Democrats fear Russia probe blowback – Politico
ALISO VIEJO, Calif. Democrats are increasingly conflicted about how forcefully to press the issue of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Fearful of alienating voters who appear more concerned about the economy and health care, Democrats campaigning in districts across the country are de-emphasizing Russia in their rhetoric and some are warning that a persistent focus on the Russia investigation could backfire.
Story Continued Below
In the races where Im working, I think voters think that Russia is important and that the questions need to get answered, Bill Burton, a veteran Democratic consultant, said at a political convention this past weekend. But theyre mostly sick of hearing about it, and they want to hear politicians talk about things that are more directly important in their lives.
In a state that is critical to the partys efforts to retake the House, Darry Sragow, a Democratic strategist whose California Target Book handicaps races in California, called Russia a distraction and said Democrats are going to be in deep, deep trouble if they dont start talking about what voters care about.
We need to talk about what people think about when they wake up in the morning, and its not Russia, Sragow said. The more we talk about stuff that voters dont truly care about in their daily lives it confirms that the Democratic Partys brain has been eaten by the elites in Washington who have been sitting fat and happy for a lot of years while working Americans have lost their jobs and lost confidence in the future.
Public polling suggests the electorate is deeply suspicious of Trumps ties to Russia but also tired of the months-long inquiry into possible collusion between the presidents campaign and Russia. According to a Quinnipiac University Poll released this week, 63 percent of American voters believe Moscow interfered in the 2016 election, and in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll last month, more than half of voters said it was inappropriate for Donald Trump Jr. to meet with an attorney linked to the Russian government.
Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
But a plurality of voters in the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll said Congress should not seek to impeach Trump. An earlier Harvard-Harris Poll found nearly two-thirds of American voters say investigations into Trump and Russia are hurting the country.
In that polling, wary Democrats see shades of 1998, when Republicans were widely believed to have overreached on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, losing five House seats in the midterm elections.
Obviously, you dont know how everythings going to come out and what cycles were going to go through with the independent counsel and the report, said Mark Penn, the Harvard-Harris Polls co-director and former adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton. But if you were to ask me as of today, Democrats are doing a lot better on health care than theyre doing on Russia Theres a risk that they repeat 98, that the Republicans create a campaign on issues and [Democrats] get tagged too much with only being about negative arguments.
The Russia investigation has proved alluring to Democrats for both the seriousness of the allegations and for the angry response it has provoked from Trump. And for Democrats bidding to unseat Republican incumbents even those who have generally supported the investigation the various probes have provided a platform on which to yoke Republican House members to Trump.
Brian Flynn, one of several Democrats challenging Rep. John Faso in New York, said, The effect of Russia isnt people think John Faso is involved in Russia What it is doing is showing the betrayal of the people who put them in office, and that is how were using it.
Still, Flynn said, I dont talk a lot about it Were not going to win on an anti-Trump, anti-corruption approach.
Hans Keirstead, one of several Democrats challenging Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in California, said Russia is not the story its an opener. Running against Rohrabacher, a fierce defender of Russia on Capitol Hill, Keirstead said, Russia just shows he is paying attention to things that are not district-focused.
Even so, the Russia issue and its near-constant stream of developments remain a staple for many Democrats. On Thursday night, critics of Rep. Michael Burgess confronted the Republican lawmaker on Trumps Russia ties at a town hall in Texas, while in California, Democrat Doug Applegate took to Twitter to mock GOP Rep. Darrell Issa as Trumps lapdog.
Earlier this week at a gymnasium in Rohrabachers Orange County district, several hundred activists joined in a game of Who said it? Dana or Putin?
In a room off the gym floor, Rep. Ted Lieu said, I think it depends what happens with this special counsel investigation No one knows. It could be issue No. 8 in voters minds, or it could be No. 1 if they find collusion or people start getting indicted.
Democratic National Party Chirman Tom Perez speaks at a rally to protest against President Donald Trump's firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey outside the White House on May 10. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Later, at the podium, Lieu told the crowd, Here is a fun fact for you: the first article of impeachment for Nixon was obstruction of justice.
Scott Simpson, a Democratic consultant who works on races throughout the country, doubted focusing attention on the Russia investigation would alienate voters or hurt Democrats in the midterm elections. But he said voters are not attuned to Russia and that health care is just so much more top of mind.
California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, whos running for governor, was even more direct in a recent appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe. The Russia investigation, he said, doesnt do anything for Democrats at all Its a loser.
