How ‘no corporate PAC’ Democrats still get corporate dollars

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— Many freshmen Democrats have taken a pledge to not take money from corporate PACs. But some are still attending fundraisers hosted by lobbyists or taking personal checks.


— A top-tier Republican challenger is reportedly getting in the race to challenge freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski in New Jersey.

— Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is reprising the same Islamophobic themes he used last year against Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is running again after losing narrowly in November.

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Days until the NC-03 primary election: 21

Days until the NC-09 primary election: 35

Days until the Kentucky and Mississippi general elections: 210

Days until the 2020 election: 574

PURITY TEST — Many freshmen Democrats have sworn off donations from corporate PACs — but that doesn’t mean corporate power has been removed entirely from their fundraising universe.

There’s “a larger trend of Democratic lawmakers who have promised to steer clear of corporate PACs allowing the same corporations’ lobbyists to write them personal checks — and in some cases even host fundraisers for them,” POLITICO’s Theo Meyer wrote (read his whole story, it is worth it). “Some lawmakers who’ve taken the pledge have defended their decisions to reject corporate PAC money while accepting money from lobbyists and other PACs.”

Still, K Street Democrats are frustrated. “They view [the pledge] as arbitrary restrictions on which kinds of money lawmakers will take and which kinds are forbidden,” Theo writes. “While Democrats who’ve taken the pledge are allowed to accept contributions from trade association PACs, for instance, End Citizens United PAC has circulated a list of 43 trade group PACs whose corporate ties might make accepting such money problematic for those Democrats.”

PAC operators are also working to get candidates and lawmakers who haven’t taken the pledge to hold off. “We are trying to educate Members about the importance of employee-funded PACs to the campaign finance system,” Catherine McDaniel, the president of the National Association of Business PACs, a trade group for corporate PACs, said in a statement to Theo.

PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD — California Rep. Eric Swalwell is the latest Democrat to announce he’s running for president. Swalwell made his announcement on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (and here’s his FEC filing). “In a separate video posted to his newly launched campaign website titled ‘Go big. Be bold. Do good.’ — a line he also floated during his Colbert interview — Swalwell highlighted his Iowa roots, said Trump has espoused ‘bullsh*t’ and emphasized his youth,” POLITICO California’s Jeremy White wrote.

— Sen. Amy Klobuchar raised $5.2 million in the first quarter for her presidential bid. She’ll report having $7 million in the bank. An interesting note from The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher: Fundraising invitations from Klobuchar shows she has also been raising general election money, which she can’t spend right now.

— Party leaders in early primary states largely don’t expect former Vice President Joe Biden to suffer long-term damage after women said he made them feel uncomfortable, but they do want him to stop joking about it, POLITICO’s Natasha Korecki and Chris Cadelago reported. “Other early state activists cautioned that Biden’s future behavior will be under a microscope. If he moves forward with a campaign, the pressure will be on for the 76-year-old to adapt to new social norms and to diversify his staff to add more women and people of color,” they wrote.

— New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s City Hall communications director, Mike Casca, is going to work for de Blasio’s federal PAC, the latest sign the mayor is considering a run, per POLITICO New York’s Sally Goldenberg.

HOUSE RECRUITMENT WATCH — New Jersey state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., a Republican and son of a former governor, is expected to announce next week that he’ll challenge Malinowski in NJ-07, the New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein reported. However, Malinowski is showing signs that his fundraising operation is still going strong: He raised more than $560,000 in the first quarter of 2019, per Wildstein. Kean’s also no stranger to raising money: In his failed 2006 bid for the Senate, in which he lost to Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, Kean raised nearly $8 million.

— Michigan Democratic state Rep. Jon Hoadley announced plans to challenge GOP Rep. Fred Upton in MI-06, per The Detroit News’ Melissa Nann Burke (I reported in Score last week that he was considering a run).

— A weekend announcement I missed: Democrat Kathleen Williams is running again for Montana’s at-large seat, per the Billings Gazette’s Tom Lutey. Williams lost last year by less than 5 points to GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte, who is a potential gubernatorial candidate.

IN CALIFORNIA — Hunter is doubling down on his 2018 campaign, which ran Islamophobic ads in his successful bid to hold off Campa-Najjar. Hunter’s camp is attacking Campa-Najjar, who is running again. “A fundraising pitch from Hunter claims that Campa-Najjar’s last bid was buoyed by ‘supporters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’ and noted that the Democrat’s grandfather was involved with planning the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics (the email repeatedly misstated Campa-Najjar’s name),” Jeremy reported. Campa-Najjar said Hunter is “just trying to fearmonger.”

OUR GUY — The DSCC endorsed Mark Kelly’s Arizona Senate campaign, with Kelly unlikely to face serious competition for the nomination, per Campaign Pro’s James Arkin.

STAYING HOME — Fun while it lasted: Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz texted the Pensacola News Journal’s Jim Little that he would not run for Senate across state lines in Alabama. Gaetz responded to a question from Little on if he’ll run with a one-word response: “No”.

THE CASH DASH — Freshman Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher in TX-07 raised over $515,000 in the first quarter, per a release from her campaign. Perpetual battleground Democrat Rep. Collin Peterson in MN-07 raised $282,000 with $742,000 in cash on hand, per his FEC report.

— Hawaii state Sen. Kai Kahele, a Democrat who is running in HI-02 as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard runs for president, said he raised over $250,000 in the first quarter.

PRIMARY PROBLEMS — Some West Virginia Republicans are unhappy with Democrat-turned-Republican Gov. Jim Justice. “The Mineral County Republican Executive Committee released a statement and a resolution Sunday morning in support of Justice after the Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee passed a resolution of no confidence last week,” The Martinsburg Journal’s Steven Adams reported.

TWEETERS IN CHIEF — No, not President Donald Trump. An analysis from The Washington Post’s Kevin Schaul and Kevin Uhrmacher broke down what the Democratic hopefuls are tweeting about the most. “While most candidates discussed social justice and health care, only a few talked much about foreign policy or immigration,” they wrote. “No candidate made gun control a first or second priority in their social media strategy during the month.”

STAFFING UP — Former NRCC Executive Director John Rodgers and veteran ad-maker Jason Meath are launching their own firm, Torchlight Strategies, POLITICO’s Scott Bland reported.

— Marcia Lee Kelly was named the president and CEO for the 2020 Republican convention. She was director of operations for the 2016 convention.

WEB WARS — Andrew Yang outpaced the field last week on Facebook spending. The long-shot presidential candidate dropped over $156,000 on ads on the platform last week, nearly doubling the total amount he’s spent on Facebook to date. Pros can get more details about Facebook spending from our roundup.

CODA — HEADLINE OF THE DAY: “Iowa student asks Beto O'Rourke 'Are you here to see Beto?' in bathroom” from the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

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