Welcome to the Democratic Governors Association’s Friday newsletter, the Weekender.
Let’s get started.
Ohio:In the latest sign of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s primary problems, DeWine got a rude surprise at the Cuyahoga County Republican Party endorsement. DeWine showed up expecting an endorsement from the GOP in Ohio’s second-largest county, but was instead “clearly booed by the crowd.” Jim Renacci eventually landed the endorsement in a 123-73 vote. DeWine’s unpopularity within his party runs deep. Recent reporting has highlighted how the “intra-party rebellion” DeWine is battling has made “relations with his own changing party…challenging at times.” Recent polls have also shown “significant warning signs” for DeWine’s reelection. DeWine is also taking heat from outside groups, including law enforcement, for signing a dangerous concealed carry bill that makes it harder for police officers to do their jobs.Georgia:Last weekend, Donald Trump once again went on the attack against Gov. Brian Kemp — this time escalating the fight by holding a rally in Kemp’s backyard for David Perdue and the rest of the Trump revenge slate. Newsweek reported that Trump is threatening a “MAGA Boycott of Georgia Midterms if Kemp Is [the] GOP’s Candidate,” as he said: “Brian Kemp is a turncoat, is a coward, and is a complete and total disaster.” Feeling the pressure of the “scorched earth” Georgia GOP primary, Kemp is making a desperate pitch to Georgia’s MAGA voters in a new TV ad that uses clips of Trump to hit David Perdue. Of course, the new ad conveniently fails to mention that Trump endorsed Perdue or that Trump routinely bashes Kemp. Overall, the bruising and expensive primary has forced the RGA to spend more than $1.1 million on TV to try to protect Kemp from Trump, including an additional $100,000 in new TV ads since Trump’s rally last weekend.
Doug Ducey Outlaws Abortion Without Exemptions for Rape or IncestRGA Chair and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill outlawing abortion after 15 weeks if the Supreme Court allows it, without exemptions for victims of rape or incest. Ducey has signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation that has reached his desk since taking office in 2015 and has said he hopes the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade.The “near-total ban” on abortion after 15 weeks was just one of several harmful bills Ducey signed yesterday. The day before Trans Day of Visibility, he signed legislation attacking the rights of trans children. Ducey also signed a voter suppression bill requiring all voters to prove their citizenship to vote in presidential elections, which could cancel the voter registrations of 200,000 voters.
Richard Irvin Exposed for Corrupt Pay-to-Play PoliticsNew reporting exposes Illinois GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin for yet again saying one thing on the campaign trail and doing something else as Mayor. Despite his promises to “bring honest and good government back to Illinois,” a closer look at Irvin’s record shows he is yet another corrupt politician looking to game the system for his own gain.WTTW found that Aurora-based company Scientel Solutions donated over a hundred thousand dollars to Irvin’s campaign accounts and, in return, received millions in city contracts. And a new follow-up story from WTTW shows developers that donated to Irvin’s campaign received tens of millions in city incentives.
Irvin’s opponents, Jesse Sullivan, Gary Rabine, and Darren Bailey, slammed the pay-to-play scandal with Bailey saying, “Career Democrat Richard Irvin’s pay to play approach as Mayor of Aurora is one of the many red flags surrounding his campaign.”
“Across the country, Republicans have shown they’ll stop at nothing to restrict access to the fundamental right to choose. Arizona is just the latest. The extremists in the Illinois GOP are waiting in the wings for their chance to do the same — but we won’t let them.”
“If Brian Kemp is renominated, he will go down in flames at the ballot box.”Send your answer to press@dga.net, and we’ll reveal the answer in the next Weekender!
If you guessed Wendy Rogers was talking about Maryland GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox last week, you were right! In a statement, Rogers raved about how similar Cox and Donald Trump are.
