NRSC Wins April Fundraising by a Nose

The two Senate campaign committees turned in nearly even monthly fundraising hauls in April, marking the first month this cycle the National Republican Senatorial Committee finished ahead.

The NRSC raised $3.56 million last month and ended April with nearly $7.1 million on hand. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $3.54 million and had slightly more than $8.6 million on hand as of April 30. Full story

Republicans Push American Indian Outreach With Murkowski

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski will lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s outreach effort to the American Indian community.

The move, announced Thursday evening, is intended to help further open lines of communication between the party and American-Indian voters. The community makes up about 14 percent of the population in Alaska, where Republicans are targeting Democratic Sen. Mark Begich in 2014. Full story

Remainders: Recruitment Season

Here’s what you may have missed “At the Races” on Thursday …

• Following a couple of Senate recruitment setbacks for both parties this week, Shira Toeplitz posted a timeline of when candidates announced their Senate bids in the 2012 cycle for comparison.
• Kyle Trygstad looked into whether former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., will jump into South Dakota’s open Senate race now that Democrat Rick Weiland announced his candidacy. It wouldn’t be the first time Herseth Sandlin and Weiland have faced off in a primary.
• Missouri state  Speaker Pro Tem Jason Smith, a Republican, released his first ad in the special election to fill former Rep. Jo Ann Emerson’s seat.
• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee launched a new program to cultivate strong candidates in targeted districts for 2014. The DCCC has tapped eight Democratic candidates for the program so far.

What we’re mulling on Thursday … Full story

Senate Candidate Recruitment Timelines Compared

Both parties suffered Senate recruitment setbacks last week when incumbent House members announced their decisions not to run statewide in 2014. But is it too early to declare a recruitment failure for either party in these races?

Despite the reluctance of Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Democratic Rep. John Barrow of Georgia to make bids for the Senate, it’s probably too soon to judge either party’s fortunes this election cycle. Kyle Trygstad’s review of Senate candidate announcement dates in the last cycle shows there’s a lot that can happen before the point of no return arrives. (See this Roll Call story: Senate Race Recruitment: Too Early to Fail?)

For example, on this exact date last cycle, then-Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., entered the Senate race as an underdog. The following candidates hadn’t jumped into the race yet: Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb. All four are now senators.

Also notable: All four candidates who flipped party control of a seat either announced on this date (Donnelly) or later in the 2012 cycle (Warren, Fischer and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine).

Here’s a timeline of when the top eventual Senate nominees jumped into the race last cycle: Full story

Super PACs Fuel GOP Civil War

Republicans who have long pushed for campaign finance deregulation are now paying for one of its consequences: the rise of influential conservative super PACs vying for the soul of a fractured GOP.

That Republicans crushed by the 2012 election results are feuding over what went wrong and what comes next is nothing new. Less noticed has been the big money bankrolling GOP factions and the influential new super PACs and outside groups that hold the party’s future in their hands.

More than a dozen such groups have sprung up since Election Day, CQ Weekly reports this week — some promoting centrists, minorities or liberalized immigration rules, others championing conservatives at odds with “establishment” party leaders. As the story notes: Full story

Todd Young for … ? #INSEN #INGOV

Young represents the 9th District. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

When does a website signal a politician’s aspirations? When it changes.

An aide for Rep. Todd Young, a savvy Republican from southern Indiana, emailed reporters on Wednesday morning to announce the campaign is transitioning from its old website, ToddYoungforCongress.com, to a new URL, ToddYoung.org. The campaign’s social-media accounts are transitioning to a similar name.

The aide stressed the campaign wanted a simpler address. Mission accomplished — except Republicans also talk up Young  as a statewide candidate down the line. He could run for Senate if Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., retires in 2016 or could challenge newly elected Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., in 2018. He could also run for governor, although that seat will not be open until 2020 as long as Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, seeks re-election and not national office.

Branstad Takes Swipe at Steve King #IAsen

Branstad, right, spoke to reporters on Monday morning. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad told reporters Monday morning that he advised national Republicans to recruit an “Iowa problem solver” rather than “another congressman” to run for the Hawkeye State’s open Senate seat in 2014.

The GOP governor’s comments come as Rep. Steve King, a conservative Republican, is in the final stages of deciding whether to run for retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat.

According to a recording of Branstad’s weekly news conference via Radio Iowa, he said there are several Republicans in the state who would provide a good contrast with Rep. Bruce Braley, the likely Democratic nominee. Branstad noted that King did serve in the state Senate, and said his initial comments were a shot at Braley, not King.

But Branstad also clarified that he believes having someone free from ties to an unpopular Congress would give the GOP its best chance against Braley. Full story

Joe Miller: GOP Establishment Not ‘Terribly Excited to See Me’ #AKsen

Alaska Republican Joe Miller said he is leaning toward once again seeking his party’s nomination for Senate — likely to the chagrin of some GOP leaders in Anchorage and Washington, D.C.

“Certainly those in the establishment of the Republican Party aren’t going to be terribly excited to see me,” Miller said in an interview with CQ Roll Call last week.

Miller said he’s already met with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran, a fellow Kansas native, and described their conversation as “frank.”

In 2010, the attorney and tea party favorite won the GOP Senate nomination by defeating Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. After the primary, national Republicans publicly supported Miller, but his campaign quickly faltered in the general election and Murkowski won re-election as a write-in candidate.

Last week, Miller launched an exploratory committee to challenge Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, a top GOP target in 2014. He’s currently shoring up grass-roots support and donations to ensure he has what it takes to win it all this time.

