Iowa: King Waits on Senate Bid, Disputes Criticism on Viability

King has been criticized by some conservatives, but it doesn't appear that it will keep him out of the race for Senate. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

BALTIMORE — Rep. Steve King hinted Friday that a run for the Iowa Senate may be imminent, but said he does not want to announce in the wake of GOP strategist Karl Rove’s attacks on him.

Since American Crossroads President Steven Law attacked him in The New York Times last weekend, King, a Republican, said he continues to consider a run to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

“It’s under deliberation of course, and it’s something that I had been looking at before Tom Harkin announced his retirement and now that that has happened, of course it accelerated the decision making process,” King said as he was leaving a Heritage Foundation-sponsored retreat for conservative Republicans in Baltimore.

“I don’t want to step into this thing and make an announcement in the face of the issue that Karl Rove has raised,” he continued. “We’ve got to decide first who’s going to nominate people for public office in America: Somebody outside the state with a big checkbook, or the people of Iowa.”

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Conservatives Blast New Senate Group Designed to Navigate Primaries

The news Sunday that a Republican group was forming to recruit better Senate candidates and counter conservative organizations’ attempts to sway primaries was met with immediate antagonism by at least one conservative group.

The Senate Conservatives Fund, founded by former South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, issued a statement calling the project “another example of the Republican establishment’s hostility toward its conservative base” and even criticizing the new group’s name, Conservative Victory Project. Full story

Illinois: Bloomberg Super PAC Targets Halvorson With Negative Ads

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC has started airing TV ads in Illinois’ 2nd district special election targeting the front-runner’s support for the Second Amendment.

Former Rep. Debbie Halvorson leads a crowded field of Democrats, according to polls released by her opponents’ campaigns this month.

But the super PAC’s ad buy marks a shift in the race for former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr.’s seat on Chicago’s south side. It’s possible none of the candidates, including Halvorson, will raise enough money to air campaign ads in the Windy City’s pricey market. So far, the better-funded campaigns have relied on direct mail to reach voters.

Also, gun control is a major issue in the 2nd district, which includes areas of Chicago that have been greatly affected by a recent wave of gun violence.

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GOP Group Urges ‘Tonally Sensitive’ Immigration Messaging

House Republicans on Monday received a list of immigration messaging “dos and don’ts” from the Hispanic outreach arm of a top GOP super PAC, with recommendations focused on urging members to use “tonally sensitive” rhetoric, regardless of their position on the issue.

The Hispanic Leadership Network, affiliated with the American Action Network, says in its emailed memo that conservatives should avoid the “negative tone and harsh rhetoric” that has hurt them in the past as well as make it clear that they celebrate America as a nation of immigrants who have come here “in search of opportunity and a chance at a better future through hard work.” The memo then lays out a list of messaging recommendations House Republicans should follow when discussing immigration overhaul legislation and illegal immigration generally.

Implicit in the memo is the concern that Republicans might further alienate Hispanic voters with insensitive rhetoric as the debate over immigration heats up after Monday’s unveiling in the Senate of a bipartisan framework for legislation. President Barack Obama is expected to speak on the issue Tuesday during a stop in Las Vegas.

Here’s the Hispanic Leadership Network memo:

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Burton Leaves Super PAC for Advocacy Group

Having helped re-elect President Barack Obama with his unrestricted super PAC Priorities USA Action, former White House official Bill Burton will now join the public affairs firm Global Strategy Group.

“Bill has played a major role in two successful presidential elections, advised and represented the President of the United States, and has a deep understanding of the communications and political landscapes in Washington,” the firm’s CEO, Jon Silvan, said in a statement.

Burton will be executive vice president and managing director in Global Strategy Group’s Washington office. Before running Priorities USA Action as senior strategist, Burton was deputy press secretary at the White House. Burton’s previous posts include communications director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and communications adviser to several Capitol Hill Democrats.

Having initially kept unrestricted outside groups at arm’s length, Obama reversed course and embraced super PACs last February. Priorities USA Action got off to a slow start but eventually raised $76 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making it the top-grossing super PAC backing Democrats.

Obama Relaunches Campaign as Grass-Roots Advocacy

(Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Updated March 5 | President Barack Obama is turning to the grass-roots supporters who helped re-elect him to now help carry out his legislative agenda, announcing Friday a new advocacy group dubbed Organizing for Action.

The group will be configured as a 501(c)(4) social welfare group and accept unrestricted corporate funding, the Associated Press has reported, raising questions about transparency on the heels of an election that saw record sums in undisclosed campaign spending.

Such tax-exempt organizations are not required to publicly report their contributors, and during the recent elections, Obama and congressional Democrats assailed the undisclosed “dark money” that helped politically active nonprofits spend hundreds of millions on campaign ads. Organizing for Action will reportedly take no money from lobbyists or political action committees.

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Report: Obama Campaign Restructure to Assist Policy Push in Second Term

A crowd celebrates in front of the White House to celebrate President Barack Obama's re-election on Election Night. (Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

President Barack Obama’s campaign is set to be reconfigured into an operation that will assist the White House’s policy goals in a second term, CNN reported on Thursday.

Citing a source familiar with the campaign, CNN reported that the operation could be converted to a 501(c)(4) or a super PAC. The restructured organization will be led by former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina and other top operatives from the campaign, including Stephanie Cutter and Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. Full story

Beltway Donors Top Super PAC Givers

Campaign donors from Washington, D.C., have given more money to super PACs in this election cycle than donors from any other city in the United States, according to an analysis released today by MapLight, a nonpartisan group that follows political money.

Inside-the-Beltway donors gave $71.6 million, or 14 percent, of the more than $510 million that super PACs collected through Sept. 30 of this election cycle, MapLight found.

The MapLight ranking belies Washington’s traditional reputation as a relatively marginal center for campaign fundraising. Both GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama have spent more time courting donors in places such as New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles than they have in the nation’s capital.

Unrestricted super PACs, however, appear to be raising large sums from D.C. donors, underscoring how the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling has changed traditional fundraising patterns.

The second-ranking city in terms of super PAC donations was Las Vegas; donors there gave $48.7 million to super PACs, or 9.5 percent of the total. Next came New York City, with donors giving $40.8 million, or just less than 8 percent of the total.

The remaining top-donating cities, in descending order, were Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Little Jackson Hole, Wyo., Detroit and San Francisco. All told, 57 percent of all super PAC donations came from the top 10 cities, MapLight found.

Congressional Leadership Fund Reports $8.7M on Hand

Congressional Leadership Fund reported raising $3.1 million Oct. 1-17, to close the period with $8.7 million in cash on hand.

The pro-Republican super PAC, the sister organization of American Action Network, a 501(c)(4) organization, told Roll Call earlier today that its October fundraising will help support a planned $18 million ad blitz by the two groups through the month’s end in support of GOP House candidates. Congressional Leadership Fund reported $306,000 in expenditures and no debt in the pre-general filing period.

According to Congressional Leadership Fund’s Federal Election Commission report, its donors this month include August Busch III, who contributed $50,000, and Chevron, which gave $2.5 million.

Congressional Leadership Fund is dedicated to investing in House races on behalf of Republican candidates. The group is referred to by some as Speaker John Boehner’s (Ohio) super PAC. Its board is chaired by former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who also serves as chairman of American Action Network, former National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Reynolds (N.Y.), former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and Fred Malek.

Michigan: Facing Stiff Challenge, Strong 3rd Quarter for Benishek Coffers

Rep. Dan Benishek reported raising $510,000 in the third quarter. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

If freshman Republican Rep. Dan Benishek is losing his grasp on Michigan’s 1st district, his campaign coffers don’t show it.

His campaign announced its best fundraising quarter ever today, raising a total of $510,000 from July 1 to Sept. 30 to close the period with more than $570,000 in cash on hand.

His opponent, former state Rep. Gary McDowell (D), reported raising just $400,000. But heading into the final weeks of the campaign, he is sitting on $600,000.

Recent polls suggest McDowell has gained ground on Benishek, a tea-party-backed physician who rode the 2010 Republican wave to Congress and is one of his party’s most vulnerable lawmakers. The Detroit Free Press endorsed McDowell on Sunday.

