IMPORTANTVILLE: The Final Countdown—Trump moves South Bend Rally—Bill Oesterle's $5,000 donation to a Democrat—Should Importantville continue after the primary?
05/07/2018 08:50 AM EDT
By @AdamWren
Send me scoops at cadamwren@gmail.com.
DAYS TO PRIMARY DAY: 1
DEPARTMENT OF “HUH?”: FROM THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR, “President Trump and Vice President Pence are moving their post-primary Indiana visit to a venue with more seats, all the bigger to begin their campaign attacks on Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.” READ MORE. HONEST QUESTION: How does a middle school gym hold more people than regional airport?
REACTION FROM SOUTH BEND:
Too bad—they’ll miss the chance to see how South Bend is achieving an economic turnaround for working people without descending into the politics of exclusion. https://t.co/ywcmnQ79f1
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) May 6, 2018
REACTION FROM INDIANA REPUBLICAN MIKE MURPHY:
Its not for a larger venue. There are many more large venues in SBend than in Elkhart. They could use ND stadium. It would be a HUGE rally!
— Mike Murphy (@GOPMurphy) May 6, 2018
Good Monday morning, and welcome to Importantville. If ever there were a week where Indiana could claim Importantville status, it’s this one. The Trump show comes to Indiana on Thursday. It will be the president’s ninth trip to Indiana and his first to Elkhart. This, after having moved his campaign rally at 7 p.m. inside the North Side Gymnasium from Atlantic Aviation in South Bend. National talking heads will have their eyes on the results of the Republican primary here on Tuesday.
--Thank you for joining me these last four weeks as we marched together toward tomorrow’s primary. Help me decide the future of IMPORTANTVILLE with this READER SURVEY. Would you take 60 seconds and fill out this three-question survey?
NATIONAL NARRATIVE:
Two revealing R Senate primaries Tuesday in IN & WV: Will the outsiders (Mike Braun and Don Blankenship) beat the pair of insiders each is facing? Will the GOP base’s anti-establishment leanings continue?
— Larry Sabato (@LarrySabato) May 6, 2018
INBOX: Six Former State Party Chairs Blast Mike Braun Over Democrat Voting Record; Endorse Luke Messer for Senate. "Mike Braun has spent nearly $6 million of his own money to run for U.S. Senate but he has no history of helping the Republican Party. The truth matters, and the strength of the Republican Party matters, which is why we're supporting Luke Messer," the State Party Chairs write. IMPORTANTVILLE TAKE: This only helps confirms Rokita and Braun's status as outsiders in the race. But try and imagine how, days later, the State Party apparatus may have to pivot and embrace Braun, if he wins, as their standard bearer. The Republican Senate candidates are practically writing Donnelly's ads that will run against them.
KUMBAYA KYLE: HUPFER, STATE PARTY CHAIR, writes in an email last week: “The next time you hear from me, we'll have our Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. And before we even know whether that'll be Mike Braun, Luke Messer, or Todd Rokita, there's a few things I can tell you about our party's nominee:
“He'll be a strong conservative....He'll be a steadfast supporter of the the Trump-Pence agenda....He'll have a track record of delivering real results, whether that's at the Indiana Statehouse, the U.S. Capitol, or in the private sector....He'll provide the firewall protecting the U.S. Senate from obstructionist Democrats....”
COUNTER PROGRAMMING: DONNELLY traversed the state as part of his pre-primary RV tour this weekend, including campaigning with the Missouri Democrat Jason Kander. The two finished their events at Thunderbird Indy in Fountain Square (where we hope they tried the chicken biscuits). According to an Importantville tipster, they talked about getting out the vote. Dan Forestal introduced Kander, who introduced Donnelly. Jim Harper and Chuck Jones got shout-outs, as did Derek Camp, who is running against Jim Merritt.
WHERE’S VEEP: In D.C., where he will deliver the keynote during a Protocolary Meeting at the Organization of American States, before meeting with Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the Roosevelt Room.
