Johnson, Thune fill out Senate puzzle

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Jan 10, 2022 View in browser   By Stephanie Murray Quick Fix — This year's Senate landscape became more defined over the weekend, when Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will run for reelection. — Former Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel is still leading the race for the GOP Senate nomination, according to a new poll shared with Morning Score. — Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) raised nearly $9 million for his reelection bid, plus more fourth-quarter campaign fundraising hauls. Good Monday morning. Email me at smurray@politico.com and follow me on Twitter @stephanie_murr. Email the rest of the POLITICO Campaigns team at sshepard@politico.com, zmontellaro@politico.com and amutnick@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve, @ZachMontellaro and @allymutnick. If you're a Weekly Score subscriber, this quick programming note: We'll next be in your inbox on Tuesday, Jan. 18 — one day later than usual due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Days until the FL-20 special election: 1 Days until the Texas primary: 50 Days until the CA-22 special election primary: 87 Days until the Indiana and Ohio primaries: 113 Days until the general election: 302 Days until the 2024 election: 1,030   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You'll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day's biggest stories. TopLine Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) will each seek reelection. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images RETIREMENT WATCH — Barring any unexpected exits, this cycle's Senate retirement watch is officially over. The chamber's final holdouts announced they would run for reelection over the weekend. Johnson of Wisconsin and Thune of South Dakota, both Republicans, will each seek another term. The pair were the final lawmakers to announce their 2022 intentions. Their decisions come as the GOP heads into a favorable midterm cycle. Johnson's decision to run in Wisconsin is a reversal from his 2016 pledge to retire, rather than seek a third term. "I believe America is in peril. Much as I'd like to ease into a quiet retirement, I don't feel I should," Johnson wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Sunday. Johnson is expected to have the backing of former President Donald Trump, who encouraged him to run last April. A dozen Democrats are running in a crowded primary for the chance to take on Johnson. The field includes Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson and Alex Lasry, senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks. Speaking of Democrats, the DSCC quickly released a new digital ad highlighting "how Johnson is looking out for himself and his rich political donors" at the expense of his constituents. Johnson beat Democrat Russ Feingold by 3 percentage points in 2016. Meanwhile in South Dakota, Thune said he will seek a fourth term, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader's Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve reported. Thune is "uniquely positioned" to serve South Dakota, he said in a statement on Saturday. Thune, the Senate minority whip and a key ally of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , drew Trump's ire in the wake of the 2020 election because he refused to object to the results. So far, no prominent GOP primary challenger has emerged against Thune. The senator's job approval rating rose over the course of 2021 — 67 percent of South Dakota Republicans approved of Thune in the first quarter of the year, and 80 percent approved in the fourth quarter, according to Morning Consult's Eli Yokley. Down the Ballot FIRST IN SCORE: POLL POSITION — Mandel had 26 percent of support from likely GOP Senate primary voters, according to a new WPA Intelligence poll commissioned by the Club for Growth PAC (the Club endorsed Mandel last year). The survey found Jane Timken, the former state GOP chair, with 15 percent of support and investment banker Mike Gibbons with 14 percent. Author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance was in fourth place with 10 percent, according to the poll, which surveyed 513 likely GOP primary voters from Jan. 3-6. The new poll comes days after Timken's campaign released an internal poll showing her with 16 percent of support, two percentage points behind Mandel who had 18 percent of support among GOP primary voters. The Moore Information Group poll conducted 1,000 interviews on Jan. 3. The poll from Timken's campaign showed Gibbons with 14 percent of support and Vance with 8 percent. THE CASH DASH — Kelly raised nearly $9 million and had $18.5 million in cash on hand at the end of the fourth quarter, according to his campaign. The fourth quarter encompasses Oct. 1-Dec. 31. Year-end reports are due to the FEC on Jan. 31. — Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) raised $3.1 million in the fourth quarter of the year and had $5.3 million in cash on hand, WMUR's John DiStaso reported. — Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) raised $900,000 in the fourth quarter and had $2.7 million in cash on hand, the New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein wrote. — Washington Republican Tiffany Smiley raised nearly $925,000 in the fourth quarter for her bid against Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Fox News' Paul Steinhauser wrote. Smiley had $1.7 million in cash on hand. — New York Democrat Josh Riley raised over $416,000 in the first two months of his campaign against Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), The Post-Standard's Mark Weiner wrote. — Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch raised $3.3 million since she launched her gubernatorial campaign, The Hill's Julia Manchester wrote. Kleefisch, a Republican, is running against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. GETTING