Campaign Report — Recent shootings pose challenge for Democrats

View Online    CAMPAIGN REPORT CAMPAIGN REPORT     Recent shootings pose challenge for Democrats  © Associated Press/Charles Krupa Welcome to The Hill's Campaign Report, tracking all things related to the 2022 midterm elections. You can expect this newsletter in your inbox each week leading up to November's election.    Scheduling note: With the primary season in full swing, we're expanding our newsletter schedule. Beginning this week, you can expect to hear from us on Tuesdays and Thursdays.    Email us tips and feedback: Max Greenwood (mgreenwood@thehill.com), Julia Manchester (jmanchester@thehill.com), Tal Axelrod (taxelrod@thehill.com), Caroline Vakil (cvakil@thehill.com) and Monique Beals (mbeals@thehill.com).  Someone forward this newsletter to you? Subscribe here.   Democrats confront a familiar problem  © Greg Nash Democrats are once again up against a familiar challenge as the midterms approach: what to do about gun control.   In the wake of recent mass shootings – including one at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school that left 19 children and two adults dead – the country is facing a renewed debate over how to curb gun violence and prevent another tragedy. The question among Democrats, however, is how far to go when it comes to gun control.   Managing expectations: Democratic Senate hopefuls in some of the most competitive races of the year are talking more about expanding background checks for gun purchases and enacting so-called "red flag" laws than they are about an outright ban on assault weapons and certain high-capacity ammunition magazines.   Even Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the Senate's most vocal gun control advocates, is managing expectations for what can and should be done on the issue. In an interview over the weekend on CBS's "Face the Nation," the Connecticut senator said that, while he supports more aggressive action like an assault weapons ban, Democrats are limited in what they can do because of stiff Republican opposition to new restrictions.   A political third rail: Democrats have been spurned by gun control in the past. The 1994 federal assault weapons ban was blamed, in part, for the party's staggering losses in that year's midterm elections. Likewise, former Vice President Al Gore's loss in the 2000 presidential race was also attributed partially to gun restrictions.   Given that Democrats are already facing a tough political environment this year, it's no wonder so many in the party are treading lightly on the issue, even with President Biden and Vice President Harris throwing their support behind a new prohibition on assault-style weapons.   Where the voters are: There's reason to believe that new gun restrictions may not be as big a political risk as they once were. A Morning Consult/Politico poll fielded in the immediate aftermath of the shooting in Uvalde found that 67 percent of U.S. voters support an assault weapons ban, while 69 percent back a prohibition on high-capacity magazines.   Of particular note: Roughly half of Republican voters – 49 percent – say they would support an assault weapons ban.    COUNTDOWN 158 days until the 2022 midterm elections   Mr. Johnson's wild ride © Greg Nash It's been a rough week for Ron Johnson. The two-term senator from Wisconsin stirred controversy last week after he suggested that "wokeness" and critical race theory were responsible for the spate of mass shootings in the U.S. He's also found himself fending off criticism after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a story detailing how Johnson has been using taxpayer dollars to travel between Washington, D.C., and a family vacation home in Florida.   Johnson's no stranger to controversy. But the negative headlines aren't ideal for a senator with an underwater favorability rating who's facing reelection in only five short months.   Dems see an opening: The senator's recent comments have provided his Democratic rivals with a host of new talking points as they look to weaken him ahead of November (Julia has more on that here).    Still, it's rarely easy to unseat an incumbent, and Democrats are already facing brutal historical and political headwinds this year. And while they're hoping to recreate the coalition of voters that handed President Biden a narrow victory in the state in 2020, the numbers aren't looking good for Democrats. A Marquette University Law School poll released last month showed Biden's favorability rating in the negatives at 43 percent favorable and 53 percent unfavorable.    While we're talking about Wisconsin…    Democrats unveiled a sweeping effort on Wednesday that they're calling the largest midterm coordinated campaign in Wisconsin state history. The campaign – dubbed Forward for Wisconsin – is a partnership between the state Democratic Party, Gov. Tony Evers's campaign and national entities including the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic National Committee.   More on that from the Wisconsin Democratic Party: "By registering, persuading, and turning out voters across Wisconsin, Forward for Wisconsin will expand upon the winning coalitions from 2018 and 2020 and play a vital role in re-electing Governor Evers, defeating Ron Johnson, and electing Democratic candidates up and down the ticket."     AD WATCH Kentucky Democratic Senate candidate Charles Booker appeared in a campaign video wearing a noose around his neck.   "The pain of our past persists to this day," Booker said in the video released Wednesday. "In Kentucky, like many states throughout the South, lynching was a tool of terror. It was used to kill hopes for freedom. It was used to kill my ancestors."   The video was a nod to Booker's opponent, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who in 2020 voted against a bill to make lynching a federal hate crime.   Booker takes aim at Paul: Booker, who is the first Black Kentuckian nominated for the U.S. Senate, spoke directly of Paul in the video, noting that his opponent "compared extended healthcare to slavery."   "The person who said he would have opposed the Civil Rights Act. The person who said he would have blocked an anti-lynching act from being federal law," he added of the Republican senator.   "Do we move forward together?" Booker asked in the video.   After Booker overwhelmingly won Kentucky's Democratic primary for the Senate seat, he will face Paul in the state's election in November.    Mastriano to appear before Jan. 6 panel © Associated Press/Carolyn Kaster Turning to Pennsylvania politics, the state's GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano is set to testify before the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.   Mastriano, who has been endorsed by former President Trump, was subpoenaed in February for his involvement in a plan to send alternate electors for some states to benefit Trump.   "We understand that you have knowledge of and participated in a plan to arrange for an alternate slate of electors to be presented to the President of the Senate on January 6, 2021, and we understand that you spoke with former President Trump about your post-election activities," the committee wrote at the time.   Now, Timothy Parlatore, the candidate's attorney, confirmed to The Hill that talks with the committee are ongoing over when Mastriano will sit for a voluntary interview.   Mastriano won Pennsylvania's GOP gubernatorial primary last month and has centered much of his campaign on claims of voter fraud.   NEW ENDORSEMENTS In a contentious race for a New York House seat, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) received an endorsement from the New York Working Families Party (WFP) on Wednesday ahead of his race against fellow member Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).   "We're proud to support Congressman Nadler in the new 12th Congressional District," New York WFP Director Sochie Nnaemeka said, adding that Nadler "has been a powerful voice for reforming the Supreme Court, reimagining our justice system, and putting diplomacy and engagement over war and aggression."   Hispanic Caucus weighs in: Across the country, the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus this week also issued an endorsement for Patrick Branco, who is looking to become Hawaii's first Latino elected to Congress.   "Whether as a Diplomat in the US Foreign Service or as a State Representative, Patrick has dedicated his life to serving Hawai'i and our country. In Congress, Patrick will help bring down Hawai'i's ever-rising cost of living by bringing good paying jobs to the state, and secure the federal support needed to strengthen Hawai'i's rural areas and agricultural sector," Bold PAC Chairman Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said.   Branco, who is Puerto Rican but also a native Hawaiian, has said if elected he would work with Congress to modernize Puerto Rico's territorial status.   "When Hawaii was a territory, we were treated as second-class citizens," he said.   "We need to make sure that all natural-born citizens are given the same rights," he added.    That's it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill's Campaign page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.    Sign up for Campaign Report Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.