We Did it: Stefanik gets a Democratic challenger — Garland pledges voting protection — Early-state Republicans gear up for 2024 calendar fight

Jun 14, 2021

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Quick Fix

— Democrat Matt Putorti is launching a campaign against Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), aiming to knock out one of the Republican Party's rising stars and a newly minted member of House leadership.

— Attorney General Merrick Garland promised to beef up the DOJ's division that handles voting rights, as Republicans pass restrictions on voting in states across the country.

— South Carolina "will have a primary on Halloween" if needed to protect its spot on the presidential calendar, the state GOP chair told Score after Nevada passed a law to hold its contest first.

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Days until the New York mayoral primary: 8

Days until the TX-06 special election runoff: 43

Days until the OH-11 and OH-15 special election primaries: 50

Days until the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections and OH-11 and OH-15 special elections: 141

Days until the 2022 midterm elections: 512

Days until the 2024 election: 1,241

TopLine

GETTING IN — Putorti is launching a challenge to Stefanik this morning, making a play to take out one of Republican Party's rising stars.

Putorti is a 37-year-old attorney from Upstate New York focused on LGBTQ+ equality, reducing gun violence and immigration.

"Elise Stefanik is a threat to spaghetti dinner towns," Putorti said in a campaign launch video, a reference to his hometown of Whitehall. "If we continue to divide people they're not going to be able to share that meal together."

Putorti will face a tough climb against the well-funded Stefanik, who is close with the former president. Donald Trump recently hosted the third-ranking House Republican at his Bedminster, N.J., golf club for a fundraiser, telling donors "I'm with Elise 100 percent," according to the New York Post.

The money will be there for Putorti, but it might not matter: Stefanik handily defeated her 2020 opponent, Tedra Cobb, who raised $5.7 million in 2020. Stefanik received 59 percent of the vote, outperforming Trump, who received 54 percent in the district last year.

Still, Putorti could receive a boost from redistricting . New York is losing a congressional seat this cycle, and Stefanik's seat could be targeted. Democrats largely control the redistricting process in New York, and Stefanik's seat isn't exactly dark red. Stefanik's district voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 — but voted for Obama in 2012, and her seat was previously held by Democratic Rep. Bill Owens.

Putorti's campaign is led by strategist Eric Hyers, who most recently served as now-President Joe Biden's Michigan state director. Partners Bill Hyers, Kaitlin Fahey and Matt McLaughlin of The Win Company will serve as media strategists, and Putorti hired pollster Fred Yang of the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group. Blueprint Interactive will run digital communications, and Delivers Strategies partners Nadia Garnett and Adnaan Muslim will handle mail.

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Down the Ballot

LANDMARK LEGISLATION? — Garland will double the Civil Rights Division's voting rights enforcement staff, he said in a speech on Friday, POLITICO's Nick Niedzwiadek wrote. Garland's pledge comes as Republican lawmakers enact new voting restrictions at the state level, and Democrats struggle to get a voting bill through the Senate. "There are many things that are open to debate in America, but the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them," Garland said.

— The Texas state lawmakers who killed an elections bill in their state are headed to Washington to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro reported. The Texas Democrats will also meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the Senate committee with jurisdiction over the For the People Act and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. They'll also meet with staffers for Texas GOP Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

It's all part of a week of action that will end with a rally hosted by former Rep. Beto O'Rourke in Austin. It wasn't clear if the Texas state lawmakers will sit down with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who is opposed to the voting bill, during their trip to the Capitol.

— Republicans introduced and sponsored 22 of the 24 new state laws that restrict voting, according to a new analysis from the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice . Laws with Democratic support in Oklahoma and Nevada imposed "relatively modest" restrictions, while the only "substantially restrictive bill" that received Democratic votes passed in Arkansas.

GETTING IN (PART 2) — Florida state Rep. Michele Rayner is running for Rep. Charlie Crist's House seat, POLITICO Florida's Gary Fineout reported . Crist is running for governor. Rayner became the first Black openly LGBTQ+ woman to be elected to the Florida state legislature last year, and enters a competitive primary race. Former Obama administration aide Eric Lynn is running on the Democratic side, and Republican Anna Paulina Luna is also running, after losing to Crist in 2020.

