Crunch time for New York primaries

A play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news

Aug 19, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus EYES ON THE EMPIRE STATE — From upstate to uptown, candidates in New York are grinding on the campaign trail in the final days ahead of next week's primary and special elections. A SPECIAL SPECIAL — The race that will determine who succeeds Democrat Antonio Delgado in New York's 19th district could be a bellwether for the broader midterm elections. The winner will only serve a few months in the House. Democrats hope that securing a win in the district can prove to voters (and donors) that the party has the chops to turn voter's anger over the Supreme Court's abortion ruling and recent legislative victories on climate, taxes and guns into electoral gains. Democrats are looking to shift the narrative away from President Joe Biden's tepid popularity and razor thin margins on Capitol Hill, both of which have put intra-party squabbles in the spotlight. Republicans are hoping to flip the district. A GOP win would quell concerns that the party is lagging with its message of failed Democratic leadership just as Democrats are becoming energized. Will the race preview a Democratic defeat in November or throw doubt on predictions of a red wave? Ally Mutnick and Sarah dive in: Want to know if a red wave is happening? Watch this special election next week MALONEY TRIES TO HOLD ON — Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) is forging ahead against serious headwinds in New York's 12th district in Manhattan, as Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) snags key endorsements and Suraj Patel focuses his attacks squarely on her. Patel, who is, at 38, a fraction of the age of both incumbents, is emphasizing youth and new leadership. Nadler is riding on his starring role in Trump's impeachment and leaning into his Jewish faith. Maloney is cornering the boys-club-busting message, with an emphasis on what ousting an experienced women member would mean. But Maloney's (D-N.Y.) chances of reelection are nonetheless diminishing, as her strongest opponent surges on a pair of coveted endorsements and an evergreen challenger half her age peppers her with attacks — all in the final days before her Tuesday primary. Sally Goldenberg and Georgia Rosenberg have a dispatch from the Upper East Side: Maloney kicks NY-12 campaign into overdrive. But will it be enough? Mailing in it: Part of Maloney's last minute push on the primary campaign trail is a flood of constituent communications -- sent in small batches to skirt pre-election blackout rules. The blackout period ahead of elections is intended to ensure that incumbents don't have a taxpayer funded communications advantage, but smaller batches of letters or mailers to less than 500 people are exempt. During the blackout period, Maloney has sent official letters to constituents on 53 topics, with each batch addressed to no more than 499 recipients. But that means nearly daily mail from Maloney in recent weeks for some voters. The Gothamist dove deep on Maloney's use of franked mail in the leadup to Tuesday's primary.   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.     GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Aug. 19, where we want interior design feedback on the new Senate paint job (more on that below.) THE EXPECTATIONS GAME IS AFOOT — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is downplaying expectations for his party in the midterms, predicting another tight Senate. "An extremely close Senate — either our side up slightly or their side up slightly," he predicted in Kentucky on Thursday. McConnell's focus has long been on the electability and competence of candidates in key races, which the GOP has bungled before. "I think there's probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different. They're statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome," he said. Anthony has more on McConnell's midterm crystal ball in Congress Minutes. Meanwhile in the House…. Most House Republicans are ready to rattle off exactly what they hope to do when (not if, in their minds) they win control of the chamber. The drapes-measuring has begun in earnest on that side of the Capitol, consistent with McConnell's predictions. McConnell, of course, has no drapes to measure either way. On the Senate side, leadership's physical offices don't swap if party control flips. MAR-A-LAGO SEARCH TURNS UP HEAT ON INTEL PROGRAM — Republicans have long been divided over an intelligence program that is intended to gather electronic communications of foreign targets but often scoops up Americans' communications along the way. The search of Donald Trump's Florida residence is complicating things further. While there aren't direct ties between the program, known around Washington as Section 702, and the Mar-a-Lago search, the furor over the FBI and Justice Department actions, calls to "defund the FBI" and criticism of the agency's leadership will play a role. House Intelligence Committee member Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), said the search of Mar-a-Lago is will have a "ripple effect" on the debate over reauthorization. While Congress has until the end of 2023 to act on a program that the FBI and others have argued is critical to national security, House Republicans said in interviews that they've already started talking about it as they prepare for a potential GOP majority next year. Jordain talked to Intel-minded Republicans about the future of the authorization: Trump search worsens FBI's surveillance politics headache with GOP FIRST IN HUDDLE: STOP THE TRADES — End Citizens United and Let America Vote Action Fund are launching a $50,000 digital ad buy urging Congress to ban themselves from trading stocks. "Tell Congress to ban stock trading for members," is the main message of the spot, which will play on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and on displays in Washington. Watch the ad.   INTRODUCING POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     HUDDLE HOTDISH The Ohio Clock Corridor, before it was all yellow. | Getty Images AND IT WAS ALL YELLOW — It's doubtful the yellow tones are going to mellow out the 50-50 Senate, but you never know. The Ohio Clock corridor, which has closely resembled a New York City-style scaffolding tunnel in recent months, is now a mellow shade of yellow. The previous paint and plaster on the arched ceiling has been peeling, badly, for years. Your Huddle host was even assured in recent years that the sad, drooping and puckered portions were not due to water damage (but it was bad enough for me to ask.) The yellow was chosen based on "paint analysis and historic photographs" to replicate the paint scheme from around 1865-1896, according to the Architect of the Capitol's office. But someone told Nancy Ognanovich from Bloomberg that the shade is Aztec Yellow, which is a Benjamin Moore hue. Leadership aides, who traverse the corridor more frequently than almost anyone else, are still getting used to the new paint job. One told Huddle it looks "fresh" but they haven't had time to develop more thoughts about it. Some voiced preference on Thursday for the old green, gold, yellow, tan and beige combo, but they said the change might just take some getting used to. "I kind of like it," another told your Huddle host. GOODBYE, JOE Q — The House barber, Joe Quattrone, is hanging up his shears after 50 years trimming powerful people's hair. He's retiring at the end of August, reports Chris Cioffi for CQ Roll Call. QUICK LINKS  The Democrat Who Could Become the First Alaska Native in Congress, from Jazmine Ulloa at The New York Times TRANSITIONS  Jose Fontanez is now special assistant to the National Cyber Director. He most recently was director of scheduling for Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.). Justin Mark O'Leary is now scheduler/office manager for Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.). He most recently was principal at JMO Strategies. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House meets at 11 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate meets at 2 p.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL Not much. Happy recess Friday. TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: Rick Robinson correctly answered that Ronald Regan won the most popular votes cumulatively in the 1968 Republican presidential primaries. TODAY'S QUESTION from Rick: Before getting into politics, former Ways and Means Committee Chair Dan Rostenkowski once tried to play professional baseball. What team offered him a tryout? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus   Follow us

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