The Archive

LEADER LOOK

McCarthy’s barnstorming summer begins tonight

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will barnstorm the country this summer, hitting 25 states for events with more than 100 members and candidates. This is all part of his quest to win the majority and become speaker of the House.

McCarthy will travel to all corners of the country: Florida to Oregon, California to Rhode Island. He’ll be doing an array of events on behalf of candidates, GOP incumbents and the NRCC.

McCarthy’s blitz is scheduled to kick off tonight in South Carolina. McCarthy will keynote the South Carolina Republican Party’s 55th annual Silver Elephant Dinner. The dinner began in 1967 and the keynote speaker that night was a California Republican by the name of Ronald Reagan.

Some of McCathy’s early stops include New York, where he will discuss crime; North Carolina, where he’ll discuss agriculture; and Ohio, where he’ll discuss jobs and energy. He has dozens of events scheduled for the month.

– Jake Sherman

FRANKING-STEIN’S MONSTER

House Dems fret over franking gap

One of the many perks of incumbency is that the federal government pays for lawmakers to send out mail and digital communication to every single household in their congressional district. This mail can’t be political and has to be approved by House authorities, but it’s a great deal for incumbents: the taxpayer foots the bill for mass mailings to constituents.

House Democrats are privately fretting that their incumbents have been slow to take advantage of what’s called “franked communication,” and are missing an opportunity to target constituents free of charge.

What’s worse: multiple vulnerable House Democrats told us they weren’t aware of the changes in the franking blackout rules, which allows constituent communication to be sent out closer to Election Day. And some top Democratic aides are raising the alarm that their candidates are being outspent on franked communications by incumbent Republicans in neighboring districts. With the Democratic majority in big trouble, leadership aides don’t want to ignore any tool that could help save it.

Traditionally, House members have been barred from sending out franked communicatoin — paid-for mass communications informing constituents of legislative accomplishments — within 90 days of a primary or general election.

But under new regulations in effect this cycle, the franking blackout has been rolled back to 60 days before an election. That leaves the entire month of August as fair game for franking.

The leadership has privately raised concerns to Democratic chiefs of staff about lawmakers’ unwillingness to take advantage of franking.

It’s a critical stretch before the general election when House members can reach voters directly, while potentially saving money on campaign expenditures in the process. The practice could be a lifeline for Democrats at risk of losing their House majority — if they seize it.

Wild’s office hasn’t sent out a single piece of franked communication all year, according to an online database. Referring to her communications aide, Wild said, “she probably knows more than I know about it.”

“We use every vehicle we can use to communicate to constituents,” Kildee told us when asked about his office’s lack of franked communications. “Especially now the way people consume information, the more we can directly communicate, the better.”

“It’s always a way to let people know where you’re showing up in your district and the kind of issues that you’re fighting for,” Pappas said.

The House shortened the blackout period from 90 days to 60 days as part of the COMMS Act. That measure was passed in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 that became law during the 116th Congress. The reduction in the blackout period was instituted so the House would conform with the Senate’s blackout period, a House Administration Committee aide said.

House Democratic leadership say they’re pouring resources into making sure their members are equipped to maximize their constituent communications.

This week, New Dem Coalition Vice Chair Sharice Davids’ (D-Kan.) office led a New Dems training session on how offices can use texting, email, surveys, mailers and more to reach constituents ahead of the upcoming blackout period.

Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark in the past eight months has led multiple small-group workshops and two caucus-wide briefings on how Democrats can best get their message across in a multi-layered strategy.

“​​It’s important for members of the House Democratic Caucus to use every tool available to effectively and comprehensively communicate with the people they have the privilege to represent what our vision is for the future and what we’ve done to make life better for everyday Americans,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries said.

— Max Cohen and Heather Caygle

THE CAMPAIGN

The ad highlights Kildee’s support for cutting the gas tax, hiring more police officers and banning members and their families from trading stocks while in office.

“While none of this will make me popular in Washington, I approve this message because I’m focused on doing what’s right for Michigan,” Kildee says to close the ad.

Kildee’s seat is now rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter after redistricting shifted the district to the right.

— Max Cohen

WHAT REP. ERIC SWALWELL TOLD US

Catch up on our conversation with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) below.

MOMENTS

9:30 a.m.: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will hold a news conference … Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold an enrollment ceremony for the CHIPS Plus bill.

10:15 a.m.: President Joe Biden will get his daily intelligence briefing.

10:45 a.m.: Pelosi will hold her weekly news conference.

1:30 p.m.: Karine Jean-Pierre will brief.

CLIP FILE

NYT

WaPo

WSJ

Bloomberg

AP

NPR

Politico

LA Times