OK, let’s talk about policy | Election Newsletter
Policy differences are often smaller in a primary, while distinctions in focus, style, and tactics can be stark and meaningful.
Hey all! Today we’re looking at a Democratic pillow fight, a not-so-warm GOP welcome for Joe Biden in Philly, and a campaign ad slip-up. First, why policy matters — but maybe less so in a primary.
It’s mid March and while Jon doesn’t really care about your March Madness bracket, he’s always excited to see UCLA’s sweet uniforms. Julia cares a lot about hers and is hoping for some Friday upsets.
There are 62 days left until the Pennsylvania primary.
📮🆕Expect some more emails from us soon about our most important and interesting 2022 elections stories. Let us know what you think.
— Jonathan Tamari, Julia Terruso, (@JonathanTamari, @JuliaTerruso, election@inquirer.com)
What primaries are about
Readers often ask why we don’t focus more on policy, and it’s a fair question. After all, the point of elections isn’t keeping score: It’s the policy outcomes that can follow. And a single Senate seat can make a huge difference (just ask Joe Manchin).
But policy differences are often smaller in a primary, while distinctions in focus, style, and tactics can be stark and meaningful.
As Julia has reported, Democratic Senate candidates John Fetterman, Conor Lamb, and Malcolm Kenyatta largely agree on policy, and the broad direction they’d like to steer the country. That’s generally true with the Republican candidates, too.
But even candidates who would vote the same way may prioritize different issues, or approach the job in distinct ways.
Fetterman was mayor of a hardscrabble city that lost its manufacturing base. Kenyatta comes from Philadelphia and has lived many of that city’s challenges. Lamb is from the suburbs and has emphasized winning swing voters.
On the Republican side, Mehmet Oz is a celebrity surgeon who often emphasizes healthcare, while David McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO and Army veteran, talks about military strength.
Even their tactics hint at what voters and issues they might emphasize. Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, and Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins show that slight policy differences can sometimes doom major party goals. (How’s that Obamacare repeal going? Build Back Better?) But personality and focus also have a tangible impact.
Consider two of the Philly region’s senators. Republican Pat Toomey is a former banker and longtime fiscal conservative. He wrote much of the Trump tax cuts and just helped sink a Biden nominee to the Federal Reserve. While he compromises at times, you’ll almost never see him bend on fiscal matters. Democrat Cory Booker, the son of civil rights activists, has emphasized fighting racial and economic inequality, and reforming criminal sentencing and police conduct.
They both mostly vote like other members of their party. But their backgrounds inform where they really lead, and shape policy.
We’re working on more policy stories, especially as formal debates begin.
But the contrasts will only become really pronounced during the general election, when Democratic and Republican nominees bring starkly different views on everything from the economy and abortion to healthcare and criminal justice.
Primaries often hinge on different questions: If the candidates largely agree on policy, who do you trust to deliver on those goals? What kind of senator do you want? Who’s the best messenger for a common message?
And who can win? Because unless you have the Senate majority, even your best plans are going nowhere.
To make policy, you’ve got to win first.
Overheard on the campaign trail
“It’s always a blessing and a great day when you can have the President of the United States visit your state. I hope he’s safe and I don’t say that in tongue in cheek, the murder rate in Philadelphia is at a record high,”
—U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), sending his best, we guess, to Biden on his visit last week.
What else you should know
Petitions are in, and it’s still chaos. We were eyeing this week to see if the incredibly long list of candidates running for Senate, governor, and lieutenant governor might shrink. But as of the deadline yesterday to submit signatures to get on the ballot, at least 12 candidates had filed to run for Senate (5 Democrats, 7 Republicans), 11 for governor (1 Democrat, 10 Republicans) and 11 for lieutenant governor (2 Ds, 9 Rs). There’s still a period when candidates can be challenged on those signatures, but with several submitting far more than they need, the full house may be here to stay.
Fightin’ words. We’ve noticed the Democratic Senate candidates are taking a far more subdued approach than their GOP counterparts to trash-talking on the trail. While Oz and McCormick have blasted each other in multi-million-dollar ad buys as “promoting transgender ideology” or supporting China, the Democrats are engaged in more of a pillow fight. Lamb got a little snarky on Twitter after Fetterman said Democrats need to be “ruthless” to pass big legislation. “If you show up at the debate I’ll tell you how we did the American Rescue Plan,” Lamb tweeted back. “It was ‘ruthless,’ man.” Democrats watching from the sidelines are happy to see the more mild-mannered tone while Republicans slug it out. As the leader of one Democratic super PAC put it to Politico: “They’re doing what I want them to do, which is kick the crap out of each other.”
Lamb’s campaign ad oops. Lamb debuted his first campaign ad last week highlighting his background as a Marine, a federal prosecutor, and his viral speech on the House floor after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. But it came down almost as quickly as it went up, because the clip of him speaking on the House floor violated congressional rules against using floor appearances in political ads. The ad has since been reworked.
McCormick embraces Parnell. Usually when a candidate drops out of a campaign in disgrace, other politicians steer clear. Not McCormick. As he tries to bolster his pro-Trump credentials, McCormick has promoted an endorsement from Sean Parnell, the former GOP candidate who was endorsed by Trump but withdrew after his wife accused him of choking and verbally abusing her. Parnell denied the physical abuse, but a judge in their custody case ruled against Parnell, calling his wife the more credible of the two. And yet McCormick held an event yesterday with Parnell outside Pittsburgh, promoting it with a photo showing their arms around each other. McCormick is clearly hoping it helps win GOP votes, especially in an area where Parnell ran for Congress. But it’s also the kind of photo that opposition researchers dream about. Democrats are already eager to show it to suburban women this fall.
Mehmet Madness. Oz says he’s not a politician — but he’s learning fast. He posted his NCAA bracket on Twitter, and wouldn’t you know it, the guy running for Senate in PA picked Villanova to win it all. Not sure if he’ll win his pool (and we’d love to know what stakes he’s playing for), but he’s at least ensuring his picks won’t lose him any votes.
That’s a wrap for us. Enjoy the 60 degree weather and have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!