(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Morning Digest: One of the worst GOP candidates of 2022 is falling back into an old pattern [1] ['Daily Kos Staff'] Date: 2023-10-24 The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team. Subscribe to The Downballot, our weekly podcast x Embedded Content Leading Off ● MI-Sen: Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig parted ways with both his campaign manager and deputy manager just 17 days after announcing he'd seek the Republican nomination for Michigan's open Senate seat, reports the Messenger. "I resigned due to differing opinions on the strategic direction of the campaign," said Craig’s now-former campaign manager, August Atencio. But Craig adviser Ted Goodman pushed back, arguing that "this is a non-story being pushed by our political opponents." The "non-story," though, may feel uncomfortably familiar to Craig fans who remember his disastrous 2022 campaign for governor. The former police chief's previous effort went through several major staff shake-ups, including the departure of two different campaign managers in less than four months and the resignation of chief adviser John Yob. During that race, the Detroit News reported that Craig had brought on two co-managers in March, a month before the candidate filing deadline. Yob responded with a snarky tweet declaring, "The nice thing about appointing co-campaign managers is that when the third one quits, there might still be a fourth one." But Yob, who had already switched to working for wealthy businessman Perry Johnson's rival effort, wasn't quite able to fully enjoy what happened next to his former client. Election authorities disqualified Craig, Johnson, and three other contenders from the ballot after they fell victim to a huge fraudulent-signature scandal and failed to turn in enough valid petitions. Craig insisted on forging ahead with a write-in campaign that ultimately won just 2% of the vote, while Johnson decided to turn his attention to running for president. (Yob, who has since gone back to praising Craig on social media, signed on to Johnson's White House campaign.) It's possible, however, that primary voters will get to see both Craig's and Johnson's names on their Senate ballot next year. The latter declared Friday that he was suspending his presidential campaign after barely registering in the polls and failing to qualify for any debates, though his name will remain on the ballot in New Hampshire and other early primary states. And there may be a backup plan in the works. Johnson, who self-funded at least $8.4 million, told NBC last month that he might refocus his efforts on a bid to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, though he's now sending mixed messages about his interest in that idea. A spokesperson for Johnson responded to the network's questions about a Senate run by saying, "Perry hasn't ruled anything out." Johnson, however, doesn't seem to have quite abandoned his White House dreams, as he said Friday he'd keep a small number of people on staff "in the event the dynamics of the race change." Craig will face intraparty opposition no matter what Johnson does, though his main competitor still has a lot to prove. Former Rep. Mike Rogers launched his campaign in early September, but a recent survey from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling showed Craig beating the NRSC's preferred recruit 30-19. It also remains to be seen whether Rogers will have the money to run a serious effort. The candidate raised just $810,000 during the third quarter and finished September with $790,000 in the bank, though his campaign highlighted that his haul came after only 24 days on the trail. Craig, for his part, launched his bid after the fourth quarter began, so we'll need to wait until the end of January to get our first look at his financial strength. The GOP field also includes state Board of Education member Nikki Snyder, but she ended last month with all of $90,000 on hand after yet another weak fundraising quarter. Former Rep. Peter Meijer also set up an exploratory committee in late August, but he has yet to report any fundraising numbers. On the Democratic side, Rep. Elissa Slotkin continues to hold a huge financial edge over her many opponents. Actor Hill Harper attracted a good deal of attention when he entered the race in early July, but he raised only $560,000 from donors during his opening quarter and self-funded another $460,000. Slotkin, for her part, hauled in $3 million, and she finished September with a huge $5.2 million to $420,000 cash-on-hand advantage over Hill. A third Democrat, former American Arab Chamber of Commerce leader Nasser Beydoun, had a mere $100,000 in the bank, while the rest of the field lags even further behind. Senate ● MD-Sen: Gov. Wes Moore announced Monday that he was backing Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in next year's Democratic primary to succeed retiring Sen. Ben Cardin. Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando, who dropped out Friday, also threw his support to Alsobrooks. Moore's decision comes a year after Alsobrooks provided him with an important endorsement in his own nomination contest. Observers cited her support as one of the reasons that Moore, who carried populous Prince George's County 47-21, pulled off a narrow statewide victory on his way to becoming Maryland's first Black governor. Alsobrooks, who would be the first African American to represent the Old Line State in the Senate, already had much of the state's party establishment in her corner for her expensive primary against Rep. David Trone. While Cardin has not taken sides, Alsobrooks has endorsements from Sen. Chris Van Hollen; Reps. Steny Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, and Rep. Kweisi Mfume; and Baltimore County Executive Johhny Olszewski. Trone, by contrast, has the backing of close to 50 of his colleagues, but none of them are members of the Maryland delegation. Governors ● MS-Gov: The Democratic Governors Association has publicized an internal from Public Policy Polling that shows GOP Gov. Tate Reeves edging out Democrat Brandon Presley just 46-45 in this conservative state. That's significantly closer than the 51-43 Reeves advantage that Mason-Dixon found three months ago in its survey for the conservative Magnolia Tribune; we haven't seen any other polls since Labor Day. The DGA, though, is spending like it believes this contest is winnable. The group contributed $3 million to Presley's campaign during the third quarter of the year on top of the $750,000 it previously gave him. Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau notes that the DGA provided then-Attorney General Jim Hood a smaller $2.4 million four years ago ahead of his 52-47 loss to Reeves; the committee also only spent $300,000 this year to aid Louisiana Democrat Shawn Wilson, who failed to even force a runoff against GOP Gov.-elect Jeff Landry. Reeves still finished September with a hefty $6 million to $1.8 million cash on hand lead, though some of his fellow Republicans have warned that their party could lose. "The way we end up with a liberal governor is that Republicans assume we win," longtime state operative Henry Barbour warned in a September radio interview that Ganucheau says attracted plenty of attention in conservative circles. An unnamed GOP source also recently told Mississippi Today, "I can't remember a statewide election cycle when a Republican had a tough challenge and so few Republican voters seemed to care." It's possible, however, that there will be a second round in the race to lead Mississippi. Independent Gwendolyn Gray remains on the ballot even though she dropped out earlier this month and endorsed Presley, and her presence could prevent either remaining candidate from winning the majority they need to avert a Nov. 28 runoff. House ● AL-02: Inside Elections' Erin Covey recently took a look at the potential Democratic field for this revamped seat, and unnamed party operatives mention U.S. Department of Justice official Shomari Figures as a possible candidate. Figures' mother, state Sen. Vivian Figures, has been publicly considering a bid, and one source confidently predicted, "There will be a Figures on the ballot." Republicans haven't shown much optimism about holding a constituency that would have favored Joe Biden 56-43, and Pike Road Mayor Gordon Stone last week told the conservative 1819 News that he was unlikely to try. Stone, however, still acknowledged, "I'm not closing any doors." ● CO-04: Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams has ruled out waging a GOP primary bid against Rep. Ken Buck, explaining that "the timing is simply not right for me and my family." ● NJ-07: The New Jersey Star-Ledger's Tom Moran spoke to former Rep. Tom Malinowski for his op-ed urging the Democrat to change his mind and challenge GOP Rep. Tom Kean Jr., and Malinowski didn't quite reject the idea. Still, the former congressman doesn't sound eager to revisit his May decision to stay out of the race: "I'm very happy in my life right now," said Malinowski, "and looking forward to the next challenge, not backward." ● PA-10: Former TV news anchor Janelle Stelson has released a survey from Public Policy Polling that shows her leading 2022 nominee Shamaine Daniels 33-20 in next year's Democratic primary to face GOP Rep. Scott Perry, with no one else exceeding 3%. The memo also finds that the frontrunners are the only candidates with much name recognition with primary voters: Stelson, who stepped down last month after 27 years working for NBC affiliate WGAL, posts a 49-8 favorable rating, while respondents give Daniels a 35-9 score. Other Races ● PA State Auditor, PA State House: Democratic state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a self-described "centrist" who spent a short but vital two-month period as speaker early this year, announced over the weekend that he would challenge Republican Auditor General Timothy DeFoor. Rozzi launched his bid for the nod months after Malcolm Kenyatta, a fellow state representative who took third in last year's U.S. Senate primary, kicked off his own campaign against DeFoor. Pennsylvania allows candidates to run for multiple offices at once, and Kenyatta, who would be the first gay person elected statewide, says he'll also seek reelection to his dark blue seat in Philadelphia. But Rozzi, who represents part of nearby Berks County, declared that he wouldn't try to hold his legislative seat; Rozzi's 126th District favored Joe Biden 55-44 in 2020. Ad Roundup [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/24/2201194/-Morning-Digest-One-of-the-worst-GOP-candidates-of-2022-is-falling-back-into-an-old-pattern?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_11&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/