The Dem seats where the DCCC isn't spending

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

Oct 14, 2022 View in browser   By Katherine Tully-McManus DCCC Chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) has tough choices to make as the clock ticks toward Election Day. | AP MISSING: DEMOCRATIC DOLLARS — Some Democrats are frustrated that while the Republicans' biggest House super PAC floods midterm races with investment, Democrats aren't putting up much of a fight -- funding wise -- in what they see as tough but winnable races. National Democratic groups aren't airing TV ads in six of the 14 Republican-held districts that went for Biden in 2020 — seats that should be among the most important to contest, report Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris. Meanwhile, Republicans are pouring dollars into races in what should be safely blue seats, forcing Democrats to divert precious resources towards those races. Democrats have just a 5-seat majority and already seem to be abandoning some tough seats that their incumbents currently hold in Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas and Michigan. After a brutal redistricting year, Democrats knew that their campaign chief, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), would be forced to make hard decisions as Nov. 8 approached. To hold the majority, Democrats need to flip some Republican held seats, which means a tough tradeoff of abandoning some incumbent territory that is harder to hold. For example, meaningful party spending has not begun — and is unlikely to start — in the seats of Rep. Tom O'Halleran (D-Ariz.), retiring Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and open seats in Michigan and South Texas. It's all about money, honey: "The number one factor here is money," said Tim Persico, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "If we had more money, yeah, I'd feel much better about a bunch of places. But of course, there are other things. It's not the be-all, end-all." Money magnet fundraisers like Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former President Barack Obama have tried to pick up steam in recent days, but rank-and-file Democrats also aren't paying their dues to the DCCC. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), have been dialing colleagues to get them to pay up. Ally and Sarah have much more on the GOP money flooding the map and how Democrats are coping.  LEAHY HOSPITALIZED — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), president pro tempore of the Senate and Appropriations Committee chair, spent the night in a Washington-area hospital after the 82-year-old felt unwell at his home in McLean, Va., on Thursday. He was having tests and remained overnight for observation, according to his office. Earlier this week Leahy opened the Senate for a short session kicking off debate of the National Defense Authorization Act. The Vermont Democrat is in the presidential line of succession and will retire at the end of the year after eight terms in the Senate. Leahy was briefly hospitalized at the start of Democrats' 50-50 Senate majority in 2021, then broke his hip this year in a fall. Leahy had returned to his duties on Capitol Hill, first with a Batman branded wheelchair and then was walking around the Senate hallways by September.   SUBSCRIBE TO 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.     TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, October 14, where we're wishing the Senate's unofficial photographer a speedy recovery. HUDDLE'S WEEKLY MOST CLICKED: Most clicked since last week was the Detroit News story: Rep. Stevens, husband getting divorced after year of marriage. A close second for clicks was Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) dispatch from Utah where he visited Arches National Park with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and both of their wives. 'I'M GOING TO PUNCH HIM OUT' — New footage aired on CNN last night of previously unseen scenes from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) being told that Trump wasn't coming to the Capitol, but that he could change his mind. "If he comes, I'm going to punch him out. I've been waiting for this. For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I'm going to punch him out. And I'm going to go to jail, and I'm going to be happy," Pelosi said in her office, in footage shot by her documentary filmmaker daughter Alexandra Pelosi. Reconstituting Congress: The footage shows more in-depth consideration of reconvening Congress off-site than had previously been known to the public. "We're at Fort McNair, which has facilities for the House and the Senate to meet, as a backup  plan … should anything happen that would warrant that," Pelosi told Vice President Mike Pence in a phone call on Jan. 6. "We'd rather go to the Capitol and do it there, but it doesn't seem to be safe." "I worry about you being in that Capitol room," Pelosi tells Pence. "Don't let anybody know where you are." TRUMP SUBPOENA — The Jan. 6 select committee voted 9-0 Thursday to subpoena former president Donald Trump. "It is our obligation to seek Donald Trump's testimony," the panel's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said before the vote. "There's precedent in American history for Congress to compel the testimony of a president." Kyle and Nicholas have more. They also took a step back to look at what the panel's final hearing and the subpoena means in the larger scope. "The panel's subpoena dare to Trump is partly premised on its belief that he simply has no defense and wouldn't