Welcome to the Democratic Governors Association’s Friday newsletter, the Weekender.
Let’s get started.
Michigan: In a new TV ad titled “Heard,” Put Michigan First is holding Tudor Dixon accountable for being all-in on Betsy DeVos’ plan to strip funding from public schools while pushing a dangerous tax scheme that would benefit billionaires like DeVos. Put Michigan First also released three digital ads that slam Dixon for her support for banning abortion in Michigan without exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother. Watch the digital ads here, here, and here. The ads have been running and will continue to run on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, among a wide array of digital platforms, and are backed by an investment of $2 million.Georgia: As Gov. Brian Kemp is one of the last Republican governors in the country who still refuses to expand Medicaid, another hospital — this time a major hospital serving some of Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents — is slated to close soon. Expanding Medicaid would reduce the financial strain on hospitals like the Atlanta Medical Center that serve many uninsured patients. Still, Gov. Kemp continues to double down on opposition to Medicaid expansion, turning down billions in federal funds. “If the Atlanta Medical Center shuts completely or stops key services, it will be the 6th hospital to turn away patients on Kemp’s watch,” Stacey Abrams said. “We’re in a crisis of spiraling healthcare costs & declining access. It’s shameful that Kemp puts his politics over what’s best for Georgians.” Under Gov. Kemp, Georgia has the second highest uninsured rate in the nation, and 70% of Georgians report struggling with health care.
RGA Leads the Charge to Ban Abortion At the State Level Across the NationThe RGA is ground-zero for Republicans’ extreme plan to rip away a woman’s right to choose — and they’re counting on Republican governors to carry out their plan to ban abortion.As Lindsay Graham unveils new abortion restrictions in the U.S. Senate, new reporting reveals the RGA is convening governors and top anti-abortion groups on how to implement draconian restrictions at the state level, effectively instituting a national abortion ban. Mitch McConnell even said that Republicans would “prefer that this be dealt with at the state level.”Former GOP Gov. Chris Christie — an RGA senior leader and key strategic advisor to Republican governors across the country — teamed up with leading anti-abortion extremist and head of the far-right Susan B. Anthony List Marjorie Dannenfelser at an RGA meeting last year. Since then, Christie and Dannenfelser have schemed with GOP governors behind closed doors on how they can restrict abortion in a post-Roe America.
Doctors Call Out Republicans’ Extreme Views on AbortionA new article by Axios details how doctors across the country are speaking out against Republicans’ extreme plans to ban abortion and in support of Democrats campaigning to protect abortion access.With abortion on the ballot this election cycle, Democratic governors serve as the last line of defense for reproductive rights. And in Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Tennessee, the Democratic gubernatorial nominees — Dr. Josh Green, Dr. Tom Sherman, and Dr. Jason Martin — are physicians who have made abortion “a central pillar of their campaigns.”“I’ve always been a person who doesn’t want to talk politics,” said one emergency medicine doctor from Kansas. “But this is the hill I will die on.”
Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist on CNN with John Berman and MSNBC with Joy Reid, discussing extremism and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ cruel political stunt of sending asylum seekers to Martha’s Vineyard.Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams on MSNBC with Alex Wagner discussing her personal journey fighting for reproductive freedoms.
“This election in November is about protecting our freedom.”
Dr. Tom Sherman on receiving the official Democratic nomination for governor of New Hampshire.
“I could decertify every machine in the state with the, you know, with the stroke of a pen.”Who said it? Send your answer to press@dga.net, and we’ll reveal the answer in the next Weekender!If you guessed Tim Michels last week, you’re correct. Last week, Republican nominee Tim Michels went on the attack calling for “pitchforks and torches” in response to a news story that exposed donations his foundation made to anti-abortion and anti-gay groups.