JUST PEACHY — The Raffenspergers are speaking out about receiving death threats after Trump lost the presidential election, Reuters' Linda So wrote. Tricia Raffensperger described receiving text messages that read, "You and your family will be killed very slowly" and "We plan for the death of you and your family every day." The family even went into hiding last November after intruders broke into their daughter-in-law's home, and members of the Oath Keepers far-right militia group were found outside the Raffenspergers' home. Trump villainized Raffensperger for his presidential loss in the state.

Threats against election workers and officials are part of a larger trend. Elections officials in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and elsewhere are quitting due to threats. Their departures are raising concerns that they could be replaced by conspiracy theorists who believe Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen, The Associated Press' Anthony Izaguirre reported. More than a third of election officials in Pennsylvania retired after November, citing "heavy workloads and rampant misinformation related to voting among the reasons." At the same time, many candidates running for secretary of state across the map tried to overturn the 2020 election, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro reported in May.

UNDER PRESSURE — Over 300 good government and liberal groups signed an open letter to major corporations — including Anheuser-Busch, Salesforce, State Farm and more — urging them to cut ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an influential conservative organization that writes model legislation, over voting rights, POLITICO's Zach Montellaro writes in. "Your participation in ALEC serves to promote and legitimize the group's anti-democratic efforts to create more barriers to voting," the groups write. Signees include Fair Fight Action, Common Cause and the AFL-CIO.

EXCLUSIVE: ENDORSEMENT ALERT — The conservative Club for Growth PAC will endorse Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks for Senate, and Texas Rep. Chip Roy for reelection. The prominent GOP group is focused on fiscal issues and limiting government, and recently has targeted Republicans who voted to impeach Trump.

STAFF SHAKEUP — Matt Lakin is stepping away from his role as president and CEO of Data Trust, the Republican Party's voter data hub, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reported. He'll be replaced in the interim by GOP operative Chris Carr, a senior official to Trump's reelection campaign who joined Data Trust last month as an adviser. The data hub serves clients including the RNC and the RGA, and some Republicans expressed concerns about the platform being up to date after the 2020 election.

THE PROCESS — The influence of the QAnon conspiracy theory on the "audit" in Arizona's Maricopa County is strong, Arizona Republic's Richard Ruelas and Jen Fifield wrote. Followers of the baseless theory are tracking the audit and believe evidence of fraud could lead to Trump being reinstated as president. It is unclear who is funding the audit, and the Arizona state Senate is only paying the firm Cyber Ninjas a portion of the total cost. However, "major funding appears to be coming from Trump extremists such as Q believer Lin Wood," Ruelas and Fifield reported.

LEADING THE PARTY — Pro-Trump Republicans running for office are eager to show off their MAGA bonafides, but some are taking it too far and implying they have Trump's endorsement, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt wrote . It's been a source of frustration for the ex-president, "who is protective of his political brand and recognizes that his much-coveted endorsement — and the performance of the candidates who get it — is one of his primary means of maintaining relevance." Candidates in Alabama, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have toed the line between aligning with Trump and claiming he endorsed them.

YOU'VE GOT MAIL — A constitutional amendment to allow no-excuse absentee voting failed in the Delaware state House last week, Delaware Public Media's Roman Battagila wrote. The proposal passed with bipartisan support in 2019, but Republican support eroded in the wake of the 2020 election. Democrats have one more chance to pass the amendment before the state legislative session ends next year. If it fails again, lawmakers would have to restart the two-session process necessary to pass a constitutional amendment.

MONEY MOVES — Republican Jim Lamon, who is running for Senate in Arizona, gave $2 million to a nonpartisan voter registration group linked to election conspiracy theorists, Axios' Lachlan Markay reported. Lamon gave the cash to Look Ahead America just before he announced his campaign for Senate, and could receive a tax break for the donation.

OLD DOMINION — Former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe's run for governor will be different this time around, The Washington Post's Laura Vozzella wrote. The Macker, who was known for his ties to the Clintons and his over-the-top party fundraising, lost his first bid in 2009 and barely won in 2013. But McAuliffe begins the 2021 general election contest as a popular former governor.

SUNDAY SCHOOL — More than 16,000 Southern Baptist leaders will hold their first meeting of the post-Trump era in Nashville this week, and the gathering could deepen existing divides in evangelical America, The New York Times' Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias wrote. A cohort of ultraconservative pastors is aiming to take over the denomination, even using a pirate flag to get their point across. As a result, "an event that has historically been compared to a family reunion may look more like a brawl."

