Welcome to the AR/Intel Race Rundown, our weekly recap of the most important news happening in campaigns across the country. Sign up to get the Race Rundown delivered to your inbox every Friday morning here.
NATIONAL
Following reports that President Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the establishment of a formal impeachment inquiry. (CBS News, 9/24/19)
- Following the release of President Trump’s phone call transcript and a whistleblower account of the incident, more than half of the House of Representatives now support an impeachment inquiry. (CNN, 9/26/19)
- Axios compiled a full whip list of where members of Congress stand on the impeachment inquiry. (Axios, 9/25/19)
Reuters: “Republicans See Impeachment Backfiring. Democrats Fear They May Be Right” (Reuters, 9/26/19)
- The Cook Political Report: “The Risks Of Impeachment For House Democrats” (The Cook Political Report, 9/27/19)
The Hill: “Trump Campaign, GOP Raise $13M After Pelosi Announces Impeachment Inquiry” (The Hill, 9/26/19)
PRESIDENTIAL
The DNC released their latest thresholds to make the stage for the next primary debate. To be invited to the November debate, candidates must have received donations from at least 165,000 individual donors and must meet one of two polling requirements – they must either receive 3 percent support in four national or early-state polls conducted by qualifying pollsters, or 5 percent support in two polls in the four early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. (The New York Times, 9/23/19)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign announced an early-state ad campaign of at least $10 million. The campaign told Politico that a digital ad campaign would begin immediately and that the entire buy will ramp up over the next few months. (Politico, 9/24/19)
Politico: “Warren Passes Biden In New Nationwide Poll” (Politico, 9/25/19)
Politico: “Biden Nosedives In Early-State Polls” (Politico, 9/25/19)
- Vox: “Polls Show Warren Surging In Early 2020 Primary States” (Vox, 9/25/19)
POLL: This week’s national Morning Consult poll of Democratic primary voters found former Vice President Joe Biden (D-DE) leading the field for President with support from 32% of those polled. He is followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) (20%), Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) (19%), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) (6%), and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN) (5%). (Morning Consult, 9/24/19)
POLL: A national Quinnipiac poll shows Warren leading with support from 27% of primary voters followed by Biden (25%), Sanders (16%), Buttigieg (7%), and Harris (3%). (Quinnipiac, 9/25/19)
POLL: This week’s national Economist/YouGov poll shows Warren leading with 27% of primary voters followed by Biden (26%), Sanders (16%), Buttigieg (6%), and Harris (4%). (YouGov, 9/25/19)
POLL: A national poll from The Hill/HarrisX poll shows Biden leading among primary voters with support from 31% followed by Sanders (16%), Warren (14%), and Buttigieg tied with Harris (5%). (The Hill/HarrisX, 9/23/19)
POLL: The latest national Emerson poll shows Biden leading the field with 25% support followed closely by Warren (23%) and Sanders (22%). Buttigieg came in fourth place with 6% and Harris trailed with 4%. (Emerson, 9/24/19)
SENATE ALABAMA
The Alabama Farmers Federation’s political action committee, FarmPAC, announced it is endorsing former Auburn football Coach Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL). (Alabama Political Reporter, 9/25/19)
AR/Intel Insiders: Get the latest polling, fundraising, and news developments for the Alabama Senate contest with our updated Race Brief.
SENATE GEORGIA
Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) confirmed Friday that he is seeking to be appointed to replace retiring GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) who is slated to vacate his seat at the end of the year. (The Hill, 9/20/19)
- Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (R-GA) also applied for the appointment. (Politico, 9/26/19)
Former Senator Max Cleland, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2003, formally endorsed former Mayor of Columbus and Democratic candidate Teresa Tomlinson in her bid to unseat Sen. David Perdue (R-GA). (All On Georgia, 9/25/19)
SENATE IOWA
Freshman Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) joined other prominent Iowa Democrats in endorsing Theresa Greenfield for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). (Iowa Starting Line, 9/24/19)
SENATE MAINE
Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jonathan “Tracer” Treacy (D-ME) announced Monday that he is jumping into the Democratic primary contest to unseat four-term Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). (Central Maine, 9/24/19)
SENATE NORTH CAROLINA
The Cook Political Report changed the rating of the North Carolina Senate race from “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican.” (The Cook Political Report, 9/20/19)
AR/Intel Insiders: What does recent polling say about Tillis’ reelection chances? Catch up on all the latest race developments here.
SENATE TEXAS
Dallas investor Mark Yancey (R-TX) announced that he will challenge incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Republican primary for Senate. (Dallas Morning News, 9/26/19)
HOUSE CALIFORNIA
CA-50: According to sources familiar with his plan, former Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will challenge Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) for his House seat in 2020. (The Hill, 9/25/19)
HOUSE ILLINOIS
IL-17: Bill Fawell (R-IL), a real estate broker, formally launched his campaign for the 17th Congressional District seat held by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL). Falwell is the third Republican to jump into the race. (Sauk Valley, 9/25/19)
HOUSE SOUTH CAROLINA
SC-01: A poll conducted by businessman Mike Covert’s (R-SC) congressional campaign showed him leading freshman Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) among “definite and probable supporters” 44% to 42%. (Breitbart, 9/22/19)
AR/Intel Insiders: This is the first general election poll released in SC-01. While Covert leads Cunningham, he still has to prevail in a GOP primary that includes at least four other candidates. Find out about Covert’s competition with our SC-01 Race Brief.
HOUSE VIRGINIA
VA-05: Republican Bob Good, who currently sits on the Campbell County Board of Supervisors and serves as the senior associate athletics director and chief fundraiser for athletics at Liberty University, is expected to launch a GOP primary challenge to freshman Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA). (The Hill, 9/24/19)
HOUSE WISCONSIN
WI-07: Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) officially resigned from his 7th Congressional District seat on Monday. After his resignation took effect, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers set the dates for the special election. Party primaries, if needed, will be held Dec. 30 with the general election scheduled for Jan. 27. Both dates fall on a Monday, instead of the traditional Tuesday. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/23/19)