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Joe Kennedy to announce Massachusetts Senate primary bid against incumbent Ed Markey WASHINGTON — Rep Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., will announce this weekend that he is launching a bid for the U.S. Senate, setting up a primary challenge to a fellow Democrat, incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, a source familiar with the decision confirms to NBC News. The source added that Kennedy will announce the bid to supporters during a breakfast at East Boston Social Centers. The Boston Globe first reported Kennedy's decision. Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., smiles on Capitol Hill on July 26, 2017 in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin / AP file Kennedy's entry into the race had been long rumored, and the congressman himself previously acknowledged that he was considering a challenge to Markey. The primary will pit the 38-year-old Kennedy, the fourth-term congressman who's part of one of America's most famous political dynasties, against the 73-year-old Markey, who first joined Congress as a member of the House in 1976. A recent poll by Suffolk University and the Boston Globe found that Kennedy would lead Markey by more than 8 points in a field of five primary candidates, and by 14 in a head-to-head primary matchup. But Markey has won endorsements in recent weeks from both Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two prominent progressives. Share this -







Booker releases new labor plan as auto strike continues MANCHESTER, NH — Presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is out with a new labor plan pegged to the ongoing auto strikes, a proposal that calls for empowering workers to take collective action, restructuring laws to help workers in the gig economy, enacting a slew of worker protections and overhauling America's tax laws. Citing the ongoing United Automobile Workers strikes, Booker said in a statement that he "learned the power of collective action from my grandfather who was an assembly line worker and UAW union rep in Detroit." “He showed me how, when workers stick together, injustices can be corrected and real progress can be made," he said. "That’s something I’ve carried with me my whole life — and today, as I stand with workers who are fighting for fairer wages and better benefits across the country, I’m outlining how my administration will ensure that our economy leaves no one behind.” Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks to a crowd at Emanuel AME Church on Aug. 7, 2019 in Charleston, S.C. Sean Rayford / Getty Images file His campaign proposal relies heavily on passing existing legislation and argues for his previously announced Rise Credit, which expands on the Earned Income Tax Credit by providing up to $4,000 to working Americans making less than $90,000 a year, including students and family caregivers as workers, and implementing automatic tax filings. Notably, Booker’s signature Worker Dividend Act, a bill he sponsored in the Senate, would shift the balance of power from shareholders to workers by forcing corporations to share profits from stock buybacks with their employees. Other highlights from Booker’s proposal include: Strengthening collective bargaining and protect workers at the federal, state and local levels through legislation such as the PRO Act (protects rights to organize unions and strikes and bans “right to work” laws), Workplace Democracy Act, and Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act.

and protect workers at the federal, state and local levels through legislation such as the PRO Act (protects rights to organize unions and strikes and bans “right to work” laws), Workplace Democracy Act, and Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. Preventing misclassification among gig economy workers by shoring up regulations about when workers can be classified as independent contractors

by shoring up regulations about when workers can be classified as independent contractors Supporting efforts that allow workers from multiple employers to organize across industries, and also expand workforce training to include local sectoral programs

across industries, and also expand workforce training to include local sectoral programs Ensuring federal funds and contracts support companies that provide adequate benefits , respect unions and pay at least $15 an hour

, respect unions and pay at least $15 an hour Fighting for a $15 minimum wage and closing the gender pay gap by passing his co-sponsored Raise the Wage Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act

by passing his co-sponsored Raise the Wage Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act Prohibiting mandatory arbitration clauses through the Restoring Justice for Workers Act

through the Restoring Justice for Workers Act Providing guaranteed paid family leave for taking care of relatives by passing the FAMILY Act

for taking care of relatives by passing the FAMILY Act Protecting workers from all types of discrimination and harassment through the pro-LGBT Equality Act, Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and Be HEARD Act

through the pro-LGBT Equality Act, Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and Be HEARD Act Investing federal dollars in affordable childcare by building on the Child Care for Working Families Act

by building on the Child Care for Working Families Act Giving all Americans an opportunity to work by passing his Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act

by passing his Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act Restructuring the American tax code by repealing the 2017 GOP tax bill, raising the rate for long-term capital games, adding an annual long-term investment tax for the wealthiest Americans, implementing a “deferral charge” for shifting investments, and closing loopholes that Booker says advantage the wealthiest households Booker argues his tax reforms could raise as much as $2 trillion over ten years. His plan also cites the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and Fairness for Farm Workers Acts and Fair Chance Act to ensure fairness for disadvantaged workers from communities of color and the formerly incarcerated, respectively. Earlier this week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren nabbed the endorsement of the Working Families Party, a labor-focused progressive group that supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. Share this -







