MI-GOV: Party regulars first dismissed Gretchen Whitmer because of her gender.

The first Democrat to declare her gubernatorial candidacy, she was at first dismissed by party regulars who worried that a young, female candidate would reawaken the misogyny that bedeviled Granholm. But Whitmer persisted, and when better-known Democrats like U.S. Senator Gary Peters and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan resisted appeals to give up their own sinecures, she emerged as the most credible threat to challenge the Republicans' eight-year domination of Michigan government.



https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2018/07/22/michigan-governor-endorsement-whitmer-calley/806346002/

MI-08: Detroit Free Press endorses Elissa Slotkin

ELISSA SLOTKIN is among the most well-qualified newcomers running in any congressional contest this year, and we recommend her enthusiastically to Democratic primary voters in Michigan's Eighth Congressional District.

An Oakland County native of Holly whose grandfather founded the Livonia-based company that gave America Ball Park Franks, the 42-year-old Slotkin enlisted in the CIA after the 9/11 attacks. She served three tours of duty as an intelligence officer in Iraq, where she met her husband, a U.S. Army colonel. After returning to Washington, she served in the National Security Council under then-president George Bush, then became acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Affairs under Bush's successor, Barack Obama.

Slotkin's expertise in foreign policy and national security is deep, but she says she was moved to run for office when her district's incumbent congressman, Republican Mike Bishop, voted to repeal Obamacare without proposing an alternative for covering the hundreds of thousands of Michiganders who obtained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Brilliant, energetic, and focused like a laser on the concerns of her sprawling district, she has outraised her incumbent Republican opponent as well as Chris Smith, an MSU professor who is Slotkin's lone, under-funded challenger for the Democratic nomination.

Like Slotkin, incumbent Bishop faces only nominal competition from Republican challenger Lokesh Kumar and should easily advance to the November general election.



https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/2018/07/27/endorsements-michigan-congress/841120002/

MI-11: Haley Stevens(?) seen as best Democrat to swing seat form red to blue

There are five Democrats on the ballot, but most Michigan observers believe the race will come down to Obama Auto Task Force chief of staff Haley Stevens and tech entrepreneur Suneel Gupta, a former Groupon executive the brother of CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Former state House Minority Leader Tim Greimel, who heavy labor backing including the UAW and AFL-CIO, is also regarded as a top contender.

Many Democrats believe Stevens, a 33-year-old woman without a voting record, would be their best general election candidate. But she's struggled to break out because the presence of another female candidate, former Obama DHS official Fayrouz Saad, has kept EMILY's List on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Gupta has loaned his campaign $150,000 and entered July with $799,000 to Stevens's $340,000.


https://www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/house-overview/bottom-line-republicans-42-open-seats

Iowa voter ID law: Judge tells state to undo some early voting restrictions for 2018 election

n Iowa judge this week blocked some provisions of a 2017 voter identification law and required the state to restore its early voting period to 40 days, from 29, for November's midterm elections.

Polk County District Court Judge Karen Romano granted the temporary injunction in an order made public Wednesday. She found that the law, and Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate's efforts to promote it, "substantially and directly interfere with Iowans' constitutional rights to vote."

She also found the state had "suggested no real threat to the integrity of Iowa’s voting system" if the law's requirements were blocked.

"The harm to the registered voters who may become disenfranchised or experience substantial obstacles in voting is greater than any harm to the state," she wrote in her order.

Secretary of State Paul Pate said the state will appeal the decision to the Iowa Supreme Court "immediately."

“I am disappointed to learn a temporary injunction was placed on some parts of Iowa’s Election Modernization and Integrity Act today," Pate said in a statement.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2018/07/25/iowa-voter-id-law-paul-pate-judge-issues-injunction-early-voting-absentee-ballot-signature-matching/836202002/


REPLACE PAUL PETE. HELP ELECT DIEDRE DEJEAR IOWA SECRETARY OF STATE




https://www.dejearforiowa.com

OH-12: O'Connor pulls to within 3% of Republican Balderson. Green Party at 2%

Danny O’Connor continues to narrow the gap against Troy Balderson in the special election for Ohio’s 12th.

Congressional District. With less than two weeks to go, O’Connor now trails by just two points—continuing a trend that has brought this race to a dead heat since paid communications began last month. In addition, the “enthusiasm gap” that marked previous polling here continues to favor Democrats. Voters who express any real interest in voting give O’Connor the edge, providing him with a boost in the face of millions of dollars of negative ads from DC special interests.

O’Connor now only trails Balderson by three points.

O’Connor has narrowed the race to a 45 – 48 percent margin after trailing by five points just two weeks earlier and seven points in June.1

Balderson has been stuck at 48 percent this entire campaign, despite millions of dollars attacking O’Connor in mail and television for well over a month.

O’Connor’s two-point deficit is closer than the deficit of a generic Congressional Democrat, who trails a generic Congressional Republican 46 – 50 percent. It also far outpaces the 11-point Republican self-identification advantage among likely voters here.

Enthusiasm gap continues to spell trouble for Republicans.

Among people who say they are ‘almost certain’ to vote, Balderson’s lead evaporates entirely. O’Connor leads among these voters by a 51- 46 percent margin. And on a scale that asks voters to report their own ‘interest in voting’ from 0 to 10, those who report themselves as between a 6-10 (86 percent of the total electorate) also give the lead to O’Connor. This group favored Balderson by four points just a few weeks earlier.

As we noted last time, Balderson’s extremely slim edge in the overall race is built entirely on people who tell us they are less motivated to turn out.


https://www.scribd.com/document/384784512/OH-12-GBA-Strategies-for-Danny-O-Connor-July-2018

CA-SEN: Republicans favor Kevin de Leon

Cook Political moves FL-15 to Leans Republican, TX-02 to Likely Republican

Michael Avenatti to represent three other women Trump's team paid off after affairs

Stormy Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, says 3 other women claim they were paid by AMI, Donald Trump, Michael Cohen

Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniel's attorney, is interviewed on the Cheddar network, Thursday, May 10, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Updated 43 mins ago
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Michael Avenatti, the attorney who represents porn star Stormy Daniels, said Thursday that he is representing three other women who claim they were paid by Donald Trump, AMI and Michael Cohen to keep quiet.

Avenatti was doing a panel in West Hollywood that included Mayor John Duran, former federal prosecutor Steve Madison and Mariana Magana Gamero, who is part of the Coalition for Human Immigration Rights of Los Angeles.

During the panel, Avenatti stood up and announced the information to the audience. He said the women claim they were paid by AMI Entertainment, Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen to stay quiet. He did not reveal what they were paid to stay quiet about.

He added that one of the women claimed to be pregnant at the time, and that he is in the process of getting clearance from his clients to release more details relating to the payments.

Avenatti gained national attention for representing Stormy Daniels, who filed a lawsuit against Trump. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had sex with Trump in 2006, when he was married, but Trump denies it.

Days before the 2016 election, she was paid $130,000 to stay silent in a deal handled by Cohen. She filed the lawsuit to invalidate the nondisclosure agreement, stating Trump never signed it.


https://abc7.com/politics/stormy-daniels-attorney-says-3-other-women-were-paid-to-stay-quite-by-trump-cohen/3830894/

Devine signed onto the Sanders campiagn while doing business with Gates and Manafort.

GA-GOV: Democrats weighing 2020 runs are rushing to Georgia

Washington (CNN)Stacey Abrams, the 44-year-old progressive vying to become the nation's first black female governor in Georgia, has become a magnet for Democrats considering presidential bids in 2020.

Four Democrats who endorsed Abrams for governor are already planning Georgia trips this fall and using their email lists to raise money for Abrams.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will travel to Georgia in October to campaign with Abrams, a Gillibrand aide said, and will raise money for her through Gillibrand's email list.

California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a fundraising email for Abrams on Wednesday and campaigned with her before the primary. Now, a Harris aide said, she is planning a trip to Georgia ahead of November's election.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was in Georgia last week for events with Abrams and for the Democratic National Committee. A Booker aide said he will return to the state ahead of the election and "will continue to be helpful" in Abrams' effort.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who had already endorsed Abrams and this month cut her a $5,000 check through his political action committee according to an aide, sent a fundraising email for her Thursday.

"Stacey is a bold leader, and hard work is in her bones. She knows what it will take to bring progress to Georgia," Biden's Thursday email for Abrams said. "But she's running in a tough state, and I learned a long time ago that you better run scared if you want to win."


https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/26/politics/georgia-stacey-abrams-2020-democrats/index.html?utm_source=twCNNp&utm_term=image&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2018-07-27T02%3A32%3A01