Its not just the complicated nature of the Russia probes and their distance from many voters immediate concerns, that are leading Democrats to question the value of the issue on the campaign trail. Most voters who consider Russia a significant issue will tie the controversy to Trump, not members of Congress, said Colin Rogero, a Washington-based Democratic media consultant.
And unlike on health care, Republican House members believe they have little cause for concern on Russia, with many echoing Trumps charge that the investigation is fake news.
Democrats have forgotten one of the edicts of one of the wise men of their party, Tip ONeill, who said all politics is local, said Dave Gilliard, a strategist for four of Californias targeted Republicans Reps. Jeff Denham, Mimi Walters, Issa and Ed Royce. Russia is the furthest thing from those voters minds If you went out on the street right now and asked 100 people what the most important issue right now is, I would be shocked if one said Russia.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul last month called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has said Washington should stop chasing Russian ghosts around the closet.
Get breaking news when it happens in your inbox.
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Even Rohrabacher, who would appear to be the most susceptible House member to any anti-Russia sentiment, dismisses any concern. After audio leaked of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy saying, supposedly in jest, that he suspected the Russian president of paying then-candidate Trump and Rohrabacher, the congressman said he posed for a photograph with McCarthy at a fundraiser last month both of them holding drinks known as Moscow mules.
I think that health care and tax reform will determine who controls the House of Representatives and who controls the Senate, Rohrabacher said. Republicans made a serious error when they started yakking away about Within 100 days were going to do this and that, which was totally unrealistic.
As for Russia, Rohrabacher said, This is not an issue that voters are concerned about not in my area, and certainly I dont think throughout the country.
Rohrabacher was heading to the beach for a meeting about shark detection technology, which he said has promising implications for swimmers along the coast.
Thats the type of thing that I think impresses voters more than telling people that the Russians are just as evil and threatening as they were during the Cold War, Rohrabacher said. Im confident about this election, and its not going to be about Russia.
Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.
The rest is here:
Democrats fear Russia probe blowback - Politico
- Opinion | The Gender Gap That Ate the Democrats - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Letter: Why Democrats are losing ground with minority voters - Reading Eagle - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Ex-gov says Democrats need to rally behind a mayoral candidate, just not Mamdani - PIX11 - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Beyond Democrats and Republicans, CT legislators split into special interests. See what they are. - Hartford Courant - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- After Mamdanis Win, Some Democrats Are Determined to Stop Him - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats retreat on climate: Its one of the more disappointing turnabouts - Politico - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Gavin Newsom swings through South Carolina, where Democrats will play pivotal 2028 nominating role - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats call for probe into National Weather Service cuts after Texas floods - MSNBC News - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- "There needs to be blood": Democrats' voters tell them to "get shot" in Trump resistance push - Axios - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats demand CISA explain how its supporting election offices - StateScoop - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Media, Democrats try to blame Trump for Texas flood deaths - Washington Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Gavin Newsom swings through South Carolina, where Democrats will play pivotal 2028 nominating role - AJC.com - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats try to spoil Trumps victory party by slamming his greatest domestic win - CNN - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats 'seem to think that poor people are stupid,' Scott Bessent says - Politico - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Opinion | Six things Democrats need to do if they want to win elections again - The Washington Post - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Trump's $5 trillion debt ceiling strategy could force Democrats to the negotiating table - Fox Business - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- How Democrats Will Make Trump Own His Disastrous Spending Bill - Crooked Media - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Opinion | D.C. Democrats tarnish themselves by resisting ranked-choice voting - The Washington Post - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats might be overthinking strategy to recapture voters - The Hill - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Congressional District 7 race: Democrats Grijalva, Hernandez lead the pack in fundraising - KJZZ - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats Must Find Their Nerve - And Fast - CityWatch LA - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- What Democrats Think They Can Learn From Zohran Mamdani - NOTUS - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Virginia Democrats are eyeing 13 potential seats that could flip blue this year - WVTF - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats call for probes of deadly Kerr County flooding to discover what went wrong - Dallas News - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats trying to field candidate slate to win first statewide race in 32 years - Texarkana Gazette - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- These Democrats have forgotten who they represent, GOP lawmaker says - Fox News - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Opinion | Democrats in Race to Separate Themselves from Biden - WSJ - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democrats Are Calling For Probe Into National Weather Service After Deadly Floods In Texas - HuffPost - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Will Trump's megabill help Democrats win the House? - NPR - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- A congressman on how Democrats can regain the initiative on the economy - The Economist - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Democrats see Trumps big bill as key to their