Blair, Laura Montoya, Joseph Sanchez, Marco Serna and Kyle Tisdel. Fernandez and Plame, who retains some celebrity from a Bush-era scandal, are seen as the two frontrunners. (They were the only candidates to break double-digits in a poll sponsored by EMILY's List — which backed Fernandez — featured in Score earlier this week.)

Like NM-02, the NM-03 Democratic primary has attracted a whole lot of outside money. Spending has ballooned in the district since we reported about a pair of dark money groups boosting Fernandez two weeks ago in Score, and some of the advertising has taken a sharply negative turn. All told, there's been more than $1 million spent, the vast majority of that in pro-Fernandez campaigns from CHC BOLD PAC and Women Vote! (which is affiliated with EMILY's List). VoteVets has also made a TV buy backing Plame.

The animosity comes from some dark money groups, who have jumped into the race and dropped ads that compared Plame to the Nazis and called her a racist. (Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel has more details on that. We featured his story earlier, but if you missed it, read it.) One of the more recent ads in that vein is narrated by former NBC News personality Chris Hansen.

— The other New Mexico primary to keep an eye on is the Republican Senate primary, which pits meteorologist Mark Ronchetti, former Trump Interior Department official Gavin Clarkson and anti-abortion activist Elisa Martinez against one another. The Santa Fe New Mexican's Jens Gould wrote a preview earlier this week. Whoever wins will be a pretty big underdog to Luján, who has a clear shot at the Democratic nomination, in November.

Presidential Big Board

CONVENTION SPOTTING — RNC officials sent a letter to Cooper on Thursday detailing their safety guidelines for the convention. "The letter outlines protocols Republicans say they plan to follow during the convention, including thermal scans, widespread sanitizing measures and daily health checks delivered via an app," POLITICO's Maya King wrote. The letter also said that Republican officials wanted to know by June 3 on "if there are any additional guidelines to what is outlined above that we will be expected to meet".

THE REELECT — In the "chasing down every voter" category: Trump's campaign is honing in on boaters. "Large boat parades — which began organically among MAGA devotees in South Florida and spread ... quickly caught the notice of the president and his campaign," POLITICO's Marc Caputo wrote. "Now, the campaign is encouraging the flotillas and utilizing its robust data operation to organize and excite a demographic that turns out to be heavily represented in some of the most closely-contested swing states from the Sun Belt to the Great Lakes."

More from Marc: "The boater data shared by the campaign underscores its ability to finely slice and model the electorate. But the MAGA boaters aren't so much of a persuadable group of swing voters as a sign of the enthusiasm of Trump's base, and their flotillas a symbol of a campaign that prizes spectacle and energy."

VEEPSTAKES — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is also the chair of the DSCC, said it was "an honor" to be considered as a potential running mate for Biden, but she was going to "withdraw my name from consideration," the AP's Michelle Price reported.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE — There's a new joint fundraising committee in town — but interestingly enough, it is between two super PACs. Victory 2020 was formed between AB PAC (the super PAC arm of American Bridge) and Unite the Country — the pro-Joe Biden super PAC that was formed in the primaries — per a recent FEC filing. (Hat tip to California Target Book's Rob Pyers, who spotted the filing.)

NOT US — A group of Never Trump Republicans have launched (another) group that says it is running a $10 million digital and TV campaign targeting Trump. The New York Times' Annie Karni reported that the group,Republican Voters Against Trump, was formed by Sarah Longwell, Bill Kristol and Tim Miller and will air anti-Trump testimonials.

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Down the Ballot

THE SENATE MAP — Wagle is exiting the Republican Kansas Senate primary, leaving the field slightly less crowded than before. Both national and Republican leadership in the state are hoping for a one-on-one race between GOP Rep. Roger Marshall and Kris Kobach (national Republicans favor Marshall), but there's still other candidates running: The self-funded Bob Hamilton and Dave Lindstrom, the former Kansas City Chiefs player. Wagle also said she talked to the NRSC before she dropped out. Campaign Pro's James Arkin has more for Pros. (The filing deadline for the race is Monday, as some Republicans are certainly reminding Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of.)

