American Bridge 21st Century Weekly Recap: September 1, 2022
Our top moments of the week
Another week, more Democratic special election victories.
Meanwhile, Republicans are distancing themselves from their own campaigns, breaking campaign finance laws, and hiring 2020 fake electors to help run their campaigns.
Here are our top moments of the week:
1. Mehmet Oz Distances Himself from His Own Campaign
New Jersey resident and Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz’s senior communications advisor said that his opponent might not have suffered a stroke if he “had ever eaten a vegetable in his life.”
When KDKA radio hosts pressed Oz over the callous campaign quote, which more than 100 Pennsylvania doctors have condemned ― Oz deflected. Apparently, the buck doesn’t stop with the doc.
“The campaigns are saying lots of things, both of them. My position is — I can only speak to what I’m saying”
This isn’t the first time Oz has shirked responsibility during his campaign. A report from the Philadelphia Inquirer highlighted Oz’s history of disavowing things said in his name.
2. Abe Hamadeh “Has Trouble Following Arizona Election Law — Again”
According to a new report from the Phoenix New Times, under the penalty of perjury, Arizona Republican Attorney General nominee Abe Hamadeh “filed a financial disclosure statement that failed to include his income from two jobs, board membership, and his interests in businesses.”
For his defense, Hamadeh — who is running to be the top lawyer in the state — confessed the “document was wrong” but tried to claim he was too busy to properly fill out the forms required under Arizona election law.
Amazingly, this is not the first time Hamadeh has admitted to breaking election law. Just last week, it was revealed that on an online forum, when he was a teenager, he boasted about altering ballots and committing voter fraud, a felony under Arizona law.
3. Ron Johnson Hires One of Wisconsin’s Fake Electors
Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson is in more hot water over his January 6th involvement. This week, a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that “one of Wisconsin’s false electors has been working on Johnson’s reelection campaign.”
This report comes as Johnson has faced backlash all summer after it was revealed that:
“Johnson’s office communicated with Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly’s team to try to hand Pence false elector paperwork from Wisconsin and Michigan as part of former President Donald Trump’s effort to stop certification of the 2020 election.”
Per Federal Election Commission reports, Johnson has paid Pam Travis, one of 10 Wisconsin Republicans who signed official-looking paperwork falsely claiming to be a presidential elector in 2020, more than $10,200 for her work since April.
4. Tudor Dixon Loves Fake Electors — And Their Money
This week, Heartland Signal broke the news that the Republican gubernatorial nominee Tudor Dixon has accepted campaign contributions from a man who tried to steal Michigan’s electoral votes for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
This is alarming but unsurprising behavior from Dixon, who will say or do anything — and take anyone’s money — as long as it gets her closer to her goal. As the article notes:
“Dixon […] has long embraced election conspiracy theories and claims of voter fraud during the election. She took to Twitter after the election to accuse Democrats of ‘obvious’ and ‘sloppy’ voter fraud.”
Indeed, Trump-endorsed Dixon has a lengthy history of saying that the 2020 election was stolen despite zero evidence.
5. AB21 Co-Chair Tom Perez Discusses Democratic Wins on Bloomberg News
On Tuesday, American Bridge Co-Chair, former DNC Chair, and former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez joined Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg News to discuss the midterms and President Joe Biden’s economic victories.
“Democrats aren’t shying away from talking about the fact that Joe Biden is delivering on promises. You look at the Inflation Reduction Act and what it’s doing for prescription drug costs. These are real things that you feel in your pocketbook.”
President Biden and Democrats are building extraordinary momentum going into the midterms with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, the PACT Act, and recently by enacting student debt relief for working families. Voters are taking notice. According to a recent NBC Poll, persuadable voters are beginning to break towards Democrats.
