The issue that’s still firing up Democrats

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Mar 28, 2024 View in browser   By Peder Schaefer Private First Class Harry Dunn of the Capitol Police testifies before the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on July 27, 2021. | Pool photo by Jim Lo Scalzo HERO WORSHIP — For Democrats around the country, Jan. 6 remains top of mind, an event that they see as the manifestation of their fears about former President Donald Trump, his supporters and their willingness to subvert the will of American voters. Now, Harry Dunn, a Capitol police officer who defended the Capitol that day and regularly shares how the events of Jan. 6 changed his understanding of America, wants to join Congress himself. Dunn, who later went on to deliver searing testimony before the House Jan. 6 Commission, is leaning heavily into defense of democracy messaging in his upstart campaign to represent Maryland’s open 3rd Congressional District. In doing so, he’s managed to post eye-popping fundraising numbers for a political novice, proving that Democrats nationwide remain highly attuned to — and motivated by — the threat to democracy that the insurrection posed. According to ActBlue reports, Dunn raised $2.75 million in the month of January from over 100,000 donors, a stunning number for a first-time congressional candidate with no prior political experience. The only Democratic committees that raised more from ActBlue in the same time period were for Biden and the Democratic House and Senate campaign arms. And even though full information about Dunn’s first quarter fundraising numbers are not yet public, Dunn’s abbreviated online-only numbers place the political novice in hallowed company. Few Democratic candidates running for open seats in 2024 have raised more in such a short span of time. The money is almost exclusively flowing into Dunn’s campaign from outside of the district in which he is running, showing the extent to which his defense of democracy messaging fires up the Democratic base. According to Dunn’s campaign, as of the end of February only 1,300 of Dunn’s over 100,000 contributions came from within Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District, and 4,000 from within the state of Maryland. A video he released on X announcing his campaign and recounting his defense of the Capitol went viral, receiving 6.4 million views. The slick presentation is a reenactment of January 6, showing Dunn walking through the halls of the Capitol as rioters storm the building. “So join me. We’ve got a democracy to protect,” says Dunn at the end of the spot. His first television ad leans into the same theme. After flashing images of the Capitol and the date January 6, the ad leaps into scenes of rioters attacking the complex. “On this day, I didn’t fight against them,” says Dunn. “I fought for all of us.” Dunn faces over 20 candidates in the May 14 Democratic primary for the safely blue seat. But his success in small-donor fundraising and his online presence has placed him in a strong position in the suburban seat south of Baltimore, left empty by the departure of veteran Democratic Rep. John Sarbanes. “I read Dunn’s book. I like his story,” said Walter Ballin, a Democratic voter in the district who is planning to vote in the primary. “He’s an actual working person and I’m upset about January 6.” That doesn’t mean Dunn is on a glide path to Congress. He’s faces local Democratic legislators with deep ties to the district, and some voters at a March meeting of the Columbia Democratic Party — a local Democratic organization — expressed worries that his lack of political experience and policy expertise would make him a weak legislator in Washington. But there’s recent precedent showing the power of defense of democracy messaging — in California, where Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, an impeachment manager, easily outpaced other Democrats in a recent Senate primary. Dunn may not have nearly the same legislative experience, but Schiff’s experience is a reminder that his message remains a powerful one among Democratic voters. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at pschaefer@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @p_s_schaefer.   SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     What'd I Miss? — Fallen crypto titan Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years: A federal judge today sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison for his leading role in one of the biggest financial scandals in American history, capping the stunning fall of the former cryptocurrency magnate and one-time Washington megadonor. Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York handed down the sentence almost five months after a jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty of orchestrating a massive fraud centered on his crypto empire. Bankman-Fried faced a maximum of 110 years in prison. — South Carolina to use ‘unconstitutional’ congressional map after Supreme Court silence: South Carolina will use a congressional map a federal court ruled was “unconstitutional” in this year’s election, following uncertainty around the timing of the Supreme Court’s review of a district that a lower court deemed was racially gerrymandered. Republican lawmakers shuffled thousands of Black voters out of the state’s 1st District, represented by GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, to make the Charleston-area district more reliably red. The state NAACP sued, arguing that the legislature’s action was unconstitutionally discriminatory. — Pro-Trump fake electors in Arizona have pleaded the Fifth before grand jury: Arizona Republicans who falsely posed as electors for Donald Trump in 2020 have appeared before a grand jury in recent days and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, as state prosecutors near a decision on potential criminal charges against those who helped Trump try to overturn his loss in the state. The prosecutors’ decision to require these people to appear in person is the latest escalation of the long-running probe by the state’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, into election interference by Trump allies. The tactic is also highly unusual and risks biasing the grand jury against key targets of the probe, according to independent legal experts who have worked as both prosecutors and defense lawyers. Nightly Road to 2024 IVF CRITIC — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate has been a harsh critic of in vitro fertilization, while funding alternative research on extending women’s reproductive years, POLITICO reports. Nicole Shanahan has for years denounced IVF — calling it “one of the biggest lies that’s being told about women’s health today.” At the same time, she has also been a vocal proponent of and financial backer for unconventional research into the possibility of helping women having children into their 50s and exploring no-cost interventions to help women conceive, such as exposure to sunlight. PAYBACK TIME — The Republican National Committee is weighing whether to restrict NBC’s access to this summer’s convention, following the network’s decision to drop former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel as a contributor, POLITICO reports. Such a move would mark a dramatic escalation in the growing rift between Donald Trump-allies and the TV network — a rift that has stemmed from NBC’s decision to part ways with McDaniel amid a revolt among top on-air talent. “We are taking a hard look at what this means for NBC’s participation at the convention,” said Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the RNC and the Trump campaign. “Our priority is making sure this is a world class event that allows President Trump to feature his message and vision in a fair way.” AROUND THE WORLD Palestinians displaced by the Israel air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip sit next to the border fence with Egypt in Rafah. | Hatem Ali/AP KEEPING THE FUTURE PEACE — Biden administration officials are in preliminary “conversations” about options for stabilizing post-war Gaza, including a proposal for the Pentagon to help fund either a multinational force or a Palestinian peacekeeping team, POLITICO reports. The options being considered would not involve U.S. troops on the ground, according to two Defense Department officials and two other U.S. officials, all granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomatic and military negotiations. Instead, DOD funding would go toward the needs of the security force and complement assistance from other countries. Asked for comment, a senior administration official said “we are working with partners on various scenarios for interim governance and security structures in Gaza once the crisis recedes,” declining to detail specifics. “We’ve had a number of conversations with both the Israelis and our partners about key elements for the day after in Gaza when the time is right.” It could be weeks or months before Washington and its partners approve any plan, especially since regional players want to see a commitment to a two-state solution before seriously engaging with the options. There are also questions about the viability of training a potential Palestinian-led force in time to maintain order in Gaza, which has been decimated after five months of brutal fighting. And Israel is reluctant to have these conversations until it defeats Hamas militarily and secures the release of hostages being held by the group. Some officials within the Israeli government have called for Israel to occupy Gaza after the war, a proposal the U.S. opposes. “Israel is the long pole in the tent,” said one of the DOD officials, noting that Israel “has their hands full with other things.”   Access New York bill updates and Congressional activity in areas that matter to you, and use our exclusive insights to see what’s on the Albany agenda. Learn more.     Nightly Number $25 million The amount that President Joe Biden will raise for his re-election effort at an event featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton tonight, shattering fundraising records for a single event. RADAR SWEEP A NEW FRONTIER — One of the most promising new ways to fight cancer is immunotherapy, mimicking the body’s immune defenses in order to fight the cancer. But there are all sorts of issues with the process, including that it takes forever. Patients spend countless hours in the hospital having it administered. In order to combat this problem, it’s possible to crystallize the proteins in immunotherapy drugs, getting a higher concentration into a smaller volume. The only problem? The best way to do this is in space, where crystallization always comes out perfectly. Even so, a company called BioOrbit is now trying to make this happen, potentially leading to a new generation of cancer drugs being refined in space. Grace Browne reports for WIRED. Parting Image On this date in 1991: A Soviet policeman tries to tear up a poster from a pro-Yeltsin demonstrator in Moscow, as other protesters are being arrested. The protesters defied President Gorbachev's decree which banned all demonstration in Moscow. | Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   Follow us

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