Today’s notice: If we ran a campaign or Congress, we would simply give everyone everything they want, all the time. Problem(s) solved.
Black Vendors Want In
As Kamala Harris courts Black voters on the trail, her campaign is investing notably less in Black paid media than in 2020. Black vendors tell NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright they’re furious.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson was so frustrated by the dynamic that he held a call with Harris’ principal deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, to ask: Why aren’t minority-owned political firms that typically work with Democratic campaigns getting as much Harris campaign money as white-owned firms?
“If Black voters are the base, it should be Black vendors telling the story,” said one person familiar with the conversation with the nonpartisan group’s leader. And by the time the call finished, “We still didn’t really have any clear answers on anything.”
As polls show Black voter support for Democrats flagging post-2020, the Harris campaign is eager to reclaim lost ground. Democrats have seen a boost since Harris took over the ticket — nearly half of Black respondents to an August AP poll said they were “excited” about the VP. But there is more work to do, and Black vendors see an obvious solution: themselves.
A Democratic consultant close to the Harris-Walz campaign told Jasmine that the campaign’s spending on Black paid media is about a quarter less than in 2020, when the pandemic made normal campaigning virtually impossible and put more weight on advertising.
“We skated by in 2020,” the consultant said. “And we’re not spending at the levels we were spending at then.”
Cedric Richmond pushed back very hard on this idea. “Everybody who said it’s not about money, that’s a lie. It’s all about money,” he told NOTUS. “They’re making noise because they want money and they want a contract, and that’s fair. It’s fine, and they should just say that.”
To be clear, the operatives who spoke to Jasmine want Harris to win. They just want in on making that happen. For one consultant, it comes down to: “Who are you trusting to tell the story of the vice president?”
Read the story here.
Nebraska Is Having a Moment
Blurred lines in the Nebraska Senate race? Alex Roarty on the surprisingly tight race and its strange dynamics: “Independent candidate Dan Osborn and the Democratic Party have publicly kept each other at arm’s length. … But behind the scenes, Democrats and their allies are doing plenty to try to get him elected in the unexpectedly competitive Senate race. A review of campaign materials, finance documents and internal discussions among Democrats reveal that Osborn and a super PAC backing his candidacy are partially reliant on groups and donors who normally work for Democratic candidates.”
Whew, good thing that’s the only strange political thing going on in Nebraska, home of America’s only unicameral legislatur–<spit-take> whaaa??
As it stands now, two of NE’s five electoral college votes go to the statewide winner and the other three are divided between the three congressional districts. If recent polling is any indication, that means Trump would win four votes and Harris would win one. The state’s governor and Lindsey Graham want to change that, converting the Cornhusker State into a winner-takes-all structure that would benefit Trump. The fight is set to play out in Lincoln, where a GOP senator ironically named Lynne Walz (no relation) may hold the deciding vote.
Read the story here.
Front Page
- Mark Robinson Is Definitely North Carolina Republicans’ Candidate. Democrats Are Swooping In: Ballots have started going out, and Democrats are working to tie other Republicans to the struggling candidate for governor.
- Trump Wants to Visit Springfield. Its Congressman Won’t Say If He’s Welcome: For a week, Mike Turner’s office didn’t respond to multiple interview requests or a list of questions from NOTUS, including whether he had been in touch with the Trump campaign.
The CR Text Is Out. Three things we’re watching.
- The continuing resolution punts the government funding deadline to Dec. 20 — aka the Friday before Christmas — teeing up an omnibus package. Republicans aren’t thrilled, and we’re keeping tabs on some typical GOP Senate holdouts in case they try slowing down progress in the upper chamber.
- This bill will almost certainly get fewer House GOP votes than Johnson’s SAVE Act proposal last week. Will Republicans blame Johnson for caving or the GOP holdouts who took down the speaker’s original plan?
- The bill includes an additional $231 million in Secret Service funding. That’s a big chunk of change that should satisfy lawmakers calling for additional protection for Trump. But keep in mind, some Republicans want to call in the Navy SEALs.
—Riley Rogerson
You might not expect the most popular U.S. agency
*Drum roll* It’s the Postal Service!
New Gallup polling of 15 agencies shows that USPS is the only one with a favorable rating. Despite all the obligatory groaning about delays, apparently 59% of Americans feel “good or excellent” about the agency.
On the other hand, Americans don’t feel good about the Secret Service. In a poll completed almost entirely before the Sept. 15 apparent assassination attempt, just 32% of respondents had a positive view. That marks an eye-popping 23-point drop since last year, rivaling the CDC’s 24-point plummet between 2019 and 2021.
—Riley Rogerson
Week Ahead
- Trump has a busy week ahead, starting with a scheduled rally in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on Monday and running through to a town hall and rally in Michigan on Friday. Meanwhile, Vance will sweep through Charlotte, North Carolina, with two stops on Monday. He’s also speaking in Traverse City, Michigan, on Wednesday and he’ll hit Macon, Georgia, to talk economy on Thursday.
- Harris is also keeping busy. She’s set to be in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Arizona on Friday and Nevada on Sunday.
- In New York, it’s Climate Week, and the UN General Assembly is meeting. NOTUS’ Anna Kramer will be tracking any big announcements.
- Congress is expected to put its funding fight to bed this week with a stopgap plan to December — at least if everything goes according to plan. Our Hill team will bring you the latest.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with Biden, Harris and Trump this week during his swing through the U.S.
Number You Should Know
54,039
Aaaand the election is officially underway. More than 54,000 people have already voted in Virginia, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. At the same point in the election in 2020, only about 38,000 people had voted.
—Claire Heddles
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by … not us.
- A secretive Catholic group has big plans for a future Trump administration, according to Intelligencer.
- The Diné in Navajo Nation “use the least amount of water per person of anyone in the U.S., and pay the most.” Time dug into how that could change.
- ProPublica detailed two different preventable deaths related to abortion bans last week.
- The Boston Globe followed up with the migrants Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard two years ago.
- Parents can now buy bulletproof backpacks and binders, a terrifying back-to-school story The New York Times details.
Be Social
AOC dunks on Jon Lovett’s “one glorious and perfect” Survivor episode.
Just watched Survivor and oh man
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 22, 2024
Tell Us Your Thoughts
Which state is having the biggest political moment right now? (Don’t say Pennsylvania. Live a little.)
Send your thoughts to newsletters@notus.org.
Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe (it’s free!).