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08/21/2018 08:02 AM EDT


By Nolan D. McCaskill (nmccaskill@politico.com or @NolanDMcCaskill)

MEMBERS DITCH TOWN HALLS -- Town halls are so last year. "Members have scheduled only about 180 in-person events this recess, a nearly 70 percent decrease from the same time last year, according to data tracked by Legistorm," Heather reports. "Lawmakers held nearly 550 in-person events in August 2014 and roughly 450 public meetings with constituents during the same period in 2016." The Senate is in for a rare August session, and many House members are in campaign mode, but neither of those fully explain the drop in town halls.

"A majority of House members aren't holding any public events this recess," Heather writes. "Of the 180 public events tracked by Legistorm, five lawmakers -- Reps. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) -- account for 30 percent of the total." While DeFazio, Lucas and Byrne have scheduled traditional town halls, Marshall has held "coffee with your congressman" events and Davis has hosted office hours meetings -- limited to five people or less -- around his district. But Davis, a top target for Democrats aiming to win back the House, is an anomaly.

"Several other Republicans in top target districts for Democrats have cut off most public appearances completely, some for the past year or so, others for this entire Congress," she explains. The list includes Reps. Dave Brat (R-Va.), Mimi Walters (R-Calif.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine), Mike Bost (R-Ill.) and Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.). Some members' offices defended the lack of town halls, casting them as "less effective" than small-group settings and more costly than tele-town halls. But even members in safe seats are taking heat this summer for their lack of public events. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d929871858383e3454e7acc9ae5028cbe94d73f681e98558b6df5e0e9525dd17362a2f5198fb260e4a7a59

SAFE NO MORE -- Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), an 11-term congressman who has gone years without a serious challenge, has been outraised -- and outworked, some Republicans believe -- by Democrat Aftab Pureval, a 35-year-old Hamilton County clerk of courts who argues Chabot has lost touch with a diversifying, suburbanizing district. But Chabot is not alone. "A growing Republican fraternity that includes Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) and John Culberson (R-Texas) ... are dusting off their campaigns for the first time in a decade in a treacherous political environment," Elena Schneider reports.

NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) said it took a while for Chabot to get "built back up" but insisted the congressman "now has his organization up and humming the way he used to when he was in tough races." Pureval, meanwhile, is running his campaign like other Democrats competing in red districts around the country. He says he won't back Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for speaker and rejects Medicare for all and the abolishment of ICE. But Chabot's campaign is casting Pureval as a "far-left liberal" and expressing confidence that "voters will soundly reject his extremist views and associations." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d92987b8812f3c2cc2876d38a604a084e67816341aa84f2a083a59cf12ac015d6a7f2b5e9decbd494f1daa

MEDICARE FOR ALL A LOSING ISSUE IN KEY DISTRICTS -- Potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren have championed Medicare for all. "But the notion of government-funded health care has proved a tough sell to Democratic voters in swing districts that will determine control of the House," Paul Demko reports. "Many Democratic candidates who made that a centerpiece of their campaigns in key districts this year lost their primaries, in some cases getting clobbered by rivals who offered vaguer health care plans or backed a more incremental approach."

Strategists say Democrats could be successful implementing Republicans' approach. GOP candidates thrashed Obamacare for four straight cycles without ever fully explaining how they'd replace the health care law. "That's an electoral blueprint that could be attractive for Democrats, who see an advantage on health care issues for the first time in almost a decade," Demko notes. Strategists also say single payer wasn't a motivating factor for many voters and that staying out of the single-payer debate in the primaries could help Democrats in the general election, when they'll have to appeal to moderates who are skeptical of government-run health care. Much more:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d92987a0c7ea8187fabb8632e4bf5587f662494ad0dd47426117138951218578b4eaa3381c77fbcce1775d

GOOD MORNING! Thanks for reading Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Aug. 21.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: HuffPost's report on disgraced former Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) blaming "f-tards" and the #MeToo movement for driving him out of Congress was the winner.

What is it really like for women hitting the campaign trail in 2018? Women Rule's three-part podcast series, entitled "Women Rule: Tracking the candidates," focuses on the gritty realities of running for office. Tune in each Wednesday in August to hear from three women running for office, the challenges and opportunities they face and the lessons other women can take from their campaigns.

FOR YOUR RADAR -- President Donald Trump will rally in Charleston, West Virginia, tonight for state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the Republican nominee in the Senate race against incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin.

COTTON'S KISS OF DEATH -- Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is up against White House adviser Jared Kushner, a group of fellow Republican senators and the Koch political operation in opposing sentencing reform he decries as a "jailbreak" that would "let serious felons back on the streets." Yet Cotton believes that President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will ultimately side with him. "Even opponents of sentencing reform will privately admit it would likely pass if McConnell brings it up," Burgess reports. "But Cotton's loud opposition may determine whether or not McConnell even allows a vote given his reluctance to summon up legislation that divides the conference
-- right before the election, no less."