subject himself to their detailed scrutiny. That belief rests on the fact that virtually every time Trump or his defenders have tried to explain the reasons for his conduct, those arguments withered under scrutiny," they write. The Jan. 6 committee plays truth and dare with Trump, from Kyle and Nicholas BEASLEY BUCKS — Last week it was Senate Democrats bemoaning lack of investment in what they see as winnable races. This week, wallets were opened. The Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC announced another $4 million investment in North Carolina where Democratic Senate candidate Cheri Beasley faces Republican Rep. Ted Budd. It's the second $4 million injection this week: The first batch was for a TV ad campaign focused on abortion rights and Thursday evening's announcement was for TV ads during the final two weeks leading up to the election on Nov. 8. The move comes after concerns that the party was making investments in other close races and not enough in North Carolina, which Marianne wrote about in-depth last week. TOP ETHICS OFFICIAL CHARGED — Omar Ashmawy, the staff director and chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, was placed on leave Wednesday after he was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and other violations. Yahoo News first reported the incident and Ashmawy's leave. Ashmawy was arrested on Sept. 10 after he drove his car off the road and hit a stop sign, cars and a House in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. He wasn't placed on leave until Yahoo News contacted the Office of Congressional Ethics this week. The OCE is a non-partisan entity that reviews allegations of misconduct involving House staff and lawmakers and refers cases to the House Ethics Committee. The office has jurisdiction to investigate alleged violations of a "law, rule, regulation or other standard of conduct." "We take this matter very seriously and the Board will be reviewing the circumstances surrounding it," Mike Barnes and Paul Vinovich, co-chairmen of the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, told Yahoo News. "In the meantime, Mr. Ashmawy has been placed on leave to deal with the issues that contributed to this incident. Helen Eisner will serve as the Acting Staff Director during his absence." A spokesperson for the OCE declined to comment beyond what was provided to Yahoo News. NOT MIDWEST NICE IN WISCONSIN — There were boos and jeers in Wisconsin last night as Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes faced off in their final debate before the election. They had the same goal, writes Holly Otterbein, "make their opponent a wholly unacceptable choice to voters." That meant each man painting the other as not backing law enforcement and as being extremist on abortion access. Even when prompted with a softball question meant to lower the temperature, Johnson took a shot. Holly has more. SUMMER LEE SWEATS DOYLE'S DOUBLE — Usually incumbents are the ones running scared. But in Allegheny County Democratic House candidate Summer Lee's campaign is worried that her Republican opponent will get a boost from the outgoing congressman who shares his exact name, reports the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) is retiring and the Republican running to try and flip the seat red, is also named Mike Doyle. Lee's team says voters are confused. "I'm not intentionally trying to confuse anyone," the Republican Doyle said. But Lee's campaign thinks he could do more to differentiate himself from the retiring Democrat. "He could identify as a Republican on his website or his literature. He could use his full name Michael Doyle. He could use a middle initial," Abigail Gardner, Lee's campaign manager told the Post Gazette. "There's so many ways he could clarify who he is and who he isn't if he was honest about his intentions."   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.     HUDDLE HOTDISH Oodles of (alleged) zoodles … The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Pelosi is a regular diner at Tosca Café in North Beach, which serves an off-menu item just for her. "We have a special pasta for it, Pelosi pasta: Cacio e pepe, but it's made with zucchini noodles instead of traditional pasta," Anna Weinberg of Tosca Cafe told the Chronicle. Pelosi's team confirmed that the speaker "has loved Café Tosca for many years," but would not comment on the zoodles. QUICK LINKS  U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, Latino groups warn about rampant misinformation targeting Spanish speakers ahead of the elections, from Robert Downen at The Texas Tribune Interesting interactive: How Election Lies Took Over the Republican Ticket Nationwide, from The New York Times TRANSITIONS  Gregory Totino is now district press secretary for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). He most recently was confidential secretary to the town supervisor of Fishkill, N.Y. Cotton moves key aide to political operation, from Alex Isentadt TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 11:30 a.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL That Friday (quiet) feeling. TRIVIA THURSDAY'S WINNER: Rohit Kumar correctly answered that Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the Allied invasion of Western Europe during World War II and went on to be elected president, did not serve in combat. TODAY'S QUESTION from Rohit: Who is the only Senator in the last 40 years with a term of less than 60 days and what law did they author? 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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