A primary for the heart of Trump’s GOP

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May 16, 2022 View in browser   By Charlie Mahtesian Presented by Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano's campaign signs are seen during a rally at The Fuge in Warminster, Pa. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images PUTTING THE SCRAP IN SCRAPPLE — The shock over the GOP's Pennsylvania predicament continues to ripple across the party, leaving state Republican strategists and officials nervous and despairing on the eve of Tuesday's primary. The prospect that the party might blow its chances in a key industrial swing state this fall by nominating far-right election deniers is very real. In the GOP primary for governor, state Sen. Doug Mastriano has held a comfortable lead in recent polls, while conservative commentator Kathy Barnette has surged to within just a few percentage points of Dr. Mehmet Oz and David McCormick in the Senate primary. It shouldn't be a surprise. There are few states as deeply infected as Pennsylvania by Donald Trump's election fraud lie. The idea of a rigged election was nurtured and fanned by Pennsylvania congressional and state legislators from the moment on Nov. 7, 2020, that the Associated Press declared Joe Biden the winner of the state. — After Biden's 82,000-vote victory, GOP state Rep. Russ Diamond was among those working with attorney John Eastman in December 2020 in an effort to retabulate the state's popular vote — and throw out tens of thousands of absentee ballots — in order to show Trump with a lead, newly unearthed emails reveal. — Congressman Scott Perry, a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, was the behind-the-scenes facilitator who connected Department of Justice lawyer Jeffrey Clark — a Philadelphia native — with Trump. The result was discussion of a plan to have DOJ inform Georgia lawmakers of a voter fraud investigation that could invalidate the state's Electoral College results. — Some of the most memorable, tragi-comic events of the post-election period also occurred in Pennsylvania. The televised, November 2020 public hearing featuring Rudy Giuliani that Trump phoned in to? It took place in a Gettysburg hotel ballroom. The clown show that was Four Seasons Landscaping? Philadelphia. — 8 of the 9 Republicans in Pennsylvania's House delegation voted to overturn the state's election results.  Mastriano wasn't just one of the lawmakers involved in perpetrating the lie driving these events. He was arguably the main promoter and certainly a leading force in trying to overturn the election results by any means necessary. He pushed for an unorthodox, private-company ballot audit in Pennsylvania's Fulton County and helped organize the Gettysburg event. He showed up in Maricopa County, Ariz., the western proving ground for election conspiracy theories. Mastriano was in contact with Trump, too. He met with the former president in New York and was lauded by Trump in a statement last year hailing him by name as a "great patriot." Pennsylvania's stamp was also all over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol: close to 70 Pennsylvania residents were arrested in connection with the insurrection, the third highest number in the nation after Texas and Florida. Both Perry and Mastriano have been subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the events of that day.  Mastriano and Barnette were in D.C. that day for the Trump rally that preceded the violence (both say they never entered the Capitol). They also had organized buses to transport protesters to Washington. Among those at the rally was Teddy Daniels, who is on the ballot Tuesday as Mastriano's endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor. Pennsylvania's journey down this rabbit hole is, in no small part, rooted in a resentment familiar to many states: longstanding rural and small-town animus toward the big city — in this case, Philadelphia. This animosity explains why nearly all of the Pennsylvania lawmakers pushing to overturn the election results hailed from outside the Delaware Valley. Mastriano, who represents a south central Pennsylvania district, was one of them. It's a matter of faith to Pennsylvanians like him that Philadelphia is a breeding ground for electoral fraud. Trump himself referred to this in his first debate with Biden, tossing out a falsehood about poll watchers being blocked from observing the first day of in-person early voting in Philadelphia. "Bad things happen in Philadelphia, bad things," Trump said. Giuliani picked up on the thread a few weeks after Election Day, calling Philadelphia a "corrupt city" where election fraud is "as frequent as getting beaten up at a Philadelphia Eagles football game." Mastriano has channeled this sentiment to the brink of the Republican nomination for governor, and Barnette isn't far behind in her longshot bid for Senate. And it's precisely why GOP insiders are so panicked on primary election eve. In Pennsylvania, successful Republican statewide candidates win by staying competitive in the populous southeast, in the Philly suburbs. But after working tirelessly to overturn or invalidate the votes there, the two seem to have made themselves largely unviable in November. In the worst case scenario for the GOP, it could cost the party the governorship and a Senate seat that's critical to winning back the Senate majority. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author at cmahtesian@politico.com, on Twitter at @PoliticoCharlie. A message from National Hispanic Council on Aging: A Trump era rule threatens patient assistance, making meds less affordable. CMS must withdraw the patient assistance penalty to lower patient costs and improve heath equity! Learn more.   