comeback. It may not be so easy - AP News - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Democrats going after Trumps megabill tell their own stories of needing Medicaid and other aid programs - CNN - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Mass. Democrats say cuts from Trump's bill will be 'devastating,' brace for impact - WBUR - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Democrats respond to Trump signing megabill - CNN - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Pols & Politics: Whats next for Beacon Hill Democrats after finishing early-term priorities - Boston Herald - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trump on Democrats who voted against GOP megabill: I hate them - The Hill - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trumps Budget Bill Would Explode Funding for ICE. Top Democrats Arent Talking About It. - The Intercept - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Opinion | For Democrats, Mamdani Is a Wake-Up Calland a Bad Example - WSJ - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Democrats and Republicans were out on the Virginia campaign trail. Heres what they had to say. - The Virginian-Pilot - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Exclusive | Just half of Democrats consider themselves patriots, compared to 91% of Republicans, poll reveals - New York Post - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- First Thing: Corrupt kleptocracy Democrats furious over passage of Trump bill - The Guardian - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- In Trumps Bill, Democrats See a Path to Win Back Voters - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Trump Kicks Off Celebration of America by Declaring His Hatred for Democrats - The Daily Beast - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats frustrated over lack of a heads-up from Hakeem Jeffries on delaying Trumps spending bill - Fox News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- A dark day for our country: Democrats furious over Trump bills passage - The Guardian - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats See Trumps Big Bill as Key to Their Comeback. It May Not Be So Easy - U.S. News & World Report - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats to focus on unpopular GOP cuts in bid to take back the House - The Washington Post - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Opinion | Zohran Mamdani Won by Listening. Democrats Should Try It. - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- House Democrats filibuster but only delay the final passage of Trumps big bill - Washington Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Abundance at the fore of Democrats new ideas sweepstakes - The Washington Post - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats Denied This City Had a Gang Problem. The Truth Is Complicated. - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats Should Become the Pro-Porn Party - The Nation - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- 175+ Democrats supporting NAACP suit against dismantling Department of Education - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Pro-Israel Jewish Democrats say Mamdanis stances are cause for concern and action - The Times of Israel - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Psaki: Republicans will regret passing Trump's bill as Democrats look to reprise 2018's House flip - MSNBC News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democrats Bet Jobs in Red States Would Save Clean Power Projects. They Lost. - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Can the abundance movement save the Democrats? - The Washington Post - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- FBI headquarters will remain in downtown DC, roiling Washington-area Democrats - Politico - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Big Beautiful Bill Is Massively Unpopular and Democrats Plan to Keep It That Way - Time Magazine - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Stephen A. Smith: Democrats will have no chance if they become like Mamdani - The Hill - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Senate Judiciary Democrats launch probe into whether Trump officials violated court orders - The Hill - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Frustration grows over NY Democrats' 'lack of political courage' on immigration - Gothamist - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Schumer and other Senate Democrats condemn the phrase globalize the intifada - The Jerusalem Post - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Analysis | Why Democrats are excited about Texas for real this time - The Washington Post - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Arizona Democrats will bypass struggling state party in midterms, with key races on ballot - AP News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Virginia Democrats hold town hall after Senate passage of 'Big, Beautiful Bill' - 13newsnow.com - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Democrats will force out-loud reading of 940-page megabill - Politico - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Play It Safe or Burn It All Down? Democrats Are Still Deciding - Bloomberg - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The Anniversary That Democrats Would Be Wise to Forget - The Atlantic - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Commentary: By stooping to conquer, Sacramento Democrats show their pettiness and arrogance - Los Angeles Times - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democrats respond to Senator Tillis retirement announcement - WITN - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Fetterman continues to frustrate Democrats as potential rivals focus on party's fight against Trump - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Schumer says Democrats will force reading of 940-page megabill on Senate floor - Reuters - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- NC Democrats approve resolution calling for embargo on US military support of Israel - Raleigh News & Observer - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democrats push to ban ICE agents masking shows whose side theyre really on - New York Post - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- WATCH: Karoline Leavitt Admits Trump is Behind the GOPs Medicaid Cuts - Democrats - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One of them is stepping up - WHYY - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Mamdani and AOC are the Democrats of the future - JNS.org - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democrats Are Failing to Adapt to Trumps New World - The Daily Beast - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One of them is stepping up - AP News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]