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By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns |
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With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard. Is summer coming back any time soon? Drop me a line. In today’s Playbook … — Three hot races to watch in today’s Texas primary runoffs, beyond Cornyn vs Paxton. — JMart hits a beloved Philly pizza joint with Josh Shapiro. — The Boldfaces: Maureen Galindo, Christian Menefee, Al Green, Colin Allred, Julie Johnson, James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, JD Vance, Jared Isaacman, Thomas Massie and more.
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DRIVING THE DAY |
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THE WAITING IS OVER: It’s primary runoff day in Texas — and John Cornyn vs. Ken Paxton is not the only race you should be watching tonight. Democrats have big House battles reaching their climax that will tell us plenty about where the party’s headed this fall. First — meet “MAGA Maureen”: Republicans have popcorn at the ready as they await results from Texas’ 35th Congressional District, where sex therapist Maureen Galindo unexpectedly topped the Dem primary in March. Galindo, a progressive, has become the topic of intense controversy over an incendiary Instagram post calling for a local ICE detention center to be turned into a “prison for American Zionists.” Unsurprisingly, Dems and Republicans alike have accused Galindo of antisemitism, a charge she denies. (She told the NYT the controversy boils down to “a local journalist twisting words.”) Galindo has few funds and even fewer friends in Congress — but she is being boosted by a mysterious super PAC that Dems say is funded by mischief-making Republicans. The DCCC is desperately trying to block her run, branding her “MAGA Maureen” in ads supporting her opponent, local sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia. And this one matters: The 35th is one of the five districts redrawn by Texas Republicans to make it more favorable to their cause. But given the political headwinds facing Republicans, victory in November is not assured. GOP officials believe a Galindo win would give them the best possible chance of securing the seat and an opportunity to tar the wider Democratic Party with charges of antisemitism. It would also further blow up what’s already the most explosive issue in Democratic politics. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said if Galindo enters Congress, they’ll force a vote to expel her every single day. ALSO WORTH WATCHING: Texas’ 18th Congressional District, where 38-year-old freshman Rep. Christian Menefee — only elected to the House for the first time in January — faces a redistricting-enforced runoff against 78-year-old, 11-term Rep. Al Green. It’s the latest in a series of fascinating old guard vs. new guard battles that have dominated Democratic politics all year. That’s not all: The 18th is also a major crypto battleground, with Green singled out by the industry as a skeptic and facing a torrent of hostile spending. The Texas Tribune reports the $4 million that one cryptocurrency super PAC spent on behalf of Menefee makes this the most expensive House runoff in Texas this cycle. There’s another power struggle playing out in Texas’ 33rd Congressional District, where former Rep. Colin Allred — fresh off his aborted Senate run — is seeking a route back to the House at the expense of his successor, Rep. Julie Johnson. POLITICO’s Andrew Howard reports in today’s Morning Score that this is the latest iteration of the James Talarico vs. Jasmine Crockett power struggle that’s been lighting up Democratic politics in Texas. Crockett is campaigning for Allred; Talarico was stumping for Johnson last week. NEXT IS THE BIG ONE: potentially John Cornyn’s last stand after 24 years in the Senate. The race that’s gripped American politics for the past 14 months is widely expected to end with Cornyn’s defeat, following Donald Trump’s sudden endorsement of Paxton last week. And you can see why: Trump’s MAGA world muscle-flexing in primaries this month has proven just how powerful the president’s grip on the base remains. You’ll struggle to find many observers outside the Cornyn camp who don't expect a Paxton win. But Cornyn insists there’s still a path to victory. Moving on: Paxton has already started training sights on Talarico, the Democratic candidate awaiting tonight’s primary winner. “Tala-freak-o” is just one of the nicknames we’re already hearing thrown his way, as the MAGA money machine starts to crank up for what looks like a competitive (and expensive) race. The biggest worry for GOP leaders after tonight is the mess left behind. “The race has become increasingly vicious in the final stretch,” POLITICO’s Liz Crampton and Samuel Benson report this morning, “with Cornyn accusing the attorney general of being ethically unfit for office and Paxton arguing that the incumbent, 74, is too old to continue serving in the Senate.” “Their relentless mudslinging has only deepened existing divisions between the GOP’s hardliners and traditional moderates. Several Republicans in both Texas and Washington warn that Trump’s decision to endorse Paxton over Cornyn has alienated lawmakers on Capitol Hill — and risks turning off major GOP donors who will be critical during an expensive general election.” There’s more in today’s Playbook Podcast, where Jack and Dasha pick through the likely winners and losers from tonight’s Texas runoffs.