A recent internal poll from the NRSC obtained by The Kansas City Star's Bryan Lowry shows why national Republicans favor Marshall. In the poll, Marshall has a fairly comfortable lead over Democrat Barbara Bollier, who has the endorsement of basically every Democratic organization, while Kobach and Bollier are locked in a dead heat.

— Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has been engaged in an "escalating feud" against Democrat Royce West, who is running against the DSCC-endorsed MJ Hegar in a runoff in July, The Dallas Morning News' Gromer Jeffers Jr. wrote that it "raises questions about the incumbent Republican's political calculations" and whether he is elevating West to encourage a more competitive runoff with Hegar. Jeffers also wrote that there's some bad blood between Cornyn and West. (And interestingly enough, Cornyn's camp circulated this article to reporters.)

THE CASH DASH — Another pre-primary FEC deadline has come and gone. Here's the numbers for the battleground races who have their primaries on June 9. (The filings cover between Aug. 1 and May 20. To the money!

GA-Sen: Republican Sen. David Perdue raised $545,000, spent $218,000 and has $9.4 million in the bank ( filing).

Democrat Jon Ossoff raised $739,000, spent $1.6 million and has $951,000 in the bank (filing). Sarah Riggs Amico raised $237,000 (which includes $160,000 she contributed herself), spent $339,000 and has $178,000 (filing). Democrat Teresa Tomlinson raised $402,000 (which includes a $50,000 loan), spent $601,000 and has $237,000 in the bank ( filing).

SC-Sen: Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham raised $3.6 million, spent $2.5 million and has $13.9 million in the bank (filing). Democrat Jaime Harrison raised $4.2 million and spent $5.5 million, with $6.7 million in the bank ( filing).

GA-06: Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath raised $500,000, spent $176,000 and has $2.9 million in the bank (filing). Former GOP Rep. Karen Handel raised $130,000, spent $138,000 and has $958,000 in the bank ( filing).

GA-07: In the open-seat race, Republican Rich McCormick $97,000, spent $430,000 and has $209,000 (filing). Lynne Homrich raised $39,000 (which includes a $30,000 loan), spent $120,000 and has $192,000 in the bank (filing). Renee Unterman raised $63,000, spent $330,000 and has $460,000 in the bank ( filing).

Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux raised $133,000, spent $546,000 and has $645,000 in the bank (filing). Nabilah Islam raised $74,000, spent $104,000 and has $52,000 in the bank (filing). Zahra Karinshak raised $115,000, spent $270,000 and has $350,000 in the bank (filing ). Brenda Lopez Romero's filing was not posted as of midnight Eastern.

GA-09: In the open, safe Republican district, Republican Ethan Underwood raised $49,000 (which includes a $8,000 loan), spent $175,000 and has $62,000 in the bank (filing). Kevin Tanner raised $197,000 (which includes a $50,000 loan), spent $242,000 and has $152,000 in debt ( filing). Matt Gurtler raised $115,000, spent $124,000 and has $108,000 in the bank (filing).

Andrew Clyde raised $319,000 (which includes a $300,000 loan), spent $310,000 and has $50,000 in the bank (filing). John Wilkinson raised $47,000, spent $68,000 and has $75,000 in the bank ( filing ). Former Rep. Paul Broun raised $52,000, spent $76,000 and has $62,000 on hand (filing).

GA-14: In the open, safe Republican primary, Republican John Barge raised $3,000, spent $138,000 and has $4,000 on hand (filing). John Cowan raised $178,000 (including a $100,000 loan), spent $506,000 and has $125,000 on hand ( filing). Clayton Fuller raised $120,000 (including a $100,000 loan), spent $237,000 and has $28,000 on hand (filing). Matt Laughridge raised $9,000, spent $92,000 and has $226,000 in the bank (filing).

