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THE TOP
Thune hits the trail for GOP candidates — and his leadership bid

Happy Tuesday morning.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Senate Republican leadership election is the ultimate Washington insiders’ game. The contenders have spent months courting senators and candidates through a mix of private meetings, phone calls, fundraising and campaign travel. The election is conducted via a secret ballot, adding a bit of suspense to the affair.
But 500 miles from Washington, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who’s certain to be a voting member of the Senate Republican Conference come November, says he’ll be leaning on his political base in this small midwestern city to help reach a decision.
It’s why Banks has invited both Senate Minority Whip John Thune and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) to campaign with him. Last Thursday, Thune gave a keynote speech at an Allen County GOP dinner and fundraiser for Banks and other local candidates.
“My supporters — I want them to kick the tires in the Senate leadership race,” Banks told us here. “My donors, my voters, my supporters from my home area who mean the most to me are going to get a chance to hear from [the candidates].”
Moments later, Allen County GOP chairman Steven Shine grabbed a microphone and introduced Thune as “the next U.S. Senate majority leader.”
Banks paused, pointed up at the speaker system, and said: “See how he’s being introduced?”
The likely soon-to-be senator made clear he wasn’t making a formal endorsement in the race to succeed current Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. Banks noted it’s “obviously very competitive” and said Cornyn has been “incredibly helpful.” Cornyn will be in Fort Wayne on Thursday to fundraise for Banks.
But that moment showed how the intrigue surrounding the race is extending beyond the halls of the Senate as a rare change in the GOP leadership suite is on the horizon.
Crunch time: A month out from the leadership elections, Thune and Cornyn are working to build support for their bids by hitting the trail and holding private meetings with incumbent GOP senators. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is also running. But Scott is focused on his own reelection, as well as hurricane recovery efforts.
Thune’s pitch centers on “democratizing” the GOP Conference through a more open floor process and empowering individual senators, though he’s kept his powder dry on many of the specific ideas some colleagues have demanded.
Hardline conservatives have been pushing for an aggressive overhaul of the Republican leadership structure. Yet McConnell has been urging senators behind closed doors to resist the urge to weaken the leader’s power.
Thune has met a few times with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who recently proposed a series of changes to the conference’s rules that amount to a drastic decentralization of power. Thune is revealing very little about how he’s addressing conservatives’ demands — and that’s on purpose.
In an interview ahead of his speech here, Thune told us he wants to “hear people out and we’ll see where the conference wants to go.” However, he did allude generally to one of Lee’s ideas: Preventing the majority leader from quashing amendment votes without backing from 75% of the conference.
We asked Thune whether he agreed with McConnell’s warnings. Thune said he thinks many of the hardliners’ concerns will “get resolved by a change in leadership” — in other words, McConnell’s exit — and by flipping the majority:
“What I would tell our colleagues is, give me a chance. And I can show you how we do things. A lot of this is style, it’s the way that you go about leadership…
“I think there are things we can do differently and things that will perhaps address the concerns that people have just by the style of leadership we bring.”
Shift to the Midwest: Senate Republicans faced a map with multiple pickup opportunities to begin with this cycle. But now some are privately indicating it’s time to shift the focus to a handful of states they see as best chances to flip red.
Thune zeroed in on the Rust Belt states, especially Wisconsin, which is trending in Republicans’ direction. He also named Michigan and Pennsylvania. We asked Thune if there was a reason he didn’t mention Arizona or Nevada.
“Those are races that are on our radar, and everybody’s paying attention to them,” Thune said, adding he spoke with NRSC Chair Steve Daines that morning.
While Arizona and Nevada are “close, margin-of-error races,” Thune said, the “Rust Belt races have really tightened a lot.”
“All of these races are in play. It’s a big map. As we’ve said, we can win them all, we can lose them all,” Thune said. “Hopefully we win more than we lose.”
Out West: Cornyn was in Reno last Friday campaigning with Sam Brown, the GOP candidate in Nevada. Cornyn attended a rally with former President Donald Trump that evening and met with him afterward.
Cornyn and Thune were critical of Trump in the months following his departure from the White House, but both men have since mended their relationships with him.
Trump will inevitably take responsibility for winning the Senate majority, so don’t count on him staying completely out of the race.
— Andrew Desiderio
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Learn how Walmart is supporting American jobs and local communities.
HOUSE DEM LEADERSHIP
News: Kelly seeks House Dem vice chair spot
News: Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) intends to run for House Democratic Caucus vice chair if Democrats win the House, according to a source familiar with Kelly’s plans.
Major disclaimer: The vice chair position only becomes open if Democrats win the majority on Election Day. In that case, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar would run for majority whip and current Vice Chair Ted Lieu would run for caucus chair.
Kelly is aiming to be just the second Black woman elected to House Democratic leadership since former Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.), a major selling point for her candidacy. In 2022, DPCC co-chair Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) broke the decades-long drought of no Black women in elected House Democratic leadership.
As Black women reliably form the core of the Democratic base, the lack of visibility in Democratic congressional leadership is striking.
Kelly would also provide a Midwestern perspective at the leadership table largely dominated by Democrats from the Northeast and California.
Since first winning election to the House in 2013, Kelly has prioritized improving maternal health care and combating gun violence. Back in November 2020, Kelly ran for caucus vice chair and lost to Aguilar.
Kelly has been active this cycle campaigning for Democrats nationwide. In Milwaukee, Kelly rallied with Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) to get out the vote in August. Last month, Kelly participated in Black voter outreach events in Florida and Virginia. Kelly has also rallied alongside Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) in her Senate race.
The Illinois Democrat also is organizing a trip this month to Omaha to boost Democrat Tony Vargas in his campaign against Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
Contender watch: Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), currently the leadership representative for members who have served five terms or fewer, will also run for vice chair in the event Democrats win the House. Jacobs is 35 and from the massive Democratic stronghold of California, which could make for an interesting and competitive race.
— Max Cohen