What'd I Miss? — Biden, Schumer to Buffalo: Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are heading to Buffalo, N.Y., on Tuesday to pay respects to the victims of a racist mass shooter who killed 10 people and wounded three over the weekend . In a Senate floor speech today, Schumer stated that he will be traveling with the president, along with First Lady Jill Biden and others, to visit the families of the victims and talk with local officials investigating the attack. — FDA and Abbott reach deal to reopen shuttered infant formula plant: Abbott Nutrition, the infant formula manufacturer at the center of nationwide shortages, announced today it had reached a deal with the FDA on steps for the company to reopen a currently shuttered processing plant. The infant formula processing plant in Sturgis, Mich., was shut down in February and several brands recalled after the FDA opened an investigation into a bacterial outbreak at the facility. — Draft of new New York congressional lines released by special master: The special master tasked by a Steuben County court with drawing new congressional lines for New York has released a set of draft plans. Carnegie Mellon fellow Jonathan Cervas, the special master, is expected to finalize his maps by Friday. The maps would create five districts that contain the homes of multiple incumbents, potentially setting the stage for several high-profile battles for August and November. — Supreme Court chips away at campaign finance regulation — thanks to Ted Cruz: The Supreme Court struck down a limit on the amount of post-election funds that can be used to pay back personal loans from candidates , further chipping away at federal campaign finance regulations. In a 6-3 decision that split the court cleanly along ideological lines, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that a cap that allowed federal political candidates to only use up to $250,000 in post-election fundraising dollars to pay back a personal loan from the candidate was unconstitutional. — Reversing Trump, Biden acts to deploy US troops to Somalia: Biden signed an order today to redeploy hundreds of U.S. troops to Somalia to counter the Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab, an effort that American military leaders said had been hampered by Trump's late-term decision to withdraw forces from the country. U.S. troops will be repositioned from elsewhere in Africa to train and provide other support to Somali forces in their fight against al-Shabab, which is considered the largest and wealthiest affiliate of the al-Qaida extremist organization. — Sentencing for Gaetz 'wingman' delayed until August: A former Florida tax collector whose sex trafficking and public corruption case ensnared Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) had his sentence delayed yet again. Former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg, once referred to as Gaetz' "wingman," will likely be sentenced in August, according to an order filed today by U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell.   DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED:  Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.     AROUND THE WORLD Annalena Baerbock, foreign minister of Germany, speaks at the beginning of an informal meeting of NATO member states' foreign ministers in Berlin. | Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images NORDIC PROBLEM? MORE LIKE 'NO PROBLEMS' — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO posed no direct threat to Russia, but warned the Western military alliance against moving weapons into the two countries' territories, Victor Jack writes. "As for the expansion [of NATO], including through new members of the alliance — Finland, Sweden — Russia wants to inform you that it has no problems with these states," Putin said today, speaking at a gathering in Moscow of leaders from the member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Russia-backed military alliance. "Therefore, in this sense, expansion on account of these countries does not pose a direct threat to Russia." Putin's comments contrast with remarks earlier today by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who said the Nordic nations' overtures toward NATO were a "grave mistake" that would have "far-reaching consequences." Ending more than half a century of military neutrality, Finland said on Sunday that it would apply to join NATO in the face of Russia's aggression in Ukraine. "This is a historic day — a new era begins," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said. Today, Sweden followed, with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announcing her intention to submit an application to the military alliance on behalf of the country.   A message from National Hispanic Council on Aging:   Nightly Number Two weeks The amount of time it could take before the European Union is able to agree on a plan to sanction Russia's lucrative oil industry, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today.   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.     Parting Words Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrive to testify on Capitol Hill. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images CARING ABOUT SHARING — As Congress prepares to hold the first public hearing on UFOs in half a century , the Pentagon and intelligence agencies are feuding internally over how much to cooperate with demands to investigate and share what they know, according to current and former national security officials, Bryan Bender writes. Pentagon officials are under increasing pressure to carry out Congress' recent mandate to establish a permanent effort to coordinate research into reports of highly advanced aircraft of unknown origin intruding into protected airspace. The law also requires regular classified and public reports to oversight committees on new incidents involving "unidentified aerial phenomena," including previous information or investigations that are uncovered in government repositories or testimony. But there is a tug of war among competing factions inside the national security bureaucracy that will make it difficult for Congress to compel military branches, spy agencies, national laboratories and other organizations to come clean given the longstanding secrecy and stigma surrounding the issue. A message from National Hispanic Council on Aging: As the leading national organization working to improve the lives of Hispanic older adults, their families, and caregivers, the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) is dedicated to ensuring they have equitable and affordable access to high-quality healthcare. However, a bad Trump administration policy, known as the "Best Price Rule," interferes with this objective. Should this rule go into effect on January 1, 2023, we fear some patients within our community that rely on copay assistance could have less access to that assistance and no longer be able to afford the medications they need to live healthier lives. Lack of meaningful access to quality healthcare contributes to poor health outcomes for Hispanic older adults. Unless the Biden administration steps in today, patients will soon see higher drug cost. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to addressing drug costs and health equity, act now today by withdrawing the patient assistance penalty! Learn more.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   Follow us

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