NV-03: Freshman Democratic Rep. Susie Lee has $190,000, spent $79,000 and has $2 million in the bank (filing). Republican Dan Rodimer raised $94,000, spent $196,000 and has $220,000 on hand (filing). Dan Schwartz raised $52,000 ($50,000 is a loan), spent $423,000 and has $53,000 in the bank (filing).

NV-04: Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford raised $173,000, spent $75,000 and has $1.3 million in the bank (filing). Republican Lisa Song Sutton raised $56,000, spent $148,000 and has $106,000 in the bank (filing). Jim Marchant's filing was not posted as of midnight Eastern.

SC-01: Freshman Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham raised $289,000, spent $115,000 and has $2.6 million in debt (filing). Republican Nancy Mace raised $190,000, spent $435,000 and has $560,000 (filing). Kathy Landing $59,000, spent $273,000 and has $130,000 in the bank ( filing ).

THE PROCESS — Election officials in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, are asking for a court order giving voters more time to return their ballots for the primary, per The Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Lai. More: "They ask the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas to set a new deadline of between two and seven days after the election and allow ballots received by that time to be counted if they are postmarked by election day."

Also in Pennsylvania, national Democrats suffered a setback in a case in the state. More from Lai: "The President Judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court denied a preliminary injunction request to allow mail ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by election day and received within seven days. That case, which was brought by the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans and funded by the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA, remains open, but the court said it did not have jurisdiction to grant the request."

IN THE COURTS — A federal court denied an appeal earlier this week from the American Association of Political Consultants, who were suing because businesses that get most of their revenues from "political and lobbying activity" were barred from getting Paycheck Protection Program payments.

— A federal court tossed a lawsuit filed by the Campaign Legal Center against the FEC over the election watchdog not acting on an administrative complaint. The court ruled that the CLC, among other findings, lacked standing, per an announcement from the agency.

THE GOVERNATORS — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, announced that he would run for reelection on Thursday. But Scott won't have much of the trappings of a campaign. He tweeted that "until the state of emergency is over, I won't have a campaign staff or office, be raising money, or participating in normal campaign events." Seven Days' Sasha Goldstein and Kevin McCallum have more.

— A group of media outlets is suing Cooper, the North Carolina governor, and members of his cabinet to force the release of records related to the pandemic, per The News & Observer's Nick Ochsner.

THE HOUSE MAP — DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos named six candidates to its Red to Blue program, which is for candidates in offensive targets: Kate Schroder (OH-01), Kara Eastman (NE-02), Pat Timmons Goodson (NC-08), Joyce Elliott (AR-02), Kathleen Williams (MT-AL) and Alyse Galvin (AK-AL).

— Former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy is bankrolling a super PAC that is attacking Brigid Harrison — the opponent of his wife, Amy Kennedy, in the NJ-02 Democratic primary. The New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein did some FEC sleuthing, and noted that the former lawmaker gave $500,000 to the super PAC Blue Organizing Project in the first quarter of the year. Last week, Blue Organizing Project reported $75,000 in disbursements against Harrison.

— Former GOP Rep. Mia Love backed Kim Coleman in the Republican primary in Love's former UT-04 seat, per the Deseret News' Lisa Riley Roche.

SHOWING UP — A Republican group said it is seeking a subpoena of former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in order to compel his testimony at a June 4 hearing of the state's Independent Ethics Commission, 9News' Kyle Clark reported. Hickenlooper's camp wants him to testify in August.

POLL POSITION — Fifty-nine percent of American adults live in a household without a landline phone over the first half of 2019, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Campaign Pro chief Steve Shepard wrote (for Pros) about the problems this creates for pollsters: "Because of these divides, polls that rely exclusively or mostly on landline interviews will struggle to capture younger respondents. And these effects have intensified rapidly over the past two decades."

ON THE AIRWAVES — Dana Balter, one of the Democrats running in NY-24, released her second television ad. In the ad, she criticizes Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), whom she lost to in 2018, over health care.

CODA — INTERACTIVE OF THE DAY: "What's safe to do during a pandemic? We polled America." — From POLITICO.

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