Progressive strategists have quietly built a massive network of social media communities in political battleground states that can activate ahead of elections and policy fights, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The network, operating under the name Real Voices Media, uses apolitical, nonideological content to build up audiences. It then leverages the crowd on behalf of clients in what experts say is a potent persuasion strategy. President Biden and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are beneficiaries.
The election to replace the late Rep. Don Young will put a new person in Alaska's lone House seat for the first time in nearly half a century. It'll also test a pioneering new voting system — and the re-election prospects of Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Democratic House candidates are getting big-money boosts from political action committees and other outside groups, with over $16 million pouring into 10 races alone, according to financial data compiled by OpenSecrets.
Why it matters: Super PACs, nonprofits and party committees can pump unlimited sums into key states and districts to boost a candidate or wound an opponent. The vehicles also allow varying anonymity for donors.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that he thought President Biden's speech in Warsaw was "powerful," despite the president's ad-libbed remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," which Portman said played into the hands of Russian propagandists.
Driving the news: U.S. officials were quick to walk back the remark, emphasizing that the U.S. is not seeking regime change in Russia.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said Sunday he's "not confident" former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows handed over all relevant documents to the Jan. 6 committee.
What he's saying: "No, I'm not convinced he's handed over everything to us, and that's why it's in the [Department of Justice's] hands now, whether to prosecute him for contempt," Kinzinger told CBS' "Face the Nation."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election after reports surfaced this week that his wife urged former President Trump's chief of staff to overturn election results.
The big picture: Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, texted with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows 29 times after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, according to the messages obtained by the Washington Post and CBS News.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Sunday against the use of escalating "words or actions" if a ceasefire or withdrawal of Russian troops in the war in Ukraine is to be achieved.
Driving the news: Macron's comments, during an interview with France 3, come a day after Biden said in a speech in Poland that Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," calling Putin a "butcher." U.S. officials quickly walked back the comment, telling reporters the U.S. isn't seeking regime change in Russia.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) denounced the lines of GOP questioning during Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearings as "outrageous and beyond the pale" during an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."
The big picture: Despite being all but assured confirmation to the Supreme Court, Jackson's three days before the Senate Judiciary Committee were filled with political jockeying and message-testing by Republicans.
Saturday's Warsaw address was billed as one of the signature speeches of President Biden's term — perhaps bigger than a State of the Union. Then after a Reaganesque call for "a brighter future rooted in democracy," as a literal last line before his farewell, Biden ad-libbed:
What he's saying: "For God’s sake,this man cannot remain in power."
Former "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace addressed his decision to leave the cable network in an interview with the New York Times released Sunday, saying that working at Fox News became "increasingly unsustainable" in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
Driving the news: Wallace spent nearly two decades working at Fox News before announcing in December that he would be leaving to helm his own show, "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" on CNN+.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the United States does not "have a strategy of regime change in Russia."
Driving the news: Blinken's remarks followed a speech by President Biden on Saturday during which the president said Russia's Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power."
