NRCC Weekly Rundown: LaHood Wins IL-18, Gilbert Fundraises in Hollywood, DCCC Meets with Hillary

Welcome to the first NRCC Rundown of the 2016 Cycle. As Election Day 2016 nears, these rundowns will become frequent. For now, here’s what’s going on in the congressional races across the country!

Meet Your Newest U.S. Congressman

Republican Illinois state senator Darin LaHood won Thursday’s special election in the state’s 18th congressional district with an impressive 69 percent of the vote. This marks the third Republican special-election victory of 2015. LaHood will be sworn in next week and start serving the people of central Illinois. Congrats to Congressman-elect LaHood!

Find NRCC Chairman Greg Walden’s official statement here.

Hey Melissa Gilbert – Michigan is That-a-away!

Home is where the heart is, and looks like former Hollywood actress Melissa Gilbert still considers California to be her home. Gilbert, who only recently moved to Michigan before deciding to run for Congress, held her campaign’s first fundraiser more than 2,000 miles away from her southeastern Michigan district. For more information on Gilbert’s geographical misfire, check out NRCC regional press secretary Chris Pack’s rundown.

Are House Democrats Still #ReadyforHillary? Don’t Think So

After a series of recruiting woes by the DCCC, Hillary Clinton isn’t doing House Democrats any favors of helping them down the ballot with her ongoing email scandal and drop in trustworthiness in the polls. That surely made for an awkward meeting this week when Team Clinton swung by the DCCC’s weekly meeting on Thursday. This raises the question: Are Democrats still planning to ride the embattled former Secretary of State’s coattails? Per NRCC release:

Team Clinton is headed to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today to meet with Democrat lawmakers, but just this week Clinton faced another embarrassing blunder on the campaign trail when she finally, and only half-heartedly, apologized for her inappropriate private email server. Clinton deemed her private server was “allowed,” ignoring the fact that she put America’s national security at risk. As Clinton’s ego continues to outweigh reason, she took another hit as a recent poll shows that her favorability with Americans is continuing to dwindle.

Meanwhile, National House Democrats have been claiming for months that Hillary Clinton’s coattails were going to boost their ability to recruit and chances of winning, but after months of failed recruitment efforts by the DCCC and poll after poll showing Clinton’s numbers are tanking, it’s clear she’s not the asset they hoped for.

So this visit from Team Clinton makes you wonder – Is Brad Ashford still #ReadyForHillary?

Scott Peters, Ask and Ye Shall Receive . . . at the Risk of San Diego Families

As highlighted in an NRCC ad last month, Scott Peters has repeatedly pushed for GITMO prisoners to be relocated to U.S. soil. Now, it looks like he may get a chance to see that wish come true in his own backyard. Defense One reports that a White House official listed San Diego as potential transfer site for detainees.

Other News and Notes:

• Texas congressman and former CIA agent Will Hurd plans to use his position as chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Information Technology to oversee the federal government’s cybersecurity measures following this year’s OPM hacks.
• Maine’s Bruce Poliquin said he will support federal and statewide efforts to combat increasing drug abuse, including the announcement of grants to two Maine coalitions involved in the fight.
• New York congressman Dan Donovan penned an op-ed in the New York Post highlighting the dangers of cutting funding to New York City’s “Securing the City” program to combat terrorism.
• Bob Dold of Illinois went on NewsMax TV to warn about the “historic mistake” of allowing the Iran deal to go through Congress.
• Michigan’s Mike Bishop is supporting a resolution to increase oversight of unelected bureaucrats who develop burden small businesses and families with new regulations without checks over their impact.