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Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the party after nearly winning the Georgia governors race last year, passed on a Senate run Tuesday despite a sustained and public recruitment. | John Amis/AP File Photo

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The party is still looking for credible candidates in a handful of races needed to win back control of the chamber next year.

By JAMES ARKIN and BURGESS EVERETT

04/30/2019 07:14 PM EDT

Senate Democrats' bid to take back the majority is running into a big roadblock: Some of their most coveted recruiting targets are refusing to run.

After straining to defend seats in bright-red states in 2018, Democrats are focused on picking off Republicans to claim the Senate majority in 2020. But, so far, a number of the partys high-profile recruits have said no to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the partys campaign arm.

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Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the party after nearly winning the Georgia governors race last year, passed on a Senate run Tuesday despite a sustained and public recruitment that included multiple meetings with Schumer. Hours later, Rep. Cindy Axne, who flipped a swing district last year, confirmed she was running for the House again and not challenging Iowa's first-term Republican senator, Joni Ernst.

Democrats havent struck out everywhere: Former astronaut Mark Kelly in Arizona was a huge get in a critical battleground state. But three Democrats in other key states have passed on Senate bids to run for president despite the crowded field, and the party has missed out on its top recruits in Georgia and North Carolina.

The Senate is not an appealing place for smart, talented candidates because its a broken institution. And Democrats have not yet offered a vision for how to fix it, aside from wringing their hands and wishing things were different, said Adam Jentleson, a longtime aide to former Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Whats the pitch? 'Come here, do nothing and let Mitch McConnell eat your lunch every day?'

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, denied she and Schumer had blown it. Democrats need to flip only a handful of seats, and they'll be in a position to get them, she said.

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We dont need all of these states to take back the majority. We just need three or four. And were going to do really well, Cortez Masto said. Just because we dont get somebody that youre aware of doesnt mean were not going to have somebody that can beat those Republican incumbents.

Schumer declined to say whether Abrams decision was a personal rejection of him but said the party will find a strong candidate to take on freshman Sen. David Perdue.

Were going to win in Georgia. And we have lots of good candidates in many different states, including Georgia, Schumer said.

Interviews with nearly a dozen Democratic senators and strategists revealed little overt concern about the status of the Senate map. It's early in the cycle, they said, and the party has promising prospects in battleground races who havent announced yet. Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the two Democrats who flipped seats last cycle, announced in July and September of the year before the election, respectively.

But privately, some Democrats are alarmed by the lack of candidates.

We really need to get some good recruits as quickly as possible, one Democratic strategist who is a veteran of Senate races said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to be candid. The strategist expressed optimism about the national political environment, adding: We just need enough candidates to ride the wave if it comes.

The party's path to the majority is narrow. Democrats have to win a net three seats to flip the Senate if they win the presidency and four if they dont. Only two incumbent Republicans are running in states Hillary Clinton carried in 2016, and Democrats are defending two seats in states President Donald Trump won, including in solidly Republican Alabama. That means Democrats will have to win multiple races in red states to win the chamber.

Some Democrats are concerned that the party's focus on its upcoming presidential nominating process is distracting from the groundwork needed for its Senate efforts.

I worry a little bit that the activists and donors and regular Democrats across the country haven't quite internalized the importance of taking back the Senate, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said. But theres a fair amount of time to make that argument.

Republicans have jumped at criticizing Democrats for the missed recruits and are optimistic about keeping their majority.

Look at the map. Look at the states that Democrats were hoping to contest, including the states that have sort of been Republican-leaning. They havent gotten their top tier candidates, Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said. And it all starts with good candidates if they have any hope of winning in some of these places.

Democrats counter that Republicans havent had recruiting success either: They have yet to lock down candidates in Michigan and New Hampshire to challenge Democratic incumbents and could face competitive primaries in Kansas and Alabama that could complicate races in red states. But those factors alone are unlikely to cost the GOP its majority.

Democratic senators also said they would soon have recruits to announce that would rebut the GOPs narrative. And they said some of the Democrats who have passed on Senate races to run for other offices, including the presidency, could change their minds and transform the landscape. That list includes former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. Hickenlooper and O'Rourke spurned calls to run for Senate to seek the presidency, and Bullock appears likely to enter the presidential race soon instead of challenging GOP Sen. Steve Daines.

Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a former DSCC chair, said "it's early enough" in the cycle that if their presidential bids flame out, "then some of them may opt in to an opportunity for the Senate.

In Georgia, Democrats turned to other options after Abrams passed. Teresa Tomlinson, the former mayor of Columbus, plans to run, and Sarah Riggs Amico, who ran for lieutenant governor in 2018 alongside Abrams, is considering a campaign. She said in a statement Tuesday that dysfunction paralyzing Washington is actively harming Georgia workers and families, and we cant allow it to go unchallenged.

Perdue said he's still preparing for a competitive election, even without Abrams' star power in the race.

"We're going to run against somebody from the Democratic side that's going to be well-funded, and they're going to espouse these radical, social agenda that they're trying to perpetrate right now," he said. "So Im geared up."

