senate
● GA Sen: Unlike a report earlier this week in the Atlanta Journal Constitution this suggests that he may submit to former Senator David Perdue. It certainly sounds like former MP Doug Collins has no interest in waiting for other Republicans before deciding whether to put forward an offer against Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock. “I’ve been underestimated for many years. We’ll sit back and watch this play out,” he told a conservative radio host. Referring to a Perdue press release on Tuesday, Collins said, “David must have felt the need to make a statement … people know I’m still looking at them.”
Campaign action
● PA Sen: Democratic MP Malcolm Kenyatta, who was reportedly considering an offer for the Senate, confirmed his interest on Tuesday and said “I will certainly think about it” despite not giving a timeline for a decision.
● WI-Sen: On Wednesday, Milwaukee Bucks chief executive Alex Lasry announced an offer for the Democratic nomination for the seat currently held by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a Republican who has not yet announced whether he will seek a third term in 2022 . Lasry entered the competition with the assistance of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who runs the state’s most populous county.
Lasry, who previously served as the White House adviser to Obama, is the son of billionaire Marc Lasry, who is a co-owner of Bucks and a major Democratic donor. (In 2014, Marc Lasry and another financier bought the team from none other than Herb Kohl, a Democrat who held the alternate Senate seat in Wisconsin from 1989 until he retired in 2013.) The younger Lasry said he would join his “Invest” campaign. but that he would also focus on raising money from small donors.
However, Lasry sparked unfavorable press reports a few weeks before his launch after the 33-year-old received a coronavirus vaccine shot at a senior citizen’s home. Lasry tweeted in response, “My wife received a call from her uncle who works in a facility that wastes extra doses if not used immediately,” adding that he thought it was necessary to be his pregnant wife to protect .
Lasry joins Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, who launched his campaign back in October. Badger State will be one of the top Democratic targets next year, and several other potential candidates are also publicly considering entering the nomination battle, including Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, and Charitable Director Steven Olikara.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds that both Senator Chris Larson, who lost a very tight race to Crowley for Milwaukee County’s executive branch last year, and Randy Bryce, who was nominated for 1st Congressional District in 2018, are “weighing their options,” though neither of them seem to have said anything publicly.
House
● IL-16: Just a month after starting a primary challenge for Republican MP Adam Kinzinger following the Congressman’s vote against Donald Trump, Gene Koprowski, a former official with the Conservative Heartland Institute, has ended his campaign. This leaves a few smaller internal party opponents in the field: the multi-year candidate James Marter, who lost against Kinzinger 68-32 in 2018, and the businessman Jack Lombardi, who has apparently never run for office.
legislation
● AK State House: While the bipartisan coalition led by Alaska House Democrats was finally able to elect a new spokesperson last week, it’s not entirely clear whether the alliance just barely has a functioning majority. The Republican who crossed over to get the spokesperson tied, MP Kelly Merrick, initially insisted she hadn’t joined the coalition, though now the new spokeswoman, Republican Louise Stutes, claims Merrick did is Part of the majority – although Merrick refused to answer reporters’ questions about which side she is on.
This dismal condition can resolve itself after the Chamber’s “Committee on Committees” meets to assign leadership positions and committee duties. Approval of the report of the committee for the approval of the report of the committee requires a majority of 21 votes. This means the coalition needs Merrick’s support for its preferred missions to take effect. However, it is not clear when such a vote will take place.
The Republican caucus, meanwhile, watched it shrink on Tuesday when MP Sara Rasmussen said she would no longer be a part of it. Rasmussen will not join the coalition, however, but will serve alone. Regardless of how she votes in general, her move is a blow to the GOP as it reduces the number of slots that hardline Republican committees are entitled to.
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