Playbook PM: Your guide to the Texas primaries

From: POLITICO Playbook - Tuesday Mar 01,2022 06:27 pm

Mar 01, 2022

By Eugene Daniels, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

Presented by

It’s primary day in Texas, y’all. Here’s a taste of the coverage …

— The locals: “Here are five questions the Texas primary will answer,” Texas Tribune … “It’s Election Day for Texas voters to make primary choices in statewide, congressional, local races,” Dallas Morning News … Live updates from the Austin American-Statesman

— The nationals: “Texas primary tests GOP’s rightward shift,” AP … “Texas rings the starting bell of the midterm primary season,” WaPo

THE BIG HOUSE RACES — The results in Texas will give insight on two big questions, writes Zach Montellaro:

— Will progressives make pickups in the House Dem caucus? “Tuesday presents a trio of opportunities,” Zach writes. In the new Austin-to-San Antonio Texas 35th, Austin city council member GREG CASAR, who has the support of Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.), is locked in a four-way primary against state Rep. EDDIE RODRIGUEZ, San Antonio City Council member REBECCA VIAGRAN and CARLA-JOY SISCO.

Meanwhile, in the Texas 30th, progressive state Rep. JASMINE CROCKETT is looking to avoid a runoff in the race to succeed retiring Rep. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON.

But “the biggest fireworks have been in [HENRY] CUELLAR’s district, where the longtime incumbent is facing a primary challenge from attorney JESSICA CISNEROS, a one-time intern in Cuellar’s office.”

Related reading: Many expect Cisneros’ strong showing in their last matchup and Cuellar’s run-in with the FBI to play a major factor in tonight’s results. “But over four days in Rio Grande City I detected no significant erosion of support for Cuellar,” Rachel Williams writes from Rio Grande City for POLITICO Magazine.

— What will the future of the GOP look like? “One of the most compelling fights about the future of the GOP is the primary to replace retiring Republican Rep. KEVIN BRADY, who has represented a district north of Houston for more than two decades. A group of far-right members of Congress — including Reps. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) and MADISON CAWTHORN (R-N.C.) — have backed activist CHRISTIAN COLLINS . Meanwhile, [KEVIN] MCCARTHY and the House GOP’s main super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund — along with some prominent Texans like former Gov. RICK PERRY — have thrown their support behind former Navy SEAL MORGAN LUTTRELL.”

THE OTHER BIG QUESTIONS …

— Will an endorsement from former President DONALD TRUMP be enough for A.G. KEN PAXTON to avoid a primary runoff in Texas? Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Rebekah Castor explore the question, profiling the primary in which Paxton faces off against GEORGE P. BUSH, EVA GUZMAN and LOUIE GOHMERT.

— How big an effect will the state’s new voting laws have on the results? Via Dallas Morning News’ Philip Jankowski: “Thousands of mail-in ballots have been rejected across the state as voters and election officials work under new voter ID restrictions that have caused headaches that many Democrats consider voter suppression efforts.” But early indications are that Republicans are far outpacing Dems in the mail-in turnout: “More than 1 million Republicans had cast ballots through Friday, compared with about 628,000 Democrats, according to a tally kept by the Texas secretary of state,” per WaPo.

— What we really want to know: Will the NYT election-night needle be back tonight? (Because we just don’t have enough stress in our lives already.) FWIW: We asked an NYT spokesperson, but they did not respond by time of publication.

THE SOTU PREVIEW …

What America wants to hear from President JOE BIDEN: A new CBS poll out this morning finds that “those who plan to watch President Biden's State of the Union address say the war — even more so than the economy, inflation, and the pandemic — is the top thing they want to hear about tonight.”

“There’s also a widespread sense of the importance of these unfolding events: 87% say the invasion of Ukraine matters to U.S. interests, including a majority 58% who say they matter a lot. And one reason for seeing this as important: most are at least somewhat concerned this could lead to a wider war.”

What Hill Dems want to hear from Biden: Sarah Ferris and Marianne LeVine have the readout on Dem lawmakers’ wishlist for Biden’s State of the Union address tonight. The summary: “Already worried they could lose control of both chambers of Congress this fall, many Democrats are urging the White House to use the speech as a turnaround point — but also a sales pitch,” they write.

— Sen. GARY PETERS (D-Mich.): “He’s going to be talking about what we are doing now and what we intend to do in the future. … Everybody’s fed up with the pandemic … people want to move on.”

— Sen. JON TESTER (D-Mont.): “What we ought to focus on is getting things done and talking about them. We got things done last year, but we didn’t talk about it.”

— Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-Ill.): “When I talk to families, they’re not quite sure what’s in Build Back Better, but they for sure want lower prescription drug prices.”

— Rep. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.): “It’s critically important that we lay out a clear agenda for November and for the direction we’re heading in.”

— Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.): “He’s got to lay out a vision for what’s next. I’m hoping he rises to the occasion.”

FYI: At least three Dems who won’t be in attendance tonight: Sen. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.) and Reps. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) and SUZAN DELBENE (D-Wash.), who all tested positive for the coronavirus.

*EYES EMOJI* — Rep. ELAINE LURIA (D-Va.) tweets: “Democrats giving a response to democratic President SOTU…priceless.” With an image that says , “HELLO MY NAME IS Captain Oblivious!”

Good Tuesday afternoon.

A message from ACC and America’s Plastic Makers:

Through bold action, we can solve great problems. That's why America’s Plastic Makers® created “5 Actions for Sustainable Change” – a comprehensive national strategy that would move the United States toward a sustainable, circular economy in which plastics are made to be remade. Learn more.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF BIDEN’S UKRAINE STRATEGY — Jonathan Lemire pulls back the curtain on Biden’s inner circle and decision-making amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict, writing that Biden for weeks “has started and ended his day trying to get inside VLADIMIR PUTIN’S head.”

— The prep work: “Carrying over reading habits from his three-plus decades in the Senate, Biden dives into the briefing books and peppers his aides with questions, according to two senior White House aides. But the routine has gotten more time-consuming and frantic in recent weeks as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine turned into a reality. …

— The day-to-day: “In recent days, Biden has attended morning meetings in the Situation Room as well as evening sessions in the Oval Office; he worked in the Treaty Room last Wednesday when aides believed a Russian invasion was imminent.”

— Who he listens to: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, “above all others , has emerged as the president’s top confidant, used as a sounding board and consigliare on how to shape U.S. policy and rally global pressure against Russia in light of its invasion. Biden has also leaned on those with vast Russian experience, including BILL BURNS, the CIA director who once served as the nation’s ambassador to Moscow, and VICTORIA NULAND, the under secretary of State who was a top liaison to Ukraine under President BARACK OBAMA . But Biden also prides himself on being something of an expert on Putin himself. And, as with his approach to Afghanistan over the summer, he has stuck closely to his own instincts.”

Yet Biden has largely left the heavy lifting to European leaders, at least in public. WaPo’s Matt Viser and Ashley Parker write that Biden’s “decision to cede the spotlight at times in punishing Russia carries strategic advantages but political risks.”

UKRAINE-RUSSIA LATEST

— Biden and Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY spoke by phone this morning for just over 30 minutes, the White House said today.

— Meanwhile, Zelenskyy made another plea for admittance into the European Union today. WSJ sets the scene: “Unshaven and clad in a green army T-shirt, seated in front of a blank wall next to a Ukrainian flag, Mr. Zelensky spoke extemporaneously for more than seven minutes and made a point that he wasn’t delivering prepared remarks. ‘I don’t read off the sheet because the paper phase in the life of my country has ended,’ he said, waving a sheet of paper. ‘We’re dealing with killed people, with real life, you know?’”

— The latest in Kharkiv: The city “remains under Ukrainian control but is ‘surrounded’ by Russian troops, Kharkiv Mayor IHOR TEREKHOV” told WaPo. “A senior U.S. defense official said the Kremlin seems ready to adopt the same siege tactics that are beginning to strangle Kharkiv.”

— Western intelligence says that “more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been captured or killed so far, and that Ukrainian forces have eliminated significant numbers of Russian aircraft and tanks and some air defense systems,” per the AP.

— WOWZA: Ukrainian newspaper Pravda posts a bombshell headline: “Personal data of 120 thousand soldiers of the Russian Federation fighting in Ukraine” … Thomas Rid, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins SAIS, writes on Twitter: “if confirmed as accurate, we're probably looking at one of the best-timed and most devastating leaks of all time.” ( More context in Rid’s thread)

— Democrats and Republicans in Congress “have found early, common ground this week in calling for prompt passage of an emergency spending package, which some lawmakers believe will ultimately exceed the Biden administration’s initial request to deliver roughly $6 billion in foreign assistance,” WaPo’s Tony Romm reports.

— The global oil crunch: The U.S. and allies today “agreed to a release of 60 million barrels from their reserves,” CNN’s Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak, Kaitlan Collins and Natasha Bertrand report. “Half of that total — 30 million barrels — will come from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and the other half will come from allies in Europe and Asia.”

— U.S. officials are warning that “the Russian government may retaliate for recent Ukraine-related sanctions by arresting American citizens in Russia and holding them as pawns in the conflict,” NBC’s Josh Lederman reports in Brussels.

— “Cybersecurity experts have a warning for people in the U.S.: It’s time to install software patches, use multifactor authentication and strengthen your passwords,” Protocol’s Ben Brody writes.

— Meanwhile, “big tech platforms are moving to restrict Russian state media from using their platforms to spread propaganda and misinformation,” AP’s David Klepper and Amanda Seitz write. To wit: “Meta has stopped recommending content by Russian state media to all users of Facebook, and soon Instagram,” The Verge’s Alex Heath writes.

