NRCC Morning Reads For Oct. 29, 2014: GOP Works Toward More Diverse Conference, Newsday Endorses Zeldin, Gibson With Huge Lead Over Eldridge
Good morning once again and welcome to NRCC Morning Reads. We’re inside one week until the big day.
CBS News: House Republicans Could Look More Diverse After Election Day
CBS News’ Rebecca Kaplan takes a look at how the composition of the House GOP Conference could change after Election Day. Kaplan says as many as 10 women, four minorities, and two openly gay candidates could be part of the incoming class.
“There are currently 19 Republican women at the House who make up just 8 percent of the entire House GOP conference (by comparison, nearly 30 percent of Democrats in the House and Senate are women). That figure peaked at 10 percent during the past two elections, and it’s surprising that it might inch back up given that one-third fewer Republican women are running for Congress in 2014 compared to 2012.
‘Candidates Mia Love in Utah and Mimi Walters in California are safe bets to win their races. Two more Republican women, Barbara Comstock in Virginia and Elise Stefanik in New York, have races leaning their way. There are four races that are much closer, but if voters end up breaking for the GOP in large numbers, four more women – Martha McSally of Arizona, Marilinda Garcia of New Hampshire, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and former Rep. Nan Hayworth of New York – could also be headed to Washington.”
The NRCC has taken this cause seriously all cycle. In fact, we started Project GROW last year. The program’s mission was to encourage and recruit female candidates and provide them with the resources they need to compete. We’ve said all along that these efforts don’t end come Election Day. We need to maintain and strengthen these efforts for years to come.
Speaker Boehner on the Campaign Trail:
They’re aren’t many folks out there working harder for a stronger and more diverse GOP majority than Speaker John Boehner. The Hill‘s Scott Wong explores what the speaker is doing to grow the ranks of House Republicans come January:
“Boehner’s frantic fall offensive has taken him into traditionally blue territory — New York, the Northeast and California, as well as three congressional districts here in Iowa earlier this week that went for President Obama in 2008 and 2012.
‘On Tuesday, the Speaker traveled next door to Illinois where he appeared with state Rep. Mike Bost, the Republican taking on freshman Democratic Rep. Bill Enyart.
‘Next stop: West Virginia, where Boehner will boost the Republican trying to oust a Democratic fixture, Rep. Nick Rahall, and help hold on to the neighboring seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, who’s headed for the Senate.
‘Most political pundits scoffed in May when the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) launched its ‘Drive to 245,’ a campaign to expand its 17-seat majority by a dozen seats in the midterms.
‘But with President Obama’s low popularity dragging down Democrats and GOP donors opening their wallets, few are laughing now. Two Beltway prognosticators, the Cook and Rothenberg political reports, have said the GOP will pick up anywhere between two and 10 seats on Tuesday night.”
News and Notes from the Campaign Trail:
- Newsday endorsed Lee Zeldin in his campaign against Democrat Tim Bishop for New York’s 1st district. The paper called Zeldin “a newcomer with a lot of potential.”
- Up in New Hampshire last night, Republican Marilinda Garcia and Democrat Annie Kuster tangled over Kuster’s absence in the district and her support of ObamaCare.
- New York Congressman Chris Gibson has opened up a 23 point lead in his race against liberal hypocrite Sean Eldridge for New York’s 19th congressional district.
- A top staffer for Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos resigned yesterday after she was caught on audio saying people in Bustos’ district spend more time in jail than in church.
Those are your NRCC Morning Reads for Wednesday, October 29, 2014. There are just 6 days until Election Day.
-Matt