ACLU dings Joe Biden in new radio ads WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union is pressuring Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden to clarify his positions on civil rights with a new ad campaign in the early primary state of South Carolina. The group is spending what it tells NBC News is "low six-figure" to run the ad on African-American radio stations in Charleston and Columbia. It follows digital ads and mailers the ACLU has already sent to 100,000 South Carolina voters asking, “Where is Joe Biden on civil rights?” The campaign is a response to the former vice president failing to respond to an ACLU effort asking all the 2020 candidates where they stand on civil liberties. "Most candidates in the recent debate answered our questions, but Joe Biden did not," the ad's narrator says. "You heard right, Joe Biden passed on a chance to make clear where he stands on voting rights, on criminal justice reform, on police misconduct. We asked how he would address the unnecessary use of force by police.... No response. Voters deserve to know. Does Joe Biden support rights for all?" Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former Housing Secretary Julián Castro have also been hit with digital ads from the group for failing to respond, but Biden is a more valuable target given his standing in the polls. Ronnie Newman, the national political director for the ACLU, said members of his group want "clear, on the record" assurances from every candidate they would use "the full weight" of the presidency to protect civil liberties. “This push is not about the narrow question of whether presidential candidates have returned the ACLU questionnaire, but instead about the broader, more fundamental question of whether candidates -- including Joe Biden -- will commit to prioritizing civil liberties and civil rights in their campaigns and eventually, in their presidency," Newman said. The ACLU has traditionally not involved itself much in elections, but has been looking to expand its reach outside the courtroom after receiving a flood of donations in the early days of Donald Trump's presidency and retooling itself for a more polarized world. South Carolina, which will be the fourth state to vote in next year's primaries, is key to Biden's prospects and its Democratic electorate is expected to be majority-African American. The Biden campaign pointed NBC News to Jim Felder, a prominent civil rights activist with the NAACP and South Carolina Voter Education Project, who defended the former vice president and questioned why the ACLU was getting involved in a Democratic primary. "Joe Biden, in my book, is number one on civil rights throughout the years," said Felder, who is supporting Biden. "I don't know of any situation where Joe Biden has been against civil rights." Felder said he's supported and donated to the ACLU in the past, but that the attack on Biden "just floors me," adding that he had not seen the group be particularly active in South Carolina in recent years. "And why are they getting involved in the presidential race? To jump on candidates like this seems to be a little stretch outside what they typically do," he said. UPDATED: This post was updated to include a comment from a Biden surrogate. Share this -







