THE SOAPBOX seeks to keep you connected to what’s happening at The Union and share news about our ongoing work to oppose anti-democratic forces in American elections.
State of the Union: One thing is clear as we enter the traditional post-Labor Day home stretch to Election Day — there is nothing traditional about this campaign season. We are monitoring voter reactions to new revelations from the unprecedented FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. The unsealed, redacted search affidavit mentions the possibility of extraordinarily dangerous threats to national security and witness tampering. The legal peril Trump and his accomplices face is daunting. Even Trump’s most vocal defenders have mainly been silent as they grapple with the implications of what the former president has done.
No time to rest: We are less than 70 days from Election Day and the future of our democracy is on the ballot. More voters are recognizing how serious a threat Trump and his enablers are. We must keep the pressure on, all the way through Election Day.
ALERT - President Biden - A battle for the soul of our nation: President Biden is set to deliver a primetime speech tomorrow outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He is expected to describe how democracy is at stake and America’s rights and freedoms are still under attack. During a speech last week Biden said, “In this moment, those of you who love this country — Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans — we must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving America than the MAGA Republicans are to destroying America.”
Follow us on Twitter during the speech.
Biden speech on the battle for the soul of our nation
The Playbook: Polling shows we’re making progress but far too many threats remain, and historical voting trends do not favor us in this midterm election. We, however, are writing a new chapter for American democracy. Here are key messages you can use to support our fight to save democracy.
- Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is getting stronger
- GOP in-fighting is emerging among its leaders and operatives as allegations about Trump’s wrongdoing dominates public attention, derailing their campaign strategy
- American intelligence agencies are assessing new risks to clandestine human sources and the tradecraft of intelligence gathering because of Trump's reckless handling of the nation’s most protected secrets
- Election deniers continue to secure places on 2022 ballots in battleground states and are poised to take pivotal roles running 2024 elections if they win this November
- In recent special elections pro-democracy candidates have performed better in Republican-leaning districts than Joe Biden did in 2020, a positive sign for November.
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The Pulse: Trump’s pull over Republicans has gotten stronger since the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. A recent NBC poll that cited threats to democracy as the top concern among voters also revealed that Trump’s influence over Republicans has strengthened since the last poll in May. Forty-one percent of Republicans now say they identify with Trump more than their party; an increase of seven points. Republicans who identify with their party fell eight points to 50%. Time will tell if this trend continues or if it was a momentary reaction to the search at Trump’s resort home in Florida.
Trump’s pull with Republicans is increasing
Trouble in MAGA world: Concern among GOP activists about motivating their voters in November continues to increase following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe, news coverage of Mar-a-Lago, and Trump’s never-ending rants about the FBI search.
Prospects for ‘Red Wave’ on Nov. 8 diminish
Republican candidates are losing their advantage
Pro-democracy voter excitement intensifies: Voter turn-out in several key special elections this year drove the performance of pro-democracy candidates in several Republican-leaning districts above President Biden’s performance in 2020. It suggests growing enthusiasm among pro-democracy voters against the anti-democracy forces aligned with Trump. Recent legislative wins and an improving economy are also improving the outlook for Election Day.
Pro-democracy voters are motivated
Key races update, Michigan: Earlier this month, when we summarized the 11 campaigns in five states that we’re closely following, two races in Michigan did not yet have Republican nominees. They do now. Michigan Republicans designated two MAGA election deniers as their candidates. Kristina Karamo for secretary of state and Matthew DePerno for state attorney general. Both have Trump’s backing.
Michigan Republicans nominate election deniers for key races
Now you see it, now you (sort of) don’t: We had no idea that ultra-MAGA Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters had a side-gig as a magician. But he has us wondering since his extreme views denying women abortion rights and stolen election claims disappeared from his website. We can’t let him hide from his radical positions on these critical issues. Masters trails incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly by eight points. Earlier in the campaign, Masters echoed Trump’s call for Mitch McConnell to be replaced as Republican leader in the U.S. Senate.
Masters hides from his extreme views on abortion
Masters drops claims that election was stolen from Trump
McConnell Super-PAC cancels Arizona ad buy
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Now you see it, now you don't.
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More Republicans reject extremist Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate: More Republican leaders are endorsing Democrat Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor as they learn more about extremist Doug Mastriano’s past.
Doug Mastriano loses more Republican support
Arizona Supreme Court blocks pro-democracy voting reform: The Arizona Supreme Court has blocked an initiative from appearing on the November ballot that, if successful, would have rolled-back the state’s restrictive election laws.
Voting reform initiative blocked by Arizona’s Supreme Court
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