Axnes decision to pass on the Iowa Senate race was viewed by Democrats as much less significant. Axne didnt publicly express interest in the Senate despite meeting with party leaders to discuss it and few Democrats in Iowa or Washington expected her to run. Others are considering runs, including Theresa Greenfield, a businesswoman who grew up on a farm in the state, and J.D. Scholten, a former professional baseball player who narrowly lost to Rep. Steve King last year. Some Democrats view both as better recruits.

And Democrats have had other successes. In Texas, MJ Hegar, an Air Force veteran who narrowly lost a House race in 2018, is running against Sen. John Cornyn, though she could face a primary against Rep. Joaqun Castro, who is expected to decide this week whether to run.

In North Carolina, state Attorney General Josh Stein was seen as a top-tier recruit, but passed early on challenging GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. Democrats are still searching for a candidate, but several state legislators and former elected officials are seen as potential recruits.

Democrats acknowledge Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will be difficult to beat but argue she is more vulnerable than ever. Theyve yet to land a candidate in the race, but state House Speaker Sara Gideon and former state House Speaker Hannah Pingree are considered strong options. And there is a pot of nearly $4 million raised by activists after Collins voted last year to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court waiting for the Democratic nominee.

In the past four years, Democrats have struck out with boldface names in high-profile races: Russ Feingold in Wisconsin, Phil Bredesen in Tennessee and Ted Strickland in Ohio. Some Democrats argue that the over-reliance on those types of candidates should come to an end.

We sometimes are way too obsessive about getting big-big-name recruits," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said. "Our big-name recruits in previous cycles havent done so hot.

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The original plan was also one that everyone rejected from the beginning Mr. Trump even criticized public-private partnerships, which were key to the plans financing and no new plan has been put forward since.

But Democrats went to the White House for a meeting, intent to play along as if there was a chance.

Ms. Pelosi requested the meeting with Mr. Trump, in part to change the conversation from impeachment to infrastructure and to demonstrate that Democrats want to proceed with a policy agenda, and not merely with investigations of the president.

For Mr. Trump, an infrastructure deal would provide him with a bipartisan achievement he could point to while campaigning.

Democrats arrived on Tuesday with a dozen-member delegation of lawmakers. Mr. Trump was accompanied by Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary, as well as seven White House aides, including his daughter Ivanka Trump, who is also a presidential adviser; Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council; and Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel.

I would like to do something, Mr. Trump told the group, according to a Democratic aide. It may not be typically Republican. The president made it clear that he had never supported the public-private partnership model to fund a bill that his aides, like Gary D. Cohn, his former top economic adviser, had pitched. That was a Gary bill, he said of his earlier attempt at an infrastructure bill. That bill was so stupid.

Meetings between the president and the two Democratic leaders have often taken a surprising turn.

Mr. Trump has conducted supposedly closed-door sessions on live television, or shuttled his guests to the Situation Room for maximum privacy. They, in turn, have surprised him by getting out their versions of what happened as soon as they got to the driveway in front of the White House, where reporters are usually waiting.

In September 2017, for instance, after Mr. Schumer and Ms. Pelosi joined the president for in-house Chinese food, they announced that Mr. Trump had agreed to work on an immigration deal, including protections for thousands of young immigrants from deportation. Mr. Trump was later forced to backtrack from that position.

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But just as liberals are invoking the founding fathers to press for impeachment, more moderate Democrats, whose districts will most likely control who is in the majority after next years elections, are doing the same to urge caution.

I believe, ultimately, what the founders created for us in our democracy is clear: When you disagree with someones approach or believe he or she is abusing the Constitution, you vote them out, said Representative Josh Gottheimer, a centrist Democrat from New Jersey. You could impeach them, if it merits it, or you can beat them with better ideas and a better approach.

The founders left the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors the criteria for impeachment, along with more specific offenses like treason and bribery open to interpretation. And the report from Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, did not provide clear guidance.

The challenge is that the Mueller investigation did a data dump onto the American public and Congress, and the data dump suggests obstruction of justice, which would satisfy the requirement of high crimes and misdemeanors, said Timothy Naftali, a New York University historian and an author of the recent book Impeachment: An American History. But the prosecutors didnt say it, and the Justice Department isnt saying it. And so its up to Congress to decide.

Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, a freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania, has been thrown back to her days as a teenager watching the Watergate hearings and the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon unfold. She said she wakes up in the middle of the night thinking about the Mueller report.

If were just looking at the facts, then we have the same facts that led to the impeachment of Richard Nixon in terms of obstruction of justice, misleading the public, hiding evidence and suggesting the creation of false evidence, said Ms. Scanlon, the vice chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee.

But, she added, there is also a political calculation. What are the politics of initiating an impeachment if the Republican-led majority in the Senate doesnt believe that this type of conduct warrants impeachment?

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If anybody thinks Bernie Sanders is incapable of doing politics, they havent seen him in Congress for 30 years, said Tad Devine, Mr. Sanderss longtime strategist, who is not working for his campaign this year. The guy is trying to win this time.