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Listen Now
The Vault: French Hill’s hauls keep getting bigger
First in The Vault: Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) continues to rake in significant campaign contributions for the 2024 cycle. It’s an effort that comes as the Arkansas native steps up his push to be the next top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee.
Hill will report a $1.8 million haul for Q3 across his reelection, leadership and joint fundraising committees, in addition to funds raised personally by Hill for other members, according to a person familiar with his political operation. That’s a nearly 40% jump from Q2, when Hill raised $1.3 million from the same sources. That Q2 number was itself a big jump from what Hill reported in Q1.
That brings Hill’s total for the 2024 cycle to about $6.7 million, including $2.5 million deposited with the NRCC.
Hill has raised, contributed or bundled a total of $1.75 million this cycle for other GOP candidates, and he’s helped raise another $1 million through “special guest” appearances at fundraisers for colleagues.
These numbers have just about everything to do with the race to lead the Republican side of the House’s banking panel.
Hill has been one of the leading contenders to be the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee since the gavel race kicked off in earnest late last year after Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) announced their retirements.
But the race remains deeply unsettled with the future of House Republican leadership uncertain after the 2024 election.
Contribution numbers like this are one of the only discrete and public ways we can track the relative strength of each contender. Hill’s prolific fundraising this year has helped keep him near the top spot, but he’s getting competition from Reps. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), Bill Huizenga (R-Mich) and Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)
Meanwhile in the credit card wars: Advocates are launching a fresh TV blitz this week. Congress isn’t the big worry anymore.
The Electronic Payment Coalition has set its sights on Illinois after the state enacted legislation that would ban banks from charging interchange fees on the tax and gratuity portions of a given transaction. Several financial trade associations sued Illinois in August to block the law from going into effect, and they’ve received some backing from national bank regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The new ad campaign dropping this week tells viewers to “Guard Your Card Illinois,” calling the law “untested.” The industry’s real fear is that the Illinois law could be adopted by other states. Watch the first ad here.
— Brendan Pedersen
PRESENTED BY WALMART