THE ENFORCERS — The FEC is appealing up to the Supreme Court a decision that eliminated a relatively obscure campaign finance provision that prevented lawmakers from paying back more than $250,000 worth of personal loans with money raised after the election, Zach writes in. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) challenged the provision, and a three-judge panel ruled earlier this month it was unconstitutional. The high court will still need to decide whether to hear the case or not. (H/t legal eagle Josh Gerstein).

EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS — Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott is pledging his state will build its own border wall. Abbott's announcement came on the heels of an endorsement from Trump, the Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek wrote, and "as Abbott faces an electorate persistently worried about the border, a contested 2022 primary for reelection and the lead-up to a 2024 presidential race from which he still has not removed himself from consideration."

TRUMP-OFF — Missouri Senate candidate Eric Greitens skipped the state GOP's annual gathering to visit the "audit" in Arizona over the weekend, The Kansas City Star's Jonathan Shorman And Jeanne Kuang reported. In the ex-governor's absence, the other Republicans running for Senate tried to woo state GOP activists: "[State] Attorney General Eric Schmitt's Friday night hospitality suite featured an accordion player. Rep. Vicky Hartzler mingled with the Saturday morning crowd. St. Louis lawyer Mark McCloskey came with 'Never Back Down' bumper stickers." It's not yet clear who in the crowded primary field may be able to take a piece of the Trump lane from Greitens.

POLL POSITION — GOP Rep. Ted Budd, who was recently endorsed by Trump in the North Carolina Senate race, still trails former Gov. Pat McCrory in the primary but could benefit significantly from the former president's backing, per a new poll from Budd's campaign . On the ballot, McCrory led with 45 percent of the vote, compared to 19 percent for Budd and 12 percent for Walker. But just one-in-five voters are aware of the endorsement in the week after it happened, while 80 percent remain unaware of the endorsement. Trump's numbers among GOP faithful are strong: 87 percent view him favorably and just 10 percent unfavorable. On an "informed ballot" highlighting Trump's endorsement, Budd's numbers shot up: 46 percent backed Budd, compared to 27 percent for McCrory and 8 percent for Walker. (Meeting Street Insights surveyed 500 primary voters, 6/9-10; MOE 4.4%).

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Presidential Big Board

NEVER TOO EARLY — Nevada Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak fired the first shot of 2024 when he signed a bill to make his state the first on the presidential nominating calendar last week. Protective Republicans in all four early states quickly rebuffed the move, and brushed off Democratic concerns that the electorate should be more diverse.

"I'm coordinating closely with the other early state Republican chairmen to make sure that these Democrat idiots don't screw things up, try as they might," South Carolina Republican Party chair Drew McKissick told Score in a phone call on Sunday. "South Carolina will have a primary on Halloween if we need to in order to protect our spot."

The GOP chairs in the four early states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — talk on the phone, exchange emails and occasionally meet in person to discuss protecting their primary status. They huddle at RNC meetings over breakfast or coffee, and plan to talk at the RNC summer meeting in Nashville, McKissick said. The early state chairmen will also take the temperatures of 2024 hopefuls as they make off-year visits to Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, flexing some power over presidential hopefuls eager to build goodwill.

"We'll be talking and working with those individual aspirants, if you will, to make sure that they're supportive of the calendar as it exists," McKissick said.

— Meanwhile, Nevada has some problems of its own, POLITICO's David Siders wrote, and has given Iowa hope that it could keep its prized spot on the calendar — even after the 2020 Iowa caucus fiasco. Democratic socialists have created a divide in Nevada's state Democratic Party, while pro-Trump activists with some ties to the Proud Boys are angling to take over the state Republican Party.

DEBATE ABOUT THE DEBATE — The RNC could take a pass on partnering with major TV networks for the 2024 primary debates, Citizens United President David Bossie said on Friday. It's not clear what a new debate plan would look like, POLITICO's Nick Niedzwiadek wrote, though Bossie claimed TV moderators ask too many "gotcha" questions that don't pertain to GOP primary voters. Of the 2016 primary debates, five were hosted by Fox News Channel or Fox Business, three by CNN and one by each of ABC News, CBS News and CNBC. Republicans have also threatened to snub the general election debates if the Commission on Presidential Debates does not make reforms.

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY — "What happens in Nevada stays in Nevada" — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, reacting to Nevada's play to be first on the 2024 nominating calendar, per WMUR.

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