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Podcast: How House GOP Is Responding To Campus Protests : The NPR Politics Podcast Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visited Columbia University with fellow members of the House Republican conference and met with students who said they felt unsafe on campus in the midst of protests calling on the university to shed its investments related to Israel. Now, Johnson is moving forward with legislation aimed at combating campus antisemitism though some Democrats are criticizing the effort as a political stunt that could curb legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.

This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, national political correspondent Mara Liasson, and congressional reporter Barbara Sprunt.

This podcast was produced by Kelli Wessinger and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media on the Low Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Stefan Jeremiah/AP hide caption

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to the media on the Low Library steps on Columbia University's campus in New York, on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson visited Columbia University with fellow members of the House Republican conference and met with students who said they felt unsafe on campus in the midst of protests calling on the university to shed its investments related to Israel. Now, Johnson is moving forward with legislation aimed at combating campus antisemitism though some Democrats are criticizing the effort as a political stunt that could curb legitimate criticism of the Israeli government.

This podcast was produced by Kelli Wessinger and Casey Morell. Our editor is Eric McDaniel. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.

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How House Republicans Are Responding To Campus Protests : The NPR Politics Podcast - NPR

Protests and arrests on college campuses exploded into the forefront of the presidential race this week, opening up a new line of attack for Republicans and forcing President Biden to directly address an issue that has divided the liberal wing of his party.

With Donald J. Trump largely stuck in a New York City courtroom for one of his criminal trials, Republicans have tried to use the protests as a political cudgel and a literal backdrop to attack Mr. Biden, casting him as weak and unable to keep control of the country.

For weeks, the White House has largely resisted wading into the fray, steering clear of the protests engulfing campuses over Israels war in Gaza. Never one to be swept up in student movements, Mr. Biden had left any comments about the rapidly evolving situation to press officers, for the most part. His White House conducted no public outreach to university administrators or to protesting students.

But as clashes on some campuses became increasingly destructive and arrests mounted across the country, Mr. Biden increased the distance between himself and some of the more radical activism on campuses. In remarks on Thursday, he struck a balance between defending free speech and describing what he saw as the limits of acceptable protest.

Dissent is essential to democracy, Mr. Biden said in brief comments at the White House. But dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others so students can finish the semester and their college education.

The scope of the statement was limited. The president made clear he had no plans to change his Middle East policy because of the protests. When asked whether the National Guard should intervene, he quickly responded, No. And he did not address concerns some progressives have raised about whether the police used excessive force against demonstrators.

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Campus Protests Over Gaza Open a New Line of Attack for GOP in 2024 Election - The New York Times

OPINION:

Having been burned by mail-in ballots in a handful of places across a couple of election cycles, it is not surprising that Republicans are hesitant to fully embrace the imperative to be competitive with Democrats with respect to voting by mail. Every person of goodwill wants to ensure ballot integrity. At the same time, campaigns, especially those contested at the margins, should do everything in their power to maximize votes for their cause.

To meet these essential twin imperatives, at the beginning of this year, the Republican State Leadership Committee PAC, the Keystone Renewal PAC and the Sentinel Action Fund announced the largest Republican statewide mail-in-ballot effort an investment of millions of dollars in Pennsylvanias history. This effort was designed to reduce the Democrats dominance in voting by mail in both the upcoming elections this fall and in future election cycles.

As Jessica Anderson, president of the Sentinel Action Fund, correctly stated: Conservatives can and should do two things at once: maintain our calls for election integrity while we simultaneously utilize all legal tools and tactics to turn low propensity voters out and win in November.

The reality is that as the Republican Party changes, it will need to focus on identifying and turning out voters, of whom an increasingly larger proportion are only partially attuned to the tempo and deadlines of election cycles. More importantly, Republican voters tend to be busy people, with families, jobs, and community and neighborhood commitments. Whatever can be done to make voting more convenient for such voters should be pursued.

Having embraced the challenge, the Republican State Leadership Committee and its partners did not want to wait for the general election, so they launched their effort in advance of the April 23 primary election in Pennsylvania. The team sent vote-by-mail applications mailers to over 1.5 million Republican voters, launched digital advertisements delivering over 20 million impressions, and sent more than 475,000 text messages to voters.

The results?