Full story

Senate Democrats Raise Millions More Than NRSC

Bennet is the chairman of the DSCC. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised nearly $7 million more than its GOP counterpart in the first three months of this year.

According to figures provided by the committees, the DSCC raised more than $5.2 million in March, which is about $2 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in last month.

The monthly haul helped the DSCC record its best first quarter ever, raising $13.7 million over the past three months and ending March with $8.4 million in cash on hand. The NRSC raised some $6.9 million in the first three months and had $5.3 million on hand.

(See also in Roll Call: First Quarter Fundraising Winners and Losers) Full story

Senate Republicans Raised $3.2 Million in March

Moran is charged with getting Senate Republicans back to the majority in 2015. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised nearly $3.2 million in March, according to a source in the committee.

The committee ended last month with almost $5.3 million in the bank.

This is a jump from February, when the committee raised $2.2 million and had $3.1 million in cash on hand. The NRSC will report $9.5 million in debt.

The NRSC, which is chaired by Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, got a late start on hiring this cycle, so the improvement is attributable to getting staff in place.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not have its fundraising numbers available Friday. Monthly fundraising reports are due to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Saturday.

Correction, 6:15 pm | An earlier post misidentified the amount of debt the NRSC reported based on inaccurate information provided by the source.

Delaware: The Return of Christine O’Donnell?

A spokesman for O'Donnell would not rule out another run. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

In 2010, Christine O’Donnell famously defeated then-Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., in the GOP Senate primary — then lost the general election to now-Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat. (See “I’m not a witch… I’m you.”)

Her candidacy serves as a symbol of that cycle, in which three tea-party-backed GOP nominees lost otherwise winnable races to Democrats in Delaware, Nevada and Colorado.

O’Donnell is taking care of her family and will make a decision later about possibly running against Coons again in 2014, Abby Livingston reports in the Farm Team column, Roll Call’s weekly state-by-state look at up-and-coming candidates. Full story

North Carolina: Ellmers Will Decide on Hagan Challenge in June

Hagan is vulnerable in 2014. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The GOP field to challenge Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan will likely take shape in June, local Republican operatives say.

Most notably, GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers — who is currently weighing whether to challenge one of the cycle’s most vulnerable Democratic senators — said through an aide that she hopes to have a decision then.

“Congresswoman Ellmers is praying about it, discussing it with supporters and monitoring how things develop,” Ellmers campaign spokeswoman Jessica Wood told CQ Roll Call. “She expects to have a decision in June.”

(See also in Roll Call: Rothenberg: Most Vulnerable of ’14? Pryor by a Hair ) Full story

Remainders: #BluegrassGate

(Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call)

Maybe you were hiding under a rock today. Or stuck in multiple, hours-long meetings. Or outside enjoying the unseasonably nice Washington, D.C., weather.

In any case, here is a timeline to catch you up on the hottest political story of the day involving Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and #BluegrassGate:

• On Tuesday morning, Mother Jones published a recording from a Feb. 2 strategy meeting at McConnell’s campaign headquarters. The juiciest part of the surreptitiously recorded conversation? McConnell’s team plotted to use Ashley Judd’s own revelations about her mental health against her. Three words: Pink fuzzy socks.
• McConnell’s mad. Really mad. He asks the FBI to investigate.
• Next step: McConnell’s team fires off a fundraising pitch blaring, “Liberals Wiretap McConnell’s Office.”
• McConnell goes to the mics to decry (in front of TV cameras) the secret recording. By this point, references to Watergate and Richard Nixon are rampant on Twitter and in the halls of the Capitol. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran chimes in.
• There are only two ways the recording could have been made — via an illegal bugging or from someone who attended the meeting — according to National Journal. 
• Mother Jones can publish the recording without any legal ramifications, the Washington Post’s Erik Wemple reasons. 
• After NRSC spokesman Brad Dayspring pestered the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee all day long, they demanded an apology.

Stay tuned, folks. This is just starting to get good.

Louisiana: Fleming Opts Out of Senate Race

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

GOP Rep. John Fleming announced  Thursday he would not join the Louisiana Senate race, saying his entrance into the contest could thwart a GOP pickup of the Democratic-held seat.

Fleming said he decided to opt out of the race after fellow Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy announced Wednesday that he would be challenging vulnerable Democratic Sen. Mary L. Landrieu.

“For me to enter the race now would risk a contest between two experienced Republican Congressmen, potentially offering Senator Landrieu a path back to Washington,” Fleming said in a statement. “I can’t let that happen.”

Fleming’s announcement is a shift from his tune earlier in the week, when he said “I haven’t ruled anything out.” Full story

NRSC to GOP Consultants: Got Any Better Ideas?

Want a lucrative consulting contract from the National Republican Senatorial Committee or one of their top candidates this cycle? First, a few questions.

After tensions between GOP officials and consultants bubbled over in 2012, top NRSC aides are in the process of revamping their relationship with the hired hands who might work with their spending arm and candidates this cycle.

On Tuesday, NRSC Political Director Ward Baker sent the following memo to more than 250 GOP consultants and vendors:

TO: Prospective Vendors

FROM: Ward Baker

DATE: April 2, 2013

RE: NRSC IE Program Revitalization

Victory in 2014

The NRSC is full steam ahead prepping and planning for victory in 2014 to take back the majority in the U.S. Senate. Part of that preparation is revitalizing and reimagining the IE program to ensure wins in crucial battleground states. We believe this can be accomplished through new ideas and innovative strategies from not only the new leadership at the NRSC, but from you as well.

Full story