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FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD: Follow the campaign trail a little further with JMart to close out this season of “On the Road,” today with Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. As they noshed on Angelo’s Pizzeria, Shapiro weighed in on Trump, Kamala Harris, the state of the Democratic Party — and, of course, 2028. “I think we make a mistake as a party if we think of ourselves on a pendulum, or we think of ourselves as ‘You can only be with this guy, or you can only be with that guy,’” Shapiro said.” As for Angelo’s, the governor ordered a cheese pie — his favorite pizza, he said — and JMart grabbed a cheesesteak to go with it. “By the way, I’m literally only doing this interview so I can eat the pizza,” Shapiro said. Watch it here
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THE DOWNLOAD |
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IRAN LATEST: The U.S. last night launched “self-defense strikes” on southern Iran, targeting missile launch sites and boats attempting to place mines, according to U.S. Central Command. The attacks could endanger the shaky ceasefire and undermine Trump’s signal over the weekend that a peace deal was in the offing. Ahead of the strikes, Trump said on Truth Social that Iran’s enriched uranium “will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed” or “destroyed in place” in Iran or at another acceptable location — an outstanding sticking point in the peace talks. More from POLITICO’s Jacob Wendler VANCE SUMMONS AGs: VP JD Vance is hosting state AGs this afternoon at the White House for a roundtable with his anti-fraud task force, Jacob reports. More than a dozen Republican AGs are expected to attend. Democratic AGs were invited Friday with instructions to RSVP by Saturday, but all of them declined. “With appropriate notice and a genuine opportunity for engagement, we would welcome the chance to participate in a future meeting,” they wrote in a joint letter. LET’S GET PHYSICAL: Trump today will return to Walter Reed Hospital for his third scheduled checkup in 13 months for what the White House says is a “routine annual dental and medical assessment.” The president turns 80 next month. SHOOT FOR THE MOON: NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the agency’s top brass are hosting a news conference today at 2 p.m. to share updates on its “Moon Base” strategy as NASA pushes toward “sustained presence on the lunar surface.”
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THE FRONT PAGE |
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2028 WATCH: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is kicking off a book tour for his new tome, “Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America,” out today, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky reports. The book tackles the six “cults” the progressive Murphy argues are ailing American society: profit, globalism, technology, consumption, credentialism and corruption — and opines on how Trump tapped into these shifts to seize power. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Hitting hard: The DCCC is launching a five-figure digital ad arguing the Supreme Court’s decision to hem in the Voting Rights Act “has dangerously furthered Republicans’ already extreme efforts to rig the midterms, allowing them to redraw even more congressional maps for their power grab at the direct expense of Black voters,” Playbook’s Ali Bianco scoops. The ad, running on Meta and YouTube, is targeting Black voters in battleground districts primarily in the South, but also in Michigan and Ohio. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — My cool Nebraska guy: Democratic Nebraska Senate nominee Cindy Burbank is set to endorse independent Austin Ahlman over Democrat Chris Backemeyer in the contest against GOP Rep. Mike Flood in the state’s 1st Congressional District, Playbook’s Irie Sentner scoops. Burbank — who has pledged to drop out of her Senate race and back independent Dan Osborn if she does not see a path to victory — said Ahlman “is the only candidate worthy to hold the position.” Ahlman, who until recently worked as a journalist in D.C., entered the race as a progressive independent two days after this month’s primary.