In the primary cycle, Republicans produced about 236,000 vote-by-mail ballot requests, an 18% increase from the 2022 primary cycle and just 50,000 fewer requests than the 2022 general election in Pennsylvania. The Republicans also had more than 160,000 ballots turned in by mail last month, a 7% increase compared with the 2022 primary.

While the Democrats had more requests for mail-in ballots and more ballots returned, the Republicans chipped away at their advantage. In the 2022 primary, Democrats had about 400,000 more ballots returned than did Republicans; last month, that difference shrank to a bit more than 300,000 ballots returned. Perhaps more importantly, the Republicans continued to build a cohort of voters comfortable with voting by mail.

Why is all of this important?

In the 2022 general election in Pennsylvania, Democrats went into Election Day with 825,000 votes in the bank, compared with about 250,000 votes for the Republicans. In that cycle, the Republicans lost a Senate race by about 264,000 votes. Similarly, in 2020, then-President Donald Trump lost to President Biden by 80,000 votes of about 7 million votes cast. This years elections in Pennsylvania are certain to be equally close.

The world in the 21st century is pretty simple either you are a master of technology and process or you are a victim of technology and process. The Republican State Leadership Committee and its partners are determined to make sure that the Republicans are the masters of election technology and process. Their efforts in Pennsylvania have given them a head start on the general election and demonstrated that they have the right formula for success.

Michael McKenna is a contributing editor at The Washington Times and a co-host of the podcast The Unregulated.

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Republicans catching up with Democrats on mail-in voting - Washington Times

Congressional Republicans, led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Rep. John James (R-Mich.), introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution Wednesday that would undo the Biden administrations rules regulating tailpipe emissions.

This is a de-facto electric vehicle mandate that will put all 77,580 manufacturing jobs in [Michigans 10th District] at great risk of extinction, James said in a statement. I am proud to lead this effort to prevent Bidens rule from ravaging the livelihoods of thousands in Michigan and across the country.

The Biden administration announced the proposed rule in March, intended to ensure the majority of cars and light-duty trucks sold in the U.S. are hybrid or fully electric by 2032. Electric cars comprised only 7.6 percent of total American sales last year, while the timeline established by the rule would put that figure at 56 percent by early next decade.

Former President Trump has sought to capitalize on American trepidation around electric vehicles and their potential impact on auto industry jobs, particularly in Michigan, the hub of U.S. auto manufacturing and a key battleground state in 2024. The United Auto Workers union has endorsed President Biden for reelection, but it has frequently cautioned that the process of transitioning to electric vehicles must ensure the preservation of autoworker jobs.

The Republican House majority has passed a number of CRA resolutions attempting to undo Biden administration environmental regulations. The CRA allows a simple majority of both chambers to vote to repeal a rule from the executive branch.

Several of these resolutions have gone on to pass the Democratic-majority Senate, frequently due to the support of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a frequent critic of the administrations energy and environmental policies.

Thus far, Congress has passed CRAs targeting Biden rules on heavy-duty trucks, Endangered Species Act rules and a pause on tariffs on solar panel components. On Tuesday, Manchin announced he would sponsor another CRA resolution opposing a Biden rule on energy permitting reform.

More:
Congressional Republicans announce resolution to overturn Biden tailpipe rule - The Hill

After Democrats held on to all three Las Vegas-based House seats for two consecutive election cycles, national Republicans again took aim at flipping the seats in 2022, with one key GOP PAC pouring more money into the districts of Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) than any other in the country.

But while Republicans ultimately did win the House, with a net gain of nine seats, the path to the gavel did not run through Las Vegas. Lee won re-election by 4 percentage points; Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) by nearly 5, and Titus by more than 5, despite even our boss / Nevadas Nostradamus Jon Ralston predicting Lee would lose her seat.

After so many unsuccessful pulls at the electoral slot machine, have national House Republicans moved on from Las Vegas?

Not quite.

The three Las Vegas seats are still on the list of 37 pickup opportunities identified by the National Republican Congressional Committee, and two Republican operatives who work on Nevada races, granted anonymity to speak freely, are optimistic about the prospect of several self-funded candidates who could emerge as challengers.

But with both parties increasingly homing in on seats in New York and California, Republicans with knowledge of the races also said they expect less national GOP investment in the Nevada House races compared with last cycle.

Congressional Leadership Fund, the Kevin McCarthy-backed (R-CA) super PAC that pumped more than $6 million into Lees race last cycle, has yet to announce its initial spending, despite having done so by this point last year.