But such outreach matters little to many Democrats, especially donors and party officials, who are growing more alarmed about Mr. Sanderss candidacy.

Mr. Brock, who supported Mrs. Clintons past presidential bids, said the Bernie question comes up in every fund-raising meeting I do. Steven Rattner, a major Democratic Party donor, said the topic was discussed endlessly in his orbit, and among Democratic leaders it was becoming hard to block out.

It has gone from being a low hum to a rumble, said Susan Swecker, the chairwoman of Virginias Democratic Party.

Howard Wolfson, who spent months immersed in Democratic polling and focus groups on behalf of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, had a blunt message for Sanders skeptics: People underestimate the possibility of him becoming the nominee at their own peril.

The discussion about Mr. Sanders has to date been largely confined to private settings because like establishment Republicans in 2016 Democrats are uneasy about elevating him or alienating his supporters.

The matter of What To Do About Bernie and the larger imperative of party unity has, for example, hovered over a series of previously undisclosed Democratic dinners in New York and Washington organized by the longtime party financier Bernard Schwartz. The gatherings have included scores from the moderate or center-left wing of the party, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California; Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader; former Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia; Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., himself a presidential candidate; and the president of the Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden.

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The conclusion of the Mueller investigation into whether Trump colluded with Russia in the election has been submitted. And, Mueller's report will be governed by rules written in the wake of the Starr Report. We explain. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON Members of Congress continued to wait Sunday for Attorney General William Barr to provide a summary of conclusions from a nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.Barr told lawmakers on Friday he could release the findings as soon as this weekend.

Democrats have raised concerns that officials may try to limit access to the report to a select few the top eight Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress and on key committees known as the Gang of Eight.

"Do not think you can bury this report," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABCs "This Week." "Do not think you can bury the evidence in secret by briefing eight people in Congress and say we have discharged our responsibility. That's not going to cut it. So it is essential that the report be made completely public."

Waiting for the Mueller report: Justice Department could reveal conclusions of Russia inquiry on Sunday

Mueller report: Here's what we know and still don't know (and may never know)

Despite the findings, Democrats have vowed to continue their own investigations.

Republicans criticized the Democrat's ongoing probes, saying the focus of the Mueller investigation was to determine whether there was conspiracy or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to impact the 2016 election.

"Weve not seen any of that,"Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, also said on ABCs "This Week."

Jordan said Democrats had said Mueller was the right person to conduct the investigation.

"He is the best person we can pick. Hes right next to Jesus. He can almost walk on water,"Jordan said. "He will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question but all indications are that theres not going to be any findings of any collusion whatsoever."

House Democratic leaders held a conference call with members Saturday afternoon urging members to press for access to the report.

With the White House in the background special counsel Robert Mueller walks to St. John's Episcopal Church, for morning services, across from the White House, in Washington, March 24, 2019.(Photo: Cliff Owen, AP)

Leaders of key House committees led by Democrats said Sunday investigations will continue, including one looking into Trump's finances and other aspects of his presidency.

The House Judiciary Committee recently launched an investigation into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice or misuse his powers, requesting documents from 81 "agencies, entities, and individuals" connected to the administration and Trump's private businesses.

The House Intelligence Committee announced it will look into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as Trumps foreign financial interests.

"The job of Congress is much broader than the job of special counsel.The special counsel was looking and can only look for crimes,"Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox "News Sunday." "We have a much broader mandate and we have to exercise that mandate to protect the integrity of government and protect the integrity of liberty and the country."

Republicans slammed Democrats for continuing the investigations, calling it part of a "fishing expedition."

"They dont think this Muellers report is going to be the bombshell they all anticipated it was going to beso now theyre launching all kinds of other charges, all kinds of other investigations," Jordan said,

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, agreed.

One day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation, President Donald Trump spent Saturday in Palm Beach, at his Mar-a-Lago estate and golfing at his golf club. (March 23) AP, AP

"If anyone thinks that the Mueller report being concluded is the end of the Democrats attempt to take down President Trump, they havent been paying attention the last two years," he said on CNNs "State of the Union."

The House overwhelmingly supported a resolution in Marchpressing for lawmakers to get a copy of the full Mueller report. TheSenate, however, blocked the measure.

Some Republicans also called Sunday for full access to the report.

I want to see all of it,'' Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on NBCs Meet the Press. "What was the underlying criminal predicate for the entire investigation."

He said Trump should also support transparency,The best thing for the country and for the president is for this probe to move forward and to be concluded."

Despite earlier calls by some Democrats to try to impeach Trump, Nadler and Schiff said Sunday its too early to talk about impeachment.

"Our mandate is not to impeach the president or anything like that,"said Nadler. "Our mandate is to defend the rule of law and to vindicate our constitutional liberties and to buck up the institutions that have been weakened by the attacks of this administration."

Republicans, however, said Democrats are backpedaling on their call to impeachment and have every intention of trying to unseat Trump.

"What theyre basically saying is they are going to impeach the president for being Donald Trump," said Cruz. "And they dont care about the evidence."

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