— Many LGBT Ukrainians fear they’re on Putin’s “kill list,” report Daily Beast’s Scott Bixby and Shannon Vavra . And “while some are seeking safe haven in Western Europe, many LGBT Ukrainians are preparing to square off against the would-be occupiers.”

‘2 WARS IN 6 MONTHS’ — Nick Taylor-Vaisey tells the harrowing story of the Safi family, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, only to end up in Ukraine.

SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today.

CONGRESS

SIREN — House Majority Leader STENY HOYER “told Democrats on a private caucus call Tuesday that he plans to tee up a vote on March 8 — a week from today — to pass a catchall spending package to fund the government into the fall,” Sarah Ferris and Jennifer Scholtes write for Congress Minutes.

ALL POLITICS

WISCONSIN GOP ASSERTS RIGHT TO DECERTIFY 2020 — Via NYT’s @reidepstein: “The Wisconsin Assembly GOP's report on the 2020 election is in, and it concluded the state CAN decertify a presidential election.” The report … Key lines: “[I]t is clear that the Wisconsin Legislature (acting without the concurrence of the Governor, see supra), could decertify the certified electors in the 2020 presidential election.”

— From the Wisconsin State Journal: “The former state Supreme Court justice [ MICHAEL GABLEMAN] leading the GOP-ordered review into the 2020 election on Tuesday said the state Legislature ‘ought to take a very hard look’ at decertifying the state's presidential election.”

Worth noting: “Gableman made a baseless claim at a pro-Trump rally in 2020 that the election in Wisconsin had been stolen by bureaucrats, and he has met with and hired people for his review who formerly worked for Trump and espoused conspiracy theories about the election.”

RED-LIGHT ON FLORIDA REDISTRICTING — Dems in Florida are getting antsy about what congressional districts will look like in this November’s midterms, and it seems like they’ll have to play the waiting game for the foreseeable future. “Gov. RON DESANTIS’ unexpected and unusual push to reshape Florida’s redistricting process has all but frozen the field, leaving Democrats frustrated as they wait for state lawmakers and possibly the courts to sort out how Florida’s maps will look,” Gary Fineout writes. “A legislative deal could be increasingly unlikely, with state lawmakers set to end their two-month annual session on March 11 and DeSantis still threatening to veto any proposal that doesn’t boost the odds for Republicans.”

OOF — “Senate candidate HERSCHEL WALKER pulled out of a weekend event organized by U.S. Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE after she attended a white nationalist rally where attendees cheered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and chanted Vladimir Putin’s name,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

PLAYBOOKERS

SPOTTED: Carole Baskin of “Tiger King” fame mingling with lobbyists Monday for “Texas Night” at Capitol Hill Club.

MEDIA MOVES — Jade-Snow Joachim is joining POLITICO as director of photography. She previously was politics photo editor at NYT. … Christian Paz is joining Vox as a senior politics reporter. He previously was an assistant editor at the Atlantic. The announcement

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Vinoda Basnayake is now the president of the Qatari headquarters of Aspiration, a multibillion-dollar American public good corporation focused on fighting climate change. He most recently was a partner at Nelson Mullins and chair of its D.C. government relations practice.

TRANSITIONS — Brendan Fischer is now deputy executive director at the watchdog group Documented. He previously was director of the federal reform program at Campaign Legal Center. … Maggie Gage is now head of public policy at OneMain Financial. She previously was head of U.S. government relations at MetLife and is a Patrick Leahy alum. … Alexandra Stabler is now director of global corporate partnerships at Global Citizen. She most recently was partnerships director at the Giving List. …

… Issue One is adding Dokhi Fassihian as deputy chief of strategy and programs, Heather Balas as a senior adviser and strategist, and Amber McReynolds as senior political strategist and spokesperson for the National Council on Election Integrity. … Zongyuan Zoe Liu and Inu Manak are now fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations. Liu previously was an instructional assistant professor at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service in D.C. Manak previously was a research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies.

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Brian Arata of Rep. G.T. Thompson’s (R-Pa.) office

A message from ACC and America’s Plastic Makers:

Plastics are a critical component of our nation’s present and future, from reducing food waste to modernizing our infrastructure. But to tackle these critical challenges, we need Congress and industry to join forces.

That’s why we created “5 Actions for Sustainable Change” – a comprehensive national strategy that would move the United States toward a sustainable, circular economy in which plastics are made to be remade.

Our bold policy proposal calls for:

· Requiring 30% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030.

· Updating outdated laws so that advanced recycling can grow.

· Establishing national recycling standards for plastic.

· Studying the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from all materials to guide informed policy.

· Encouraging private sector funding to modernize recycling infrastructure.

Learn more.