Cotton's efforts to defeat the package of sentencing reforms rolled into a popular prison reform bill will test his influence with the president, who considers Cotton a close ally and counsel. "Since entering Congress in 2012, Cotton's opposition has proven to be the kiss of death for many high-profile bills: Comprehensive immigration reform, criminal justice reform, the border adjustment tax and a slimmed-down immigration proposal this year," Burgess notes. Trump supports standalone prison reform, but it's unclear where he falls on the sentencing element Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is adding. "It's ill-advised policy and even more ill-advised timing," Cotton
said. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d92987955ccfc2c057d071a77f77cb68534911529ad5ec481512064063c4e90c0c095008f1bb7c7e93cd9d

ADELSONS SPEND MILLIONS TO PROTECT SENATE MAJORITY -- GOP megadonors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson donated $25 million last month to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The Adelsons gave $30 million to the House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund in May. "The Adelsons have also given directly to the National Republican Senatorial Committee this cycle, as well as to the campaigns of several Republican Senate candidates, including Sens. Dean Heller of Nevada and Ted Cruz of Texas; Reps. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee; and Mitt Romney, the nominee for retiring
Sen. Orrin Hatch's seat in Utah," Theodoric Meyer reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d92987aa7a7f62e8d803200d91f646dc4818b8d00515479562d713cc1e8295effd9a1eccd69a4a3b89d34d

SHE'S BACK -- Hillary Clinton will help raise midterm money this fall by holding fundraisers for the DNC. The failed 2016 presidential candidate will headline events in San Francisco, Chicago and New York to help Democrats win seats in the House and Senate. "Billed as 'intimate dinners with discussion,' the first invitations were set to go out Monday night for a September event in San Francisco," NBC News' Heidi Przybyla reports. "She is also planning fundraisers for some women running for Congress in key races, according to a Democratic source close to her."

Clinton held a fundraiser for Democratic Georgia congressional candidate Lucy McBath last month but has yet to hit the campaign trail, which Republicans would welcome. Clinton's outside political organization, Onward Together, has contributed to candidates challenging House Republicans in districts she won in 2016. "The longer a scandal-plagued Hillary Clinton lingers in American politics, the worse off House Democrats will be," NRCC spokesman Jesse Hunt said. A Clinton spokesman shot back: "You pay attention to those you're threatened by. If they didn't think she was still a force in the party, then they wouldn't continue to treat her like the president." More:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d782b0814d92987eb0f362af93033c91fd2c3d93bf7257f7bea553be808b3abbb4542af46d5d2275d709765bf332194

In Rep. Pete Sessions' (R-Texas) district, which Clinton won in 2016, the Congressional Leadership Fund has booked $2.7 million in TV ads against Democrat Colin Allred. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1337bbe95bbf1589863421661b0dce2c0a71a77073ead29ea4b9642c92957e8afd079e7f446a347390669c324e9d3d37

MORE MISSED VOTES -- Fifteen senators -- 10 Republicans and five Democrats -- missed a pair of votes Monday despite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) admonition last week. "McConnell warned GOP senators on Thursday that without a boost in attendance he would have trouble moving legislation," The Hill's Jordain Carney reports. The chamber passed two amendments to a Defense-Labor-HHS-Education bill in 85-0 votes. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) publicly blamed his absence on a Delta flight delay. "I appreciate the hard work of your staff, and as much as I love Salt Lake and its lovely airport, I got a job to do," he tweeted. "Hopefully we don't have to have another one of these 7
hour delays again." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1337bbe95bbf1589289cef9b28ce1cdec72a38b8ea6e6e60acb79261ff32a50fe2bf121ed6559c206c8715f6e9a72fc3

TRANSITIONS -- Zac Freed has left as legislative assistant for Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.). He will be starting at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance as a research associate.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Chase Jennings, communications director for Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and an RNC alum, and Kathleen Jennings, operations officer at the law firm Allen & Overy, welcomed Maverick William Jennings. He weighed in at 7 pounds 15 ounces. Pic ... Another pic

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The Senate meets at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act. At 12:10 p.m., the chamber will hold two roll call votes on amendments. The House is out.

AROUND THE HILL -- Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will hold a news conference to discuss how Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination poses a threat to affordable, accessible health care for women of color, who have increased rates of maternal mortality and higher rates of pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, asthma, hepatitis B and HIV/AIDS, at 10 a.m. in S-120.

Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) will hold a news conference with climate and public health advocates to outline what the Trump administration's plan to replace the Clean Power Plan will do to the environment, public health and climate change progress at 12:30 p.m. at S-115.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders will hold separate press conferences after their weekly policy lunches starting around 2 p.m. in the Ohio Clock Corridor.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) will hold a hearing on the urgent need to tackle health care costs and prescription drug prices at 3 p.m. in SVC-201.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) will hold individual meetings with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -- Eric Fairness was first to correctly guess that John Tyler was the first president to have a veto overridden. Congress has overridden 110 vetoes since.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- From Eric: Where is the birthplace of the Republican Party? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your best guess my way: nmccaskill@politico.com.

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