WASHINGTON — If it’s Wednesday ... Don Bolduc captures the GOP nomination in New Hampshire Senate. ... Karoline Leavitt wins the Republican nomination in New Hampshire -01. … In a possible upset, Robert Burns is ahead of George Hansel in the GOP's New Hampshire- 02 contest… Democratic Gov. Dan McKee pulls off narrow victory in the Rhode Island gubernatorial primary. ... The Dow plummets after worse-than-expected inflation numbers. ... President Biden heads to Michigan to promote electric-vehicle manufacturing. … And Whitewater independent counsel Ken Starr dies at age 76.
But first: There were two political self-owns on Tuesday.
One was Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introducing legislation that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy — when the GOP argument HAD been that abortion decisions should be left to the states, not the federal government.
“Bad idea,” GOP strategist Chris Mottola told NBC’s Jon Allen, Marc Caputo and Scott Wong. “It rips open a political sore. The political environment was moving back to economic issues. It further nationalizes an issue that works against Republicans generically.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed. “Most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level,” he said.
The other self-own yesterday: President Biden touting the Inflation Reduction Act — on the very day the government reported higher-than-expected inflation numbers, which sent the Dow falling by more than 1,200 points.
Yes, that legislation is a giant health care/climate/tax bill that Biden signed into law last month, but it was sold as a vehicle to curb inflation.
“For all the criticism I got … for gas prices — they’re down more than a dollar and 30 cents a gallon since the start of the summer,” Biden said yesterday. “We’re making progress. We’re getting other prices down as well, but we have more to do. But we’re getting there.”
Two political parties, two self-owns on their most vulnerable issues heading into November’s election.
The silver lining for each party? The self-owns sort of canceled each other out Tuesday, with Democrats making political hay out of Graham’s abortion bill, and Republicans scoring points on Biden’s bad day on inflation.
Data Download: The number of the day is … 1,276
That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped on Tuesday, a 3.94% slide that was the worst daily drop since June 2020, per our colleagues at CNBC. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.32% and 5.16%, respectively, capping off a horrible day for the stock market.
The drop looms especially large as the Federal Reserve is set to meet later this month and consider yet another rate hike aimed at putting the brakes on inflation.
Other numbers to know:
27: That’s the number of states where a nominee for governor, attorney general or secretary of state has denied the results of the 2020 election, per a new report from States United Action that was obtained by NBC News’ Adam Edelman.
$44 billion: The price tag for billionaire Elon Musk’s deal to acquire Twitter, which shareholders approved Tuesdaydespite Musk trying to walk away.
84 pages: The length of Peiter “Mudge” Zatko’s whistleblower complaint against Twitter earlier this year. Zatko testified before the Senate Tuesday, where he accused the social media giant of data security malpractice.
1,300: The recent average migrant crossings each day at the El Paso border sector, where a new surge has stressed resources.
$300 million: How much Russia has given to roughly two dozen countries since 2014, per a U.S. intelligence review summarized by the State Department.
23: The number of Republican Main Street Partnership PAC’s preferred candidates who won their primaries, per a press release. The group of moderate Republicans saw just two primary losses this cycle.
Tweet of the day
Midterm roundup: The (final) primary results are in
The final primaries before November — in Delaware, Rhode Island and New Hampshire — are now over. Here are the results and projected winners so far, per NBC’s Decision Desk:
New Hampshire Senate: Retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc (37%) is projected to defeat state Sen. Chuck Morse (35%) in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, a defeat for Republicans who spent millions in a last-minute effort meant to boost Morse out of concerns Bolduc couldn’t beat Hassan.
Rhode Island Governor: Democratic Gov. Daniel McKee (33%) fended off his primary challengers, defeating former CVS executive Helena Foulkes (30%), Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (36%) and Secretary of State Matt Brown (8%).
New Hampshire-01: Former Trump administration staffer Karoline Leavitt, who also worked for GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, won the GOP primary with 34% of the vote, defeating former Trump staffer and 2020 nominee Matt Mowers (25%). Leavitt will face Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in a race the Cook Political Report rates as a Toss up. Leavitt, who is 25 years-old, would be among the youngest elected to the House if she wins in November.
New Hampshire-02: The GOP primary to take on Democratic Rep. Ann Kuster has not yet been called. Former Hillsborough County Treasurer Robert Burns is currently leading (32%), followed by Keene Mayor George Hansel (30%) and small business owner Lily Tang Williams (24%).
Rhode Island-02: This open seat race is expected to be competitive in November. State General Treasurer Seth Magaziner (54%) won the Democratic primary. He’ll face former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, who was the only Republican in the race.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Alaska Senate: Republican Buzz Kelley, who finished a distant fourth in the Senate primary but will be on the ballot thanks to the state’s new Top 4 primary system, is suspending his campaign and endorsing the Trump-backed Kelly Tshibaka to avoid splitting the pro-Trump vote. Kelley’s name will remain on the ballot in that fourth slot, per the Anchorage Daily News. Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is up with her first general election ad, focused on inflation.
Colorado Senate: The Washington Free Beacon profiled Republican Joe O’Dea and how he believes a “disciplined” campaign can help Republicans in the fall.
Florida Senate: Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is booking more than $1.8 million in TV ads from Sept. 17 through Sept. 25 alone.
Georgia Senate: Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign confirmed Tuesday that he’s agreed to participate in Republican Herschel Walker’s preferred debate on Oct. 14 in Savannah. Warnock “remains hopeful Herschel Walker will do right by Georgians, get on a debate stage at least one other time in either Macon or Atlanta, and explain his positions to them,” Warnock campaign manager Quentin Fulks said in a statement.
New Hampshire Senate: Women Vote! is hitting the ground running for the general election with $1.4 million in ads starting Thursday. Meanwhile, NBC News’ Julia Jester and Dasha Burns report that former Vice President Mike Pence is heading to New Hampshire Wednesday for a “unity” fundraiser for the newly minted GOP Senate nominee — Bolduc.
Meanwhile, Bolduc today told Fox News today that he does not support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s proposed 15-week federal abortion ban. “It makes no sense,” he said.
Georgia Governor: In new ads, Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams is emphasizing her support for legalized sports betting as she tries to close the gap with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Alaska-At Large: Democrat Mary Peltola was sworn in as the newest member of Congress after her special election victory last month, eight weeks before she faces voters again. Peltola hired the late Rep. Don Young’s chief of staff, per the Anchorage Daily News.
Ad watch: Answering the call
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the Republican nominee for governor in Nevada, is out with a new ad blasting Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak on crime.
The narrator in the ad asks viewers, “The next time there’s a crisis at school or in your neighborhood. Who do you trust to protect your family? Who do you want answering the phone?” before telling them, “Joe Lombardo has served with honor and integrity. And unlike our current governor, he’ll put service before self, just like he always has.”
In response to the ad, Sisolak’s campaign released a statement saying, “While [Lombardo] may be willing to answer the phone in a campaign commercial, the reality is he’s too busy traveling the state campaigning for a promotion to do the job he swore an oath to do.”
Lombardo’s ad is reminiscent of a 2008 Democratic primary ad from Hