Welcome to the Democratic Governors Association’s Friday newsletter, the Weekender.
Let’s get started.
Nevada: As law enforcement agencies raise the alarm that election conspiracy theories could cause violence and put people in danger, Sheriff Joe Lombardo continues to try and walk both sides of the line on the Big Lie. “In Clark County, Lombardo’s presence on the ballot could make people think they won’t get in trouble for voter intimidation,” UNLV Political Science associate professor Rebecca Gill told the Nevada Current in an article about growing threats of voter intimidation and extremist violence in Nevada. The Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and National Counterterrorism Center issued a bulletin warning: “Election-related perceptions of fraud and DVE [domestic violent extremism] reactions to divisive topics will likely drive sporadic DVE plotting of violence and broader efforts to justify violence in the lead up to and following the 2022 midterm election cycle.” An NYPD bulletin warned that in recent months far-right extremists — like those Lombardo has tried to appeasethroughouthis campaign — “encouraged violence, intimidation tactics, and the sabotage of voting machines, if they believed they witnessed ‘fraud’ and ‘cheating’ at the polls.”New York: With four days left, Lee Zeldin’s closing message to voters is arming teachers and putting guns in classrooms. Zeldin doubled down on his support for putting guns in schools. He did the same last week, where in an interview with CBS2 New York, he once again said if elected governor, he’d put more guns in schools and arm teachers. Gov. Kathy Hochul slammed Zeldin for his dangerous position, saying, “Lee Zeldin not only supports guns on subways and in places of worship and in our parks and in places like Times Square, he also now believes that the way to make your kids safer is to make sure that every classroom has a gun in it.” Unlike Zeldin, Gov. Hochul has taken action to get illegal guns off the streets and ensure kids are safe in classrooms.
Doug Mastriano Has a “Strange Foray Into Acting” That Film Scholars Say “Exploit[s] the Holocaust for Political Purposes”With less than a week until Election Day, Doug Mastriano continues to face scrutiny for his extremism and fringe record. This time, a new report from the Washington Post reveals that Doug Mastriano has a “strange foray into acting in a Holocaust drama” that “some scholars now say distorts history to promote a conservative agenda.”As one example, the movie features a scene where “a Holocaust survivor urges a modern-day school board to include the Jewish genocide in textbooks — while decrying government overreach, gun control and abortion.”
“It is offensive to weaponize the Holocaust for political ends, yet that is what this film does and quite proudly,” said Neil Leifert, director of the Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies at Penn State. Anne Berg, a University of Pennsylvania professor who teaches about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, said: “To use the history of Nazi occupation and the Nazi genocide of the Jews as a foil to project their own political agenda, to me, is just quite disturbing.”
These critiques of Mastriano’s sad acting career come at a time when Jewish leaders from both sides of the aisle have raised the alarm about Mastriano’s extreme expressions of Christian nationalism and embrace of antisemitism.
Gov. Laura Kelly Breaks Ground On Largest Economic Project In Kansas HistoryThis week, Gov. Laura Kelly broke ground on Panasonic’s new electric vehicle battery plant, the largest economic project in Kansas history, which will create 4,000 jobs and inject $4 billion into the state economy.“With Panasonic as the crown jewel, Gov. Laura Kelly and Lt. Gov. David Toland have made four years of economic development work a major focus of their re-election campaign,” the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. “They boast 53,000 jobs created or retained and $14.7 billion in private sector investment across more than 750 projects over four years … They point to two Golden Shovel awards and one Governor’s Cup for economic development projects.”
Leaders on both sides of the aisle have routinely praised Gov. Kelly’s bipartisan leadership in drawing Panasonic to Kansas. In contrast, Derek Schmidt spent the day quibbling about a new poll. At the same time, one of his top allies even attacked the bipartisan victory for Kansas, raising the question: does Derek agree?
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Bloomberg with David Westin discussing the economy and his work to address rising costs and MSNBC with Mika Brzezinski weighing in on crime and the work he’s done to address public safety.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on MSNBC with Katy Tur addressing issues facing New Yorkers and recent polling in the governor’s race.
Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah discussing voting access and Brian Kemp’s dangerous plans for the state and MSNBC with Alex Wagner talking about voter turnout.
Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist on Fox News with Brett Baier speaking about his momentum and how he’ll protect democracy and the Reid Out with Joy Reid pledging to sign an executive order to protect the right to choose on his first day as governor.
“13,000 lane miles repaired or rebuilt with the right mix of materials, so they are made to last. Supporting 82,000 good-paying jobs for Michiganders. And we’re just getting started. We’re on track for 22,000 lane miles and over 1,000 bridges. And I worked with both parties to pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan to do even more — all without raising taxes. Because we’re not stopping ’til we finish the damn job.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a new ad highlighting her critical infrastructure investments.
“Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in D.C. — apparently, her house doesn’t have a lot of protection.”Who said it? Send your answer to press@dga.net, and we’ll reveal the answer in the next Weekender!
If you guessed Michigan GOP gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon last week, you were right! Dixon has made headlines again with her extremism, slammed for invoking a conspiracy theory that Democrats are part of a decades-long effort to “topple” the nation in retaliation for losing the Civil War.