WHERE’S JOE: Meeting and greeting voters outside the City-County Building at 11 a.m.
WHERE'S TODD: Friend's Too in Fort Wayne at 8 a.m.; St. Joseph County GOP HQ AT 10:15 a.m.; The Fireside in Sellersburg at 3 p.m.; and Vanderburgh County Republican HQ at 4:30 p.m.
WHERE’S MIKE: Voting Monday, and stopping in Carmel, Zionsville, and Noblesville.
WHERE’S LUKE: The Grand Traverse Pie Company in Terre Haute at 10 a.m., before heading to The Exchange in Floyd County, where he'll do a meet and greet with special guest and former primary candidate Andrew Takami.
THE LEDES
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S RACE? Bill Benjamin is facing Kerry Forestal in the Democratic Primary for Marion County Sheriff. Forestal is supported by the Marion County Democratic Party, current and former Sheriffs John Layton and Frank Anderson, as well as Mayor Hogsett and Congressman Carson.
BUT: The Marion County Democratic Party filed a complaint against the Benjamin campaign for failing to report several contributions over $1000. After the complaint was filed, the Benjamin campaign reported donations totaling more than $30,000 that had been left off of previous finance reports, and/or had been received after the most recent filing period that ended on April 13th.
—EYEBALL EMOJI: Republican Carl Brizzi donated $2,500.
—LEWIS AND WILKINS, a law firm that employs both Carl Brizzi and Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, donated $2,500.
—AND, WAIT FOR IT, DOUBLE EYEBALL EMOJI: Bill Oesterle, former Angie's List CEO, donated $5,000.
QUESTION: Why are Republicans such as Brizzi and Oesterle playing in a Democratic primary for sheriff?
BRAUN MOST TRUMP-LIKE CANDIDATE? FROM CNN: “Braun voted in the Democratic primaries in 1992, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2008 -- which were largely solidly Democratic election years. He skipped the primary in 1994, 2000, 2002 and 2010 -- all strong Republican years. That means Braun skipped some of Indiana's most competitive Republican primaries in recent years -- including Mitch Daniels' bid for the governorship in 2004 and, in 2010, both Sen. Dan Coats' run against state Sen. Marlin Stutzman and three others to regain his seat and now-Sen. Todd Young's narrow win in the 9th District House primary.” READ MORE.
LAST THURSDAY, SEN. TODD YOUNG joined a bipartisan group of nine senators on a letter to Wa Lone, and Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters journalists who have been imprisoned by the regime in Burma for documenting the genocide against the Rohingya people.
BANKS: The Congressman led a group of House colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressing support for Macedonia’s admission to NATO. READ THE LETTER.
AMAZON HQ2 WATCH: What documents-hungry Indianapolis reporters are lamenting—we don’t know what’s in Indianapolis’ HQ2 bid.
Your periodic reminder that Indiana law allows the state to keep bids secret and the public in the dark. https://t.co/T6OvuoW0RP
— John Russell (@JohnRussell99) May 6, 2018
MONDAY MISCELLANY
KIMBAL MUSK, whose new Mass. Ave Restaurant Hedge Row you should definitely try, comes out as a Bill Kristol fan, retweeting this from the conservative writer:
Anti-McCain twitter seems to have reached new heights (or depths) of repulsiveness. In the hope that a few of the haters see this, let me say: I’m proud to have voted for John McCain for president three times (2000 & 2008 primaries & 2008 general), and for Donald Trump...never.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 6, 2018
INDIANA MAN TO FLORIDA MAN: HOLD MY BEER: “A Franklin man was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated on Saturday— but he wasn't behind the wheel of a car. Officers pulled over 46-year-old Barry Ridge while he was driving down County Road 100 North on a red lawn mower, according to the Johnson County Sheriff's department.” READ MORE.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mel Raines, VP Cheney alum and now SVP of the Indiana Pacers (H/T Politico Playbook).
THE KICKER
“The political wing of the White House, I think, is looking at this as the most important race in the country,” Mike Braun told Fox News.