IN — Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano launched his Republican primary campaign for governor, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Charles Thompson reported. Mastriano joins a crowded field to replace term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf. — New Hampshire state Senate President Chuck Morse will run against Hassan, WMUR's John DiStaso wrote. Morse, a Republican, plans to file with the FEC on Wednesday and formally launch a campaign later this month. Morse hired GOP operative Dave Carney as general consultant. Republican Don Bolduc is also running against Hassan, and a number of other candidates are considering entering the race. — Minnesota Republican Kendall Qualls launched a campaign for governor on "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday, Fox News' Bailee Hill wrote. Qualls is the president of the nonprofit TakeCharge and an Army veteran. Qualls lost to Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) in 2020. Qualls jumped into a crowded GOP primary to take on Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. NOTABLE FLOATABLES — New York Republican Harry Wilson is considering running for governor, the New York Post's Carl Campanile wrote. Wilson is chair and CEO of the MAEVA Group, and lost a 2010 race for state comptroller. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Andrew Giuliani and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino are already running in the GOP primary. LANDMARK LEGISLATION? — When President Joe Biden speaks in Georgia on Tuesday, he will "expand on his endorsement of a filibuster carveout to pass voting rights legislation in the Senate," POLITICO's Laura Barrón-López and Christopher Cadelago reported. Vice President Kamala Harris will also visit the state, where Republicans have passed new voting restrictions. BALLOT BATTLE — Wisconsin state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, said there is "zero chance" the state legislature will take over awarding presidential elector votes in 2024, The Associated Press' Scott Bauer wrote. Vos said he is against dissolving the state elections commission, or changing how the bipartisan body operates. Johnson said in November that he wanted lawmakers to "take over elections and tell local officials to ignore the work of the elections commission." THE MAP LINES — The Southern Poverty Law Center is challenging Georgia's new congressional map in court, along with Georgia voters and voting rights groups. The lawsuit claims claims GA-06, GA-13 and GA-14 "violate the Constitution and unlawfully diminish the voting power of voters of color." The case alleges that the new map violates the 14th Amendment by intentionally denying representation to Black voters. — Ohio's new political maps are in court because partisanship derailed the redistricting process, GOP Gov. Mike DeWine told The Cincinnati Enquirer's Jessie Balmert . DeWine was a member of the state's redistricting commission, and said negotiations between Democrats and Republicans came to a standstill in September. "It was clear to me that they were not going to move, ever, and so at that point, let's move onto the court and not waste everybody's time," DeWine said. The state Supreme Court recently heard arguments for and against the new maps and is expected to reach decisions soon.   DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE.     THE KEYSTONE STATE — Pennsylvania Democrats filed complaints against GOP Senate hopefuls Mehmet Oz and David McCormick, alleging the candidates are violating election laws, City & State Pennsylvania's Justin Sweitzer wrote. The state Democratic party claimed to the FEC that Oz, the celebrity surgeon, is "overtly capitalizing off commercial brands and resources to obtain an unfair advantage" by using his TV show logo, the show's website and business social media accounts for his campaign. The party also questioned whether McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, should have to register as a candidate after spending $2 million on TV ads as part of his exploratory Senate campaign. CRYPTO, CURRENTLY — Congressional candidates and political PACs are auctioning off NFTs, capitalizing on the crypto boom, POLITICO's Sam Sutton wrote. "Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters last month raised $550,000 in 36 hours when he auctioned off digital tokens depicting the cover of a book he wrote with tech investor and GOP megadonor Peter Thiel," Sam noted, and tech executive Shrina Kurani, a Democrat running against GOP Rep. Ken Calvert in CA-41, "raised $6,600 in 72 hours late last year by selling 21 NFTs containing her crypto policy agenda." THE PROCESS — The founder of the Cyber Ninjas firm that ran an "audit" of Arizona's 2020 election intends to close the firm and launch a new one with some of the same employees, The Associated Press' Jonathan Cooper reported. Cyber Ninjas was recently held in contempt of court for failing to produce documents related to its partisan election review, and ordered to pay $50,000 a day in fines. It's not clear if founder Doug Logan plans to perform the same type of work with a new firm. EVERYTHING'S BIGGER IN TEXAS — Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott officially launched his reelection campaign, Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek wrote. Abbott held his event in McAllen, while Democratic challenger former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) held a campaign stop in El Paso. CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY — "I'm not running. I'm not running. Jesus, lord, help me." — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, on whether he'll run for president, via the Newark Star-Ledger.   Follow us on Twitter Steven Shepard @politico_steve Stephanie Murray @stephanie_murr Zach Montellaro @zachmontellaro Ally Mutnick @allymutnick   Follow us

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