Axios Sneak Peek

October 24, 2024
We've got news. 708 words, a 2.5-minute read.
- 💥 McConnell's all-in blast
- 🙏 Schumer's promising poll
- 👀 Surrogate watch: Trump taps Mullin
1 big thing: 💥 McConnell's all-in blast

A Mitch McConnell-linked super PAC is hitting the Blue Wall with $42 million in new ad spending through Election Day, we have learned.
Why it matters: Senate Republicans appear to be abandoning Arizona and Nevada in favor of toss-ups in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
- If they can win one of those four — and hold off an upset in Nebraska, Texas or Florida — they'll pad their expected majority.
💰 The Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) has not reserved a single dollar at this point to help candidates Kari Lake in Arizona or Sam Brown in Nevada in the closing stretch.
- That leaves it on track to be outspent by over $13 million in Arizona and Nevada over the next two weeks by the Chuck Schumer-linked Senate Majority PAC (SMP).
- The two PACs are going toe-to-toe in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but a spending surge from SLF gives it an edge of around $8 million in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Zoom in: The two leadership PACs are on track to spend well over $55 million this year in Montana, which has just under 800,000 registered voters.
- SMP has reserved $6.1 million for the next two weeks versus $5.5 million for SLF.
Between the lines: SLF has reserved $2.8 million in ads in deep-red Nebraska to protect Sen. Deb Fischer, who is facing an unexpectedly stiff challenge from independent candidate Dan Osborn.
- SMP is having to spend $1.8 million in deep-blue Maryland, where former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is giving Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks a tougher-than-expected challenge.
— Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols
2. 🙏 Schumer's promising poll

Here's one good data point for Schumer that's getting lots of buzz in Bidenland:
- Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Elissa Slotkin leads GOP nominee Mike Rogers by eight percentage points in the newest polling by Quinnipiac (1,136 likely voters, +/- 2.9% margin of error).
- Two weeks ago, they were tied in a Quinnipiac poll (1,007 likely voters, +/- 3.1% margin of error).
Slotkin leads the RealClearPolitics polling average by three percentage points.
3. 👀 Surrogate watch: Trump taps Mullin

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) has been hitting the trail for former President Trump to win over Native American voters in battleground states.
Why it matters: A strong Trump relationship is powerful currency in the Senate. Mullin has one of those relationships with Trump, and he's landed a unique surrogate role.
- Mullin's even hinted at his openness to an administration gig, telling a North Carolina crowd this week, "I'm so proud that I'm going to hopefully be part of it, working side by side with [Trump] in the Senate or in another capacity."
- Mullin has publicly backed Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) for GOP leader next year — and has asked Trump not to intervene in the race, as we told you earlier this month.
Zoom in: Mullin, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, is one of just five Native Americans serving in Congress — and the only one in the Senate.
- It's the latest example of the Trump campaign's efforts this cycle to win over non-white voting blocs that have historically sided with Democrats — as the GOP rebrands itself as the party for the working class.
- Mullin and Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic presidential candidate, have been traveling through North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona in recent weeks, touting Trump's promises to tribal nations.
- "President Trump has already made mention of this that he's going to have a large understanding ... of self-determination and sovereignty and understanding what the treaties actually mean," Mullin said Tuesday at a North Carolina event alongside Donald Trump Jr.
The bottom line: The nation's more than 500 tribes have been asserting themselves in recent years, clashing with more Democrats and Republicans over sovereignty issues around oil drilling, endangered species protections and voting rights, our colleague Russell Contreras reports.
- While Native American voters in states like Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota tend to be staunchly Democratic, Oklahomans are more likely to vote with the GOP.
— Stef Kight
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