Walmart is investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown or assembled in America, supporting local businesses like Proud Source Water in Mackay, ID.
SURROGATE WATCH
Mark Kelly quickly becoming a go-to Dem surrogate
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) was passed over for vice president, but he’s still blitzing battleground states with Vice President Kamala Harris and vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbents.
Kelly is also a frequent surrogate on the airwaves for Harris, having done several Sunday shows over the past few weeks. That comes in addition to local media interviews in North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
After winning a competitive Senate race in a border state in 2022, Democrats see Kelly as a go-to surrogate for Harris and Senate Democrats alike, especially as they try to blunt an onslaught of GOP criticisms over the party’s handling of the crisis at the southern border.
In late September, Kelly accompanied Harris during a trip to the border. He also went to Raleigh, N.C., for several Harris campaign events. In the Atlanta area, Kelly campaigned with his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). Giffords, who was shot and gravely wounded in 2011, is among the nation’s highest-profile gun control activists.
Kelly was a spin-room surrogate for Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, after the vice presidential debate in New York. Last week, he campaigned for Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Democrats’ Senate candidate in Michigan. And he was at former President Barack Obama’s rally in Pittsburgh, having just campaigned with Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who’s facing a difficult reelection bid.
We’re told that Kelly will spend the majority of the next few weeks in Arizona, where Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is running for the state’s other Senate seat against Republican Kari Lake.
— Andrew Desiderio
THE CAMPAIGN
New Florida Senate ad: The DSCC and former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s (D-Fla.) campaign are running a joint ad in the Florida Senate race that portrays Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) as a snake.
The ad, part of an ongoing eight-figure buy, imposes Scott’s face on a slithering snake and accuses the incumbent of Medicare fraud and threatening Social Security and abortion access.
“Rick Scott’s a slippery politician who’s been ripping you off,” Mucarsel-Powell says. “I approve this message because your family’s getting squeezed, and it’s time for a senator with a spine.”
Democrats are hoping that Mucarsel-Powell can pull off an upset and flip Florida’s seat, as polling looks grim for Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
Project 2025 on the airwaves: House Majority PAC is running its first ads of the cycle that tie Republican candidates to Project 2025. In Rep. Don Davis’ (D-N.C.) reelection race, the Democratic PAC is going after GOP candidate Laurie Buckhout on abortion rights. HMP is accusing Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) of threatening veterans’ health care. And in the race for Virginia’s 7th District, an HMP ad says Republican Derrick Anderson will “parrot the extreme Project 2025 agenda that hurts working families.”
Money Game: Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet, who’s running to succeed retiring Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) in the competitive 8th District, raised $3 million in Q3. It’s a large haul for a non-incumbent. McDonald Rivet’s Republican opponent, Paul Junge, has put millions of dollars of his own money into his campaign.
On the 8th District airwaves, an organization aligned with Elect Democratic Women is running a new ad attacking Junge on his abortion stance.
Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres (N.Y.) chipped in another $100,000 to the DCCC in the closing weeks of the campaign. Torres is one of the House Democratic Caucus’ top contributors to Democratic candidates. Torres has given and raised just under $6 million to Frontline and Red-to-Blue candidates, which is a big sum for someone outside of leadership.
Also: The Republican Accountability PAC, which describes itself as being “Republicans and conservatives who hate what Donald Trump has done to the Republican Party,” got $6.9 million from Reed Hastings in August. Baupost Group founder Seth Klarman gave $2 million.
— Max Cohen
PRESENTED BY WALMART

Walmart’s investment in U.S. manufacturing is supporting 750,000+ American jobs.
MOMENTS
ALL TIMES EASTERN
2:30 p.m.
President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.
5 p.m.
Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a live iHeartRadio interview with Charlamagne tha God.
5:25 p.m.
Biden will depart Wilmington, Del., en route to Philadelphia, arriving at 5:40 p.m.
6:45 p.m.
Biden will deliver remarks at a political event.
7:40 p.m.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will depart Philadelphia en route to the White House, arriving at 8:45 p.m.
CLIPS
NYT
“Harris’s Final Challenge: Restore a Splintering Democratic Coalition”
– Jennifer Medina, Katie Glueck and Ruth Igielnik
WaPo
– Shira Rubin in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Ellen Nakashima in D.C.
Bloomberg
“Trudeau Accuses India Diplomats of Ties to Criminal Violence”
– Thomas Seal, Laura Dhillon Kane and Dan Strumpf
AP
“Trump’s Pennsylvania town hall turns into impromptu concert after medical incidents”
– Adriana Gomez Licon in Oaks, Pa., and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix
PRESENTED BY WALMART
More than 2/3 of Walmart’s product spend is on products made, grown or assembled in America, which helps local businesses achieve nationwide success. Since working with Walmart in 2022, Proud Source Water has grown by 50%, helping them create jobs in their community in Mackay, ID. Walmart’s investment in U.S. manufacturing is helping create over 750,000 jobs across the country.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

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Presented by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance
Americans know who to blame for rising drug prices: Big Pharma. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, & Independents all believe Big Pharma’s focus on profits keeps drug prices high. Let’s hold Big Pharma accountable – it’s an issue we’re united on.