To close out the month, we have big news from the Badger state—both at the federal and state levels—and a look at some of the most hotly contested woman-versus-woman primaries. Plus, we’re introducing a new feature: Member Spotlights!
US Senate: Tammy Gets A Challenger
Millionaire real estate developer Eric Hovde made his challenge to Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin official last week. His candidacy is straight out of the well-worn GOP 2024 playbook: He doubled down on crime and the border in his announcement speech, and he’s expected to be able to largely self fund his campaign. The race is now certainly more competitive, with the biggest threat being that Democrats will have to actually spend money defending this seat.
Meanwhile, the poller-coaster is taking the rest of our candidates for a ride. Emerson has Sen. Jacky Rosen in a dead heat with her likely general election challenger; Internal polling from Rep. David Trone has him ahead of Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland; and Rep. Katie Porter has drawn even with Steve Garvey in next week’s California Senate primary.
🔖 Bookmark: Latest Polls, US Senate [FiveThirtyEight]
Headlines
Hovde enters US Senate race against Baldwin [WPR]
Senate Candidate Waged Decades-Long Campaign to Kill Beloved Dive Bar [Rolling Stone]
Amy Brown, wife of GOP Senate candidate Sam Brown, opens up about her abortion [NBC]
[POLL] Jacky Rosen and Sam Brown nearly tied in new poll [Reno Gazette Journal]
[POLL] Latest poll shows Trone widening lead over Alsobrooks [The Baltimore Banner]
[POLL]: Schiff leads, with Porter and Garvey battling for second in CA Senate race [Politico]
Democratic U.S. Reps. demand Gaza cease-fire in letter to Biden [Spectrum News] (Slotkin)
GOP Sen. Rick Scott Is Uniquely Unpopular in Florida. Can Dems Capitalize? [The Daily Beast]
US House: Women Go Head to Head
Although we’re heading into another cycle where women again risk seeing our representation in Congress go down as a result of retirements, there are bright spots—competitive primaries with multiple women where at least one is likely to be the nominee.
Competitive General
- In MI-8, state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet is winning the endorsement game against her closest competitor, Michigan Board of Education President Pamela Pugh, in this open Democratic seat. The primary is not until August.
- In OR-5, state Rep. Janelle Bynum is pulling ahead in a field of three—now two—women to challenge incumbent Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
- In WI-3, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation board member Rebecca Cooke is battling state Assemblywoman Katrina Shankland to challenge incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
Primary, Safe D
- In TX-18, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is facing a strong challenge next Tuesday from former Houston council member Amanda Edwards, who was considered a shoo-in for this seat before Jackson Lee declared her intention to run again.
- In VA-10, the Jennifers are teaming up: VA-4 Rep. Jennifer McClellan has endorsed state Sen. Jennifer Boysko in the primary to replace retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton, giving her an edge against former state House speaker Rep. Eileen Filler-Corn.
🔖Bookmark: 2024 US House Primary Tracker [Electing Women Alliance] (Updated)
Headlines
Peterson drops out of Oregon 5th District race, endorses Bynum [Oregon Capital Chronicle]
Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet receives 20 new endorsements for Congress [Midland Daily News]
Van Orden outraises potential Dem challengers combined [WisPolitics]
McClellan endorses Virginia state senator to replace Wexton [The Hill]
[POLL] Jackson Lee holds a narrow lead against Edwards [Houston Public Media]
Altman officially wins her first county line [New Jersey Globe]
State & Local: Game-Changing Redistricting in WI
Everyone is watching Wisconsin’s US Senate race, but something truly transformative is happening down-ballot. Last week, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law new state legislative maps that erase the GOP’s extreme gerrymandering advantage, giving Democrats a chance at winning majorities—and certainly break Republicans’ supermajority. This comes on the heels of months of legal wrangling culminating in a WI Supreme Court decision that would not have been possible without Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s win in 2023.
🔖Bookmark: WI New Assembly Maps | WI New Senate Maps [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Headlines
Wisconsin’s new legislative districts and the 2024 elections [PBS Wisconsin]
Planned Parenthood asks WI Court to declare abortion a constitutional right [WI Examiner]
DA asks WI Supreme Court to decide abortion lawsuit without lower court ruling [AP News]
This ballot measure would restore Roe. Abortion rights groups are attacking it. [Vox]
Democrats are emphasizing abortion. Will it work in Orange County? [LA Times]
‘No one’s coming to save us’: Abortion campaigns scramble for limited cash [Politico]
National & Women: Abortion Retakes the Spotlight
Abortion is back in the political headlines after a ruling in Alabama determined that embryos are legally people, shutting down IVF treatments in the state. Republicans are twisting themselves into knots to not seem crazy (most voters support IVF) and logically consistent (they’ve always held the extreme position that life begins at conception). With state republicans continuing to set their sights on curtailing reproductive health services, this issue is not going away anytime soon.
Headlines
Trump Privately Expresses Support for a 16-Week Abortion Ban [New York Times]
Tom Suozzi’s Win Proves That Abortion Is a Winning Issue [Vanity Fair]
First abortion, then IVF… and now birth control? [Salon]
Michigan presidential primary by county: See results around the state [Bridge Michigan]
[POLL] Biden Holds On To Slight Lead Over Trump [Quinnipiac]
🔖Bookmark: The Pro-life Movement’s Not-So-Secret Plan for Trump [The Atlantic]
Kamala Watch
Harris visits Grand Rapids to outline threats to abortion access [Michigan Advance]
What Kamala Harris means to Biden’s reelection bid [Washington Post]
Inside Kamala Harris’ effort to break through the Biden campaign’s information bubble [CNN]
Member Spotlight
Electing Women Bay Area Steering Committee member Gretchen Sisson has just published a book and is kicking off a national book tour. Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, was released this month and focuses on the other side of the adoption—the mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption.
Here’s the schedule for all of her launch events, including many in locations where we have EWA groups. Her next appearance is 3 pm this Sunday, March 3 at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC: https://www.relinquishedbook.com/events