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Voters Blame Both Parties for Big Money in Politics

Democrats enjoy no advantage over Republicans when it comes to public opposition to big money in politics, but the issue resonates with key voting blocs, according to a new survey of voters in 54 battleground House districts.

“Candidates avoid this issue to their detriment,” said David Donnelly, executive director of the Public Campaign Action Fund, which backs a campaign finance overhaul. “There’s an incredible opportunity to be leaders on this issue, on what has become a leaderless field.”

The poll released today found that more than half of voters surveyed “overwhelmingly” believe that money corrupts politics, and 78 percent want Congressional candidates to propose ways to “dramatically reduce the amount of money in politics and super PACs.”

The poll was the third in a series by Public Campaign Action Fund and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner conducted for the Democracy Corps, a nonprofit run by Democratic strategists James Carville and Stanley Greenberg.

A striking finding, Greenberg said, was that a full 43 percent of respondents said neither Democrats nor Republicans would do a better job “cleaning up corruption in Washington, D.C.,” an option not even offered by the poll, which instead asked voters to choose between the parties.

“I’m struck by the fact that the Democrats have no advantage on the question of changing the corruption in Washington,” said Greenberg, CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.

But Greenberg said linking policy issues to political corruption intensified voter responses, particularly among seniors, independents and suburban voters. For example, 55 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who backed the plan to partially privatize Medicare offered by GOP vice presidential candidate and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

But asked in a follow-up question whether they would vote for that candidate if he or she backed Ryan’s Medicare plan and “took thousands in campaign donations from insurance executives, lobbyists and PACs,” a full 70 percent of voters answered “less likely.”

“If you’re looking for an extra shot, this is where your extra shot is on that issue,” Greenberg said, describing the issue’s potential resonance in battleground House districts.

House Majority PAC Hits Six Districts With Negative Ads

A Democratic super PAC will blitz six House districts with $2.2 million worth of television advertisements starting today.

House Majority PAC’s buy targets competitive races in California, Iowa, North Carolina, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin with tailored spots for each race.

The spending spree marks this super PAC’s largest flight of advertisements yet in the 2012 cycle. Most importantly for Democrats, the spots will help the party stay competitive on the air in races where Republicans already reserved a significant amount of ad space.

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Massachusetts: Super PAC Launches Blistering Attack on John Tierney

A Republican super PAC on Friday will launch a sharp television assault on embattled Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney (D).

The ad from the YG Action Fund asks what “the truth” is about the eight-term Congressman and tells viewers about the gambling ring of Tierney’s wife’s family.

“What’s the truth about John Tierney?” a female narrator asks, backed by ominous music. “This much we know: His family ran an illegal gambling operation for years. His wife, Patrice, went to jail as Tierney sat silent in court. His own brother-in-law says Tierney knew everything and is a liar.” Full story

Rahm Emanuel to Raise Big Money for Super PACs

The Washington Post reported that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is leaving his post as the Obama campaign’s honorary chairman to raise unrestricted money for Obama-friendly super PACs. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)

When it comes to political money, President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney are delivering the same message from their respective conventions: Do as I say, not as I do.

Last week, Romney told Fox News Sunday that he “absolutely” supports public financing, even as his party’s convention platform outlined opposition to disclosure legislation and to existing limits on soft (unregulated) money. To confuse matters further, Romney has also called for throwing out limits on donations to parties and candidates.

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Democratic House Majority Super PAC Releases Polls Showing Leads in Utah, Maryland

Rep. Jim Matheson (right) leads Mia Love in Utah's 4th district race, according to a poll released by the House Majority PAC. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The House Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, released two polls this morning that indicate Democrats are well-positioned in high-profile races in Utah and Maryland.

In the tossup race for Utah’s 4th, 51 percent of respondents said they would vote for Rep. Jim Matheson (D), while 33 percent supported Mia Love (R). In the Maryland 6th district survey, businessman John Delaney (D) had the support of 44 percent of those polled, while 42 percent said they would vote for Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R). The difference is within the poll’s margin of error.

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