As Harris falters, campaign and allies mull next steps Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., once viewed as a top-tier contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has lost considerable ground in the crowded field while other candidates are picking up steam. With just over four months left until Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, Harris has fallen to five percent support in the latest NBC/WSJ poll released Tuesday, putting her in fifth place behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. NBC/WSJ poll: Biden, Warren rising, Harris plummets Sept. 17, 2019 01:44 It’s a precipitous drop for the former California attorney general, who entered the presidential race with a huge rally in her hometown of Oakland last January. She jumped to prominence after the first nationally televised Democratic debate in June, where she called out Biden, the field’s front-runner, over his past statements on public school busing. Harris has faded since then. Her second debate performance, in July, was panned as she defended her record as a prosecutor and worked to explain her position on healthcare reform. She did little to bounce in the third debate earlier this month, casting much of her attention toward President Trump. And she’s had a light campaign schedule this summer. When Harris returns to Iowa this weekend for the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry, it’ll be her first trip to the state in over a month. She’s visited just 18 of Iowa’s 99 counties so far. It’s been more than two months since her last visit to South Carolina, where Harris, who is African American, is counting on a robust showing among black voters who make up the majority of the state’s Democratic primary voters. And Harris has been in New Hampshire just once in the last two months. An attendee takes a picture with Senator Kamala Harris during the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Annual Pink Ice Gala in Columbia, South Carolina, on Jan. 25, 2019. Elijah Nouvelage / Bloomberg via Getty Images By comparison, Biden has campaigned actively in the early contest states. Since August 1, the former vice president has been to Iowa three times, New Hampshire twice and South Carolina twice. He’s also been to 21 of Iowa’s 99 counties, despite having entered the race in April, three months after Harris. And through the summer, Warren has held well-attended rallies in St. Paul, Seattle, Oakland, Austin and New York City. Harris, however, has spent much of the summer on a fundraising spree. She held fundraising events in Chicago and New York City last weekend, skipping a major labor summit in Philadelphia on Tuesday to raise money in the Baltimore area instead. Harris advisers say the candidate will continue to prioritize fundraising ahead of the Sept. 30 third-quarter fundraising deadline. The California senator raised $12 million in the second quarter, less than Biden, Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg. With falling poll numbers and a sparse campaign schedule, Harris is in need of a healthy fundraising haul to sustain a robust operation heading into the winter. Campaign spokesman Ian Sams told NBC the campaign wants to “make sure we have the nest egg to be competitive and viable through March” and insisted the candidate will be “on the trail a lot more” come October. “We’re not playing to win a summer news cycle in the off-year,” Sams said. “We’re playing to win an election. We’re aiming to peak at the turn of the year when we’re approaching votes – and we’re built to do that.” “Horse-race polling be damned,” he added. But part of Harris’ struggles comes down to voters’ lack of familiarity with the third-year California senator. In the new NBC/WSJ poll, 15 percent of Democratic primary voters said they didn't know her name. By comparison, just 7 percent said that about Warren, and 1 percent said that about Biden and Sanders. Austin Healy, a 31-year-old Texan who voted for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the state’s 2016 primary, attended an early September campaign rally for Warren in Austin that drew thousands. He told NBC News that he “originally liked [Harris] in the beginning” but followed: “I don’t really know what she stands for – there’s not really a clear message for me.” Harris, an Oakland native who first served as San Francisco’s District Attorney before becoming California’s attorney general, has also struggled to change perceptions about her time in law enforcement. It’s a point of frustration for Lateefah Simon, a long-time mentee of Harris who said she was “yelling at the TV” while watching the third debate, imploring Harris to tell the stories that define her record as a progressive prosecutor. Sen. Kamala Harris from California speaks during the 2020 Democratic presidential debate in Houston on Sept. 12, 2019. Mike Blake / Reuters Simon, who now works on criminal justice reform in California, says Harris needs to “tell it raw” and invoke her personal experiences. Simon recalls a moment when Harris, then a district attorney, was comforting a mother whose daughter had been killed. When the victim’s mother came into Harris’ office sobbing after the killer’s trial, Harris got down on her knees with her. “I’m here with you. Look at me. I’m here with you,” Harris had said, their foreheads touching, Simon recounted. “I have watched her not tell these stories,” Simon recalls. “Why don’t you talk about Claire? You hired me. Why don’t you tell that story?” Deb Mesloh, a longtime Harris friend and campaign adviser, told NBC News that she has learned to never doubt Harris because she’s shown resilience in tough elections for her district attorney and attorney general posts. But Mesloh acknowledged the scale of running for president limits the opportunities for Harris to make personal connections with voters. “What I’d love to see is for her to continue to share her personal story and for her to continue to talk about her life history and the things that inform her leadership and connect with voters in a one-on-one sense so they get to know her,” Mesloh said. Sams, the Harris campaign spokesman, said the campaign knows it is working up against candidates, namely Biden, Sanders and Warren, who had built-in national reputations before declaring their presidential bids. “Voters need to understand who you are. They need to understand why you’re running,” Sams said. “The three people atop the polls have been well known nationally for a long time and have strong brands...all the others of us who have not been national figures before have to do even more to tell people what we’re about and get it to stick.” Share this -







Michael Bennet targets Iowa Caucus-goers with new TV ad DES MOINES, IA — Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is the latest candidate to hit TV screens in Iowa with two 30-second ads titled, “Most,” and “Truth. Bennet failed to qualify for the September debate stage and is still struggling to meet the October threshold. The campaign hopes the new ads will introduce potential caucus-goers to the candidate. I haven't spent a lifetime in politics. I turned around failing businesses in the private sector & improved outcomes for kids as superintendent in Denver.



Now I'm running for president to keep tackling tough problems & make a difference in people's lives.