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5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. TRAHAN’S TRIAL BALLOON: Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) is attempting to partner with Republicans to land a bipartisan AI accord, POLITICO’s Kelsey Brugger and Riley Rogerson report. In the past three weeks, Trahan met privately with Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) — raising eyebrows as Democratic leaders encourage a small group of Democrats to pursue a separate track. 2. ALL ABOUT THE MONEY: A federal judge last week ruled that a series of votes by Congress to deny themselves raises 20 times over the past three decades is unconstitutional — but members still shouldn’t expect a raise anytime soon, Riley reports. The litigation is set to continue on for months, if not years. Not to mention the optics of choosing to raise their own salaries as constituents contend with a crunching cost of living. 3. STILL NO SIGHTINGS: Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.), who’s been MIA since March 5, checked in with Republican officials in New Jersey last week, but still hasn’t made a public appearance nor explained his absence, per NYT. A spokesperson said he planned “to be fully transparent and give details about his personal medical issue” once he recovers. 4. HE’S RUNNING (AGAIN): Less than a week removed from his primary ouster by a Trump-backed opponent, GOP Rep. Thomas Massie filed yesterday to run for his Kentucky House seat in 2028, Jacob reports. Massie said the move would allow him “to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office.” But he said he hasn’t decided which office he would seek. 5. FOR YOUR RADAR: Thomas Pauken II, an American journalist who’s lived in China for more than a decade, is facing a criminal charge in the U.S. for acting as an agent for Beijing, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Jacob report. Pauken allegedly prepared reports that he was told were being conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping, took a lie detector test at the request of his Chinese contact and provided a cellphone and laptop to another individual in the U.S. who was seeking a job in the Trump administration, according to an affidavit.
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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WHAT WE’RE READING — “The D.C. concierge who’s spent half a century catering to guests’ every whim,” by WaPo’s Andrea Sachs: “[Robert] Watson, widely considered to be one of the longest-serving concierges in the world, has worked at the Willard since 2006 and has rarely met a question he couldn’t answer or a request he couldn’t fulfill. Since the age of 16, he has been assisting guests with issues big and small, simple and complicated, momentous and trifling.” MEDIA MOVES — NOTUS is announcing its latest slate of new hires: Natalie Alms is now a government and policy reporter, Kainaz Amaria is now senior editor for visual storytelling, Derek Hawkins is now a justice and law enforcement reporter, Mara Hoplamazian is now an energy and environment reporter, Eric Katz is now a government and policy reporter, Ben Mause is now a White House reporter and Alexa McMahon is now deputy editor in the NOTUS Perspectives section. TRANSITIONS — Austin Matheny-Kawesch is now press secretary for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). He previously worked at Environmental Defense Fund. … Rafael Struve is now comms director for Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.). He previously worked for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. … Ian Mair is now CEO of FAI Action, the 501(c)(4) arm of the Foundation for American Innovation. He most recently worked for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). WEEKEND WEDDING — Maddie Crick, a partner at Fundamental Strategies, and Julian Yowell, director at Vogel Group and an associate at Holtzman Vogel, got married Sunday in Taormina, Sicily. The couple was originally introduced by Sam Yntema at Maddie’s Halloween party in 2019. SPOTTED: Lindsey Curnutte, Ben Horton, Danny Smith, Reilly Knecht, Lexie Davis, Bobby Cunningham, Brent Brooks, Christian Schaeffer, Erica Harrington, Austin Harrington, Daria Grastara, Karla Howard, Dennis Lin, Krista Carr, Marshall Pierite, Daniel Smith, Taylor Dabney, Nate D’Amico, Ashley Brown and Trevor Ray. Pic, via Daria Grastara HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) … Keenan Austin Reed … former Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) and Rich Nugent (R-Fla.) … Allison Davis Tuck … Yul Edwards of Thorn Run Partners … Jennifer Rizzo … Vox’s Noel King … Andrew Beilein … Mike Harney … NBC’s Tom Ranzweiler … Matt Keelen … ClearPath’s Chris Tomassi … Morgan Jacobs … Hana Vizcarra … Dina Ellis Rochkind … Declan Graham of Rep. Joe Morelle’s (D-N.Y.) office … Christian Figueroa … POLITICO’s Steven Stiles … Adam Rapfogel … Devon Spurgeon … Katie Wise … Miriam Cash … Jonathan Dach … Brenda Cruz … Freestar’s Aurora Calderone … FT’s Jiselle Lee … Crain Communications’ Rebecca Haase Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross. |
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