More racist comments, Trump pandering, and gun safety opposition
Welcome to another edition of Transplant Turmoil—the weekly series spotlighting the ways Republican carpetbaggers continue to prove themselves as out-of-touch with the state they’re running in.
“It’s clear that these untested millionaire carpetbaggers aren’t ready for prime time,” said End Citizens United // Let America Vote Spokesperson Grace Silva. “They’re running a failing strategy with desperate attempts to relate to working families, endlessly pandering to Donald Trump, and the general lack of understanding of the respective state they’re trying to buy a Senate seat in. Voters know they’re only running to enrich themselves and are ready to send them back to their actual home state.”
Here’s what the GOP’s out-of-touch candidates have been up to:
#WISen: California Bank Owner Eric Hovde Spews Offensive and Insulting Comments About Native Americans
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After previously invoking antisemitic stereotypes and slurs and disparaging nursing home residents, Black women, single parents, people struggling with their weight, and young voters, Hovde is now attacking Native Americans. In a 2017 radio interview, Hovde claimed Native Americans have high alcoholism and depression rates because their tribal government—which operates similarly to the US government—is a “quasi-socialist system.” Given Wisconsin’s robust and integral indigenous community, these comments are especially offensive. Hovde is on track to insult every Wisconsinite who isn’t a wealthy, conservative, white man.
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A new report uncovered Hovde’s latest ad attempting to pass off three senior executives from his business as average Wisconsinites—without disclosing their relation to him. Maybe if Hovde actually lived in the state, he wouldn’t have to rely on recruiting his executives to show that his campaign has support.
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In another attempt to defend his (nonexistent) Wisconsin residency during a Fox interview, Hovde made a Freudian slip, saying “I’ve never been a resident of the state of Wisconsin,” before attempting to backtrack. They say that the truth has a funny way of coming out…and Hovde just learned the hard way.
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Yet another billionaire-backed group is throwing big dollars behind Hovde. The Koch network’s American for Propensity, is joining Mitch McConnell and the Uihleins in supporting the Californian banker. After claiming to never be beholden to special interests, it’s becoming more evident that the promise was an empty one with each passing day.
#MTSen: Wannabe Cowboy Millionaire Tim Sheehy Can’t Unite Montana Republicans
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It’s brutally obvious that Montanans aren’t 100% sold on Transplant Tim Sheehy. This week’s primary revealed that 1 in 4 Montana Republicans voted against the millionaire, despite Sheehy drastically outspending his opponents. This follows the ongoing reports that Republicans see Sheehy as a McConnell yes-man who doesn’t understand Big Sky Country values. Across the state, leading up to the primary, Sheehy couldn’t out-run the criticism from actual Montana voters who know that he is only running for Senate to line his own pockets.
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Sheehy officially became the first Republican Senate candidate to try to use Trump’s 34 guilty convictions in a new ad, slamming Senator Tester for…wanting to hold Trump accountable. Sheehy doesn’t care that the verdicts came from a jury of Trump’s peers—he’d rather subvert the laws to keep Trump happy. There’s no denying that if Sheehy were to take office, he would vote for every single extreme and unpopular policy Trump puts forward.
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Senator Tester blasted Sheehy in an interview this week for dropping into Montana to try to buy himself a Senate seat. When breaking down the differences between himself, a seventh generation farmer, and Sheehy, Senator Tester reminded Montanans that he’s “got a lot of equipment that [he’s] owned longer than [Sheehy] has been in the state of Montana.”
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A new ad was launched this week by the DSCC, spotlighting the many, many, many lies Sheehy has tried to sell Montanans. From the ever-changing bullet wound story, the lies about his childhood, his wannabe cowboy persona, and even the deep debt his business is in. Read more about his pattern of lies at ShadySheehyLies.com.
#NVSen: Scam Brown Opposes Common Sense Gun Safety Laws
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This week, Brown’s opposition to gun safety reform was the center of conversation after The Nevadan resurfaced his previous comments on the issue. This includes his dismissal of “so-called” middle ground safety reforms—comments that came two days after a racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, New York. Instead—in true Scam Brown form—he refused to respond to any of The Nevadan’s requests for a comment or clarification. But, Nevada families only have to look at his scorecard with prominent pro-gun organizations to know where he stands; he received an ‘A’ rating from the Nevada Firearms PAC last cycle and holds a 92% rating from the National Rifle Association.
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Even after all of Brown’s pandering to Trump, he still hasn’t managed to snag an endorsement. Trump has endorsed in almost every other heavily contested race, but hasn’t made any indication of who he backs in Nevada’s Senate race. Trump did, however, make an endorsement in a House race in Nevada so maybe it’s just Scam Brown that Trump doesn’t want to endorse.
#MISen: Florida-Man Mike Rogers Anti-Abortion History in the Spotlight
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With Republican senators voting against contraception legislation this week, Rogers’ anti-abortion history is back in the spotlight. In Congress, Rogers cosponsored four anti-IVF bills and “repeatedly” cosponsored legislation that would suspend FDA approval of mifepristone. When Roe was overturned, he celebrated the decision that has put millions at risk. Now that he’s running for Senate, he continues to avoid answering questions on his past fetal personhood votes. There should be no doubt to Michiganders that Rogers will never protect women’s reproductive rights.
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Rogers decided that he’d rather stand with Trump over the American people, claiming the unanimous 34 guilty felony verdicts were the result of a “rigged trial.” Like the other far-right candidates across the country, Rogers’ priority in the Senate wouldn’t be to his constituents, but to kissing Trump’s ring.
#PASen: Connecticut Hedge Fund Millionaire Dave McCormick Slams Justice System to Uplift Convicted Felon Trump
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Following Trump’s 34 guilty charges, McCormick joined the other far-right Republicans in decrying our justice system. Instead of respecting the unanimous results found by a jury of Trump’s peers, McCormick declared it to be a “terrible day for America” and a “miscarriage of justice.” Time and time again, McCormick has proven to Pennsylvanians that his Senate priorities aren’t the issues that matter most to working families, but instead to being a puppet for Trump.
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