Watch our first ad ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Iqu8e54Rb5 — Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) September 17, 2019 “Not enough people have had the chance to meet him or learn what drives him,” campaign spokeswoman Shannon Beckham said. “These ads show who Michael is and how he’s different from other candidates.” The combined ad buys will ultimately hit a seven-figure spend across TV and digital platforms, according to the campaign. Ad-buy trackers show that the initial TV buys cost the campaign nearly $200,000 with more investment to come over the next several weeks in Iowa, and other early states like New Hampshire. That's a significant investment considering Bennet’s campaign ended the second quarter with only $2.2 million in the bank, per FEC filings. In contrast, Tom Steyer has already spent $4.5 million on the air in Iowa, while Joe Biden’s invested $688,000, with Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris trailing closely behind with $635,000 and $562,000 investments, respectively. In the ad titled “Most,” Bennet discusses how he’s dedicated his political career to “tackling tough problems,” including jobs, education and immigration reform to make Washington “work for the people again.” Bennet closes the ad focusing on health care saying, “As president, I’ll get everyone covered with a public option or keeping the health plans they already have.” Bennet has separated himself from the more progressive wing of the Democratic candidates by opposing Medicare for All plans. Health care is also the central focus of Bennet's second ad, "Truth." The ad starts with a narrator talking about how Bennet “pounds truth into the campaign.” Here’s the truth: There’s a better way to achieve universal health care than Medicare for All.



Instead of kicking people off of their coverage, let’s build on the Affordable Care Act with my public option plan that gives families a choice.



Watch our second ad here ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ik3Wojohde — Michael Bennet (@MichaelBennet) September 17, 2019 “The truth is a health care plan that starts by kicking people off their coverage makes no sense,” Bennet says in the ad. “Before we go and blow up everything let’s try this.” “This” is Bennet’s "Medicare X Plan,” which would allow people to keep their current health care plan or buy into a public option. Iowans will remember a push in ad spending by former Democratic candidate Kirsten Gillibrand earlier this summer before she ultimately dropped out of the race after failing to qualify for the September debates. Bennet’s ads will broadcast in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, in addition to CNN and MSNBC. Share this -







Elizabeth Warren's anti-corruption speech highlights NEW YORK — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., laid out her new anti-corruption proposal in a speech at Washington Square Park last night. The speech attracted an audience of 20,000, according to Warren’s campaign. Here are some highlights of her speech: 'Enormous crowd' gathers at Warren NYC rally Sept. 17, 2019 05:55 Government corruption has caused "extinction of species", "children slaughtered by assault weapons" and "crippling student loan debt" Standing in the shadows of one of the U.S.'s most expensive universities, New York University, Warren said that she "has a plan" to root out corruption in government. She blamed that "corruption" for why the government hasn't done enough to stop the ballooning student loan debt, climate change and gun control. "Corporate lawyers" as federal judge appointees rule "against vulnerable people" Warren lambasted corporate lawyers who make their way to the federal judiciary and rule in "favor of corporations". And she said that "right-wing groups have spent millions of dollars" to ram through unqualified nominees. As Warren said in the last Democratic presidential debate, she practiced law "for about 45 minutes" before becoming a law professor. Warren: "We're here because of some hard-working women" At the top of Warren's remarks, she addressed the role that women have played in the fight against corruption, using the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911 to make a point about systemic corruption. "For years, across the city, women factory workers and their allies had been sounding the alarm about dangerous and squalid conditions—fighting for shorter hours and higher pay," she said, before adding that "the fat profits were making New York’s factory owners rich. "Take any big problem we have in America today and you don’t have to dig very deep to see the same system at work." Share this -







