NRCC Morning Reads For Oct. 27, 2014: GOP’s Rising Female Stars, McCarthy Outlines His Agenda, Poliquin With A Slim Lead In ME-02
Good morning. We’re officially in the final push to Election Day and these are your NRCC Morning Reads
The Hill: The GOP’s Rising Female Stars:
The Hill‘s Scott Wong looks at several female Republican House candidates running in 2014. Last year, the NRCC made a commitment to recruiting female candidates to run for Congress and ensuring they had the resources necessary to win. On the eve of Election Day, several of them are poised to be sent to Washington. One of them is New York’s Elise Stefanik. As Wong notes, if victorious, Stefanik would be the youngest woman–from either party–ever elected to Congress.
“‘Broadly, this election cycle is a testament to the fact that people are looking for new types of candidates. The fact that I’m young, initially some skeptics have raised eyebrows, but it’s really turned into a strength over the course of this campaign,’ Stefanik said from Ogdensburg, which sits on New York’s northern border with Canada. Voters of all political stripes are backing her ‘because they are looking for a breath of fresh air, new blood, a new generation of leadership.’
She’s on track to defeat Democratic filmmaker Aaron Woolf and become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress and the youngest current lawmaker in either chamber — something she called ‘a great additional crack in the glass ceiling so that more young women would be willing to step up to the plate.'”
With Generic Ballot Lead, Republicans Look to Expand the Map:
Kristina Peterson and Alejandro Lazo of The Wall Street Journal this morning explore a topic that has gotten a lot of play recently: the GOP’s ability in 2014 to expand the map into Obama districts. Americans are frustrated with House Democrats and President Obama, whom they see as failing to lead on the challenges we face as a country. That frustration has translated into a solid Republican lead in the polls:
“The Republican entrance into additional districts—in Iowa, Nevada and elsewhere—adds to evidence that voters are making a late turn away from the Democratic party. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Annenberg survey released Sunday found Republicans with a four-point lead among registered voters on which party should control Congress, with 46% favoring the GOP and 42% preferring Democratic control.
‘Among likely voters, the GOP held an 11-point advantage. In both measures, the GOP lead was larger than in the prior week’s survey.
‘Coming amid Ebola fears and the U.S. war on Islamic State terrorists, the latest survey found that recent events had taken a toll on both parties but had hurt Democrats more, with 53% saying recent events made them feel less favorable toward Democrats, compared to 40% toward Republicans.”
In turn, Lazo and Peterson note, the NRCC and House Republicans have begun to go on offense in districts that were thought to be simply out-of-reach:
“In Iowa, Republicans last week put $400,000 into the race for the open seat now held by Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democratic Senate candidate, and $900,000 to try to unseat a neighboring Iowa Democrat, Rep. Dave Loebsack. It was the first investment by the party in either race.
‘Republicans are optimistic that the party’s Senate candidate, Joni Ernst, could help carry GOP candidates further down the ticket, a spokesman with the House GOP’s campaign arm said. Polls show Ms. Ernst leading Mr. Braley by an average of a few percentage points.
‘Republicans in late September started to put money—now totaling more than $1 million—in a Texas district to bolster GOP challenger Will Hurd’s effort to oust Democratic Rep. Pete Gallego. And in Nevada, Republican and conservative groups are stepping in to help GOP state Assemblyman Cresent Hardy in his race against Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford.”
Democrats have had their chances. They’re out-of-touch and now they’re out-of-time. It’s time for an even stronger and more diverse House majority.
Leader McCarthy Outlines His Agenda:
In an interview with Politico‘s Jake Sherman, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy outlined his priorities for next Congress. Though Election Day 2014 is more than a week away, McCarthy is wasting no time planning a vision, naming dealing with the multitudes of federal bureaucracy:
“One of his chief goals is to rework the federal bureaucracy. In his travel throughout more than 100 congressional districts, McCarthy says he has sensed a great distrust in the federal government. He says voters are frustrated with Obama’s handling of Ebola, the health care law, the IRS and Secret Service scandals. And that’s why he is setting up a congressional mechanism to whittle away at inefficiencies that plague the government. He likens his plans to the commission that shut down underused military bases. He wonders why many city governments operate online, and the federal government still conducts business on paper.”
News and Notes from the Campaign Trail:
- It’s a tight race up in the state known as “Vacationland.” Republican Bruce Poliquin maintains a narrow lead over the ultra-liberal State Senator Emily Cain, 41 percent to 40 percent.
- Republican Bob Dold went after Democrat Brad Schneider in a forum over the weekend in North Chicago. Their race is one of the closest-watched in the nation.
- Washington insider and ObamaCare architect John Lewis vowed there would be no conflict of interest if he was elected to Congress, despite his wife being a lobbyist.
There are just 8 days until Election Day 2014. And those are your NRCC Morning Reads…
-Matt