That may not necessarily translate to lower spending totals given the costly and crowded Las Vegas media market and the fact that fundraising only increases every cycle.

But between competing for ad space and air time with the presidential race and the U.S. Senate race not to mention the frustrating results from last cycle in a midterm historically linked to big losses by the incumbent presidents party Lee, Titus and Horsford are likely not going to be as significant of a target for Republican leadership as last cycle.

Whats different

The 2022 cycle was the first assessment for both parties of Nevada Democrats redistricting plan adopted in 2021, operating under the strategy that three districts with narrow-ish Democratic majorities was a more favorable map than maintaining the traditionally deep blue Congressional District 1 and two extremely competitive districts. By shifting some suburban areas with more independent and Republican voters into Titus safely Democratic district, Democrats gambled that they could shore up Lees and Horsfords margins while still protecting Titus.

The maps paid off and now Republicans must consider if they want to keep putting money into testing them.

While intense spending and campaigning is already underway in swing districts around the country, the Nevada House primary races have been kind of sleepy right now, in the words of one Republican strategist. Only one candidate, Congressional District 4s David Flippo, has reserved television ad time with less than a month to go before mail ballots are sent out around the state.

Still, that doesnt mean theyre giving up on the seats. In Lees race in particular, Republicans are excited about GOP candidate Marty ODonnell, a video game music composer who is working with the consultants who engineered Gov. Joe Lombardos (R) successful gubernatorial bid.

ODonnell is in a crowded primary with former Treasurer Dan Schwartz, a fellow self-funder, tax analyst Drew Johnson and former state Sen. Elizabeth Helgelien. All but Helgelien have loaned their campaigns hundreds of thousands of dollars, with Schwartz leading the pack at $800,000 (though Lees cash on hand remains significantly greater than any potential opponent).

In Congressional District 1, repeat 2022 candidate Mark Robertson and self-funded restaurateur Flemming Larsen are squaring off to take on Titus, while in Congressional District 4, Horsford will likely face either Air Force veteran Flippo or former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, who has the distinction of having won elected office before and boasts an endorsement from Lombardo.

In Congressional District 1, Larsen actually has a larger war chest than Titus, though most of his $1.5 million is loaned. Powered by a $500,000 loan from himself, John Lee technically outraised Horsford in the first quarter of 2024, but Horsford retains a significant cash on hand advantage and the benefit of having contributions rather than loan money that can be pulled back at the discretion of the candidate.

Given that the presidential election will lead to higher turnout, Republicans are hopeful that voters who sat the 2022 midterms out might finally turn out and help oust Lee, who has won three straight terms in a seat that has been competitive since its creation in 2002, although its boundaries have changed slightly over the years.

Biden is more unpopular now than he was in 2022, a Republican strategist familiar with the race said, adding that the conventional wisdom of high turnout boosting Democrats might no longer be true. We haven't completely grappled with the idea that higher turnout helps Republicans.

On the Democratic side, meanwhile, operatives believe a superior ground game and well-established incumbent candidates will keep the three districts in their win column.

Political analysts who run major ratings so far seem to agree. The Cook Political Report rates Lees race as Lean Democrat, when she used to occupy the Toss Up category; Horsford and Titus are considered Likely Democrat.

House Majority PAC, the high-spending outside group connected to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), made the first move of the cycle by reserving over $6.8 million in ad spending for the fall in Las Vegas, including earmarking more than $750,000 for Spanish-language content.

The ad buy signifies both the costly nature of the Las Vegas market, the fact that there are three seats in the area and its continued importance to Democratic ambitions the group is only spending more in Los Angeles, New York City, Portland and Detroit.

Democratic strategists are confident theyll retain the Las Vegas seats and believe the incumbents are particularly effective and well-disciplined in their messaging, compared with members in other states.

One Democratic strategist said that none of the potential Republican candidates concern them, and that once outside Republican spending does come in, they expect the GOPs focus to be in other states.

They're probably not going to spend as much [in Nevada] as they are doing elsewhere, the strategist said. That's going to be really indicative of them kind of conceding that they're not going to win these seats.

Editors note: This story appears in Indy Elections, The Nevada Independents newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2024 elections. Sign up for the newsletter here.

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After losing three straight times, are Republicans as invested in Vegas House seats? - The Nevada Independent