Trump expected to rake in $15 million in 24 hours in California RIO RANCHO, N.M. – After rallying Latino supporters here Monday in a state he lost handily in 2016, President Donald Trump heads to another Democratic stronghold for a two-day fundraising swing in one of his most frequent political targets: California. The president is expected to raise a whopping $15 million there in about 24 hours for his re-election effort, according to a Republican official familiar with the planning of the events. Trump will travel to the Bay Area on Tuesday for the first time since taking office to headline a fundraiser lunch that has been shrouded in secrecy. Very few details have been provided, given the protests that broke out when then-candidate Trump campaigned in the region in 2016. The Silicon Valley fundraising lunch is expected to bring in $3 million, ahead of a visit to Southern California for various events in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and San Diego. Those gatherings will rake in $5 million, $3 million and $4 million respectively. The fundraisers are scheduled to be hosted by Trump Victory, a joint committee between the Trump 2020 campaign and the Republican National Committee. The following individuals are listed as co-hosts, according to “save the date” invites reviewed by NBC News: RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, co-chair Tommy Hicks Jr., RNC Finance Chairman Todd Ricketts and Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale. This will mark Trump’s fourth trip to the Golden State since taking office. On his first trip, he inspected border wall prototypes and held a fundraiser in Beverly Hills (March 2018). On the second trip, Trump visited areas devastated by wildfires and met with families affected by the Thousand Oaks shooting (November 2018). The third trip was for another border wall visit and fundraiser in Southern California (April 2019). President Donald Trump reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego, California on March 13, 2018, Evan Vucci / AP Share this -







Pete Buttigieg to unveil disaster relief plan in South Carolina DES MOINES, Iowa — One year after Hurricane Florence pummeled the Carolinas and just weeks after Hurricane Dorian lashed the U.S. coastline, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg Tuesday is set to unveil new proposals aimed at helping communities withstand and rebuild in the wake of catastrophic weather events. The plan titled, “Resilient Communities: A New Disaster Preparedness Approach,” aims to reimagine the way disaster relief and preparation works in the United States. “It’s time to shift the focus from placing the burden of compliance on individuals and communities, to making it the government’s job to actually help people in their time of greatest need,” the policy reads. Democratic Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign event in Muscatine, Iowa, on August 14, 2019. Alex Edelman / AFP - Getty Images file Within his first 100 days in office, Buttigieg says he’ll set up a disaster commission comprised of federal, state, and local agencies along with volunteer organizations. According to the plan, the commission will make recommendations on a host of issues including how best to streamline disaster relief applications and creating a permanent source of disaster relief funding. The plan calls for more federal support on the ground following a disaster by increasing the number of FEMA disaster workers and FEMA Corps members while also building a surge-capacity force that would deploy non-FEMA federal employees to disaster sites. Buttigieg hopes to equip FEMA workers with wi-fi hotspots to help communities reconnect with the rest of the world quickly and modernize the 911 system to allow calls to be rerouted and for those in need to send text messages and location data during a disaster. At the community level, the candidate hopes to create a culture of resilience by funding community volunteer programs that could, for example, train people to help with evacuations or assist with weather related displacement. Buttigieg also plans to authorize and increasing the budget for FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division, with an emphasis on marginalized communities. In addition, Buttigieg would incentivize private companies to work with state and local governments on resilience planning. The mayor supports proposed legislation that would authorize loans for states and communities working to incorporate resilience and mitigation while also consolidating grant programs so that communities can afford new technology. For example, a solar micro-grid system atop a fire station that would keep the building operational if power were lost. While many candidates have released plans on climate change that address resiliency, Buttigieg is the first to release a policy solely focused on the issue. Share this -







Joe Biden gets another high-profile Latino endorsement GALIVANTS FERRY, S.C. — Former Obama Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Monday night that he is backing former Vice President Joe Biden for president, giving Biden his second prominent Latino endorsement in recent days. Ken Salazar endorses Joe Biden for president Sept. 16, 2019 03:06 Appearing on MSNBC's "Hardball," Salazar said he chose Biden because he has the experience to unite the country and elevate its prominence on the world stage once again. “We need to have him in the White House today because the country, more than ever before, needs somebody to unite our country and right now we live in a very dangerous world, both here at home and across the world and there's nobody that knows the world issues or the national issues as Joe Biden does,” he said. Asked whether Biden has the political stamina to last through the primary, Salazar pointed to the multiple personal struggles he faced in life as examples that he knows how to pick himself up when he’s knocked down. Salazar’s backing is the second endorsement from a prominent Latino politician which comes at a time when the Biden campaign is trying to ramp up efforts courting the Latino community. On Sunday, Rep. Vincente Gonzalez, D-Texas, became the third Congressional Hispanic Caucus member to endorse Biden, notably pulling his endorsement from Sec. Julian Castro after he raised questions about Biden's age during last week's debate. Salazar, who served as Colorado’s senator between 2005 and 2009, notably chose to endorse Biden over his senate-seat successor and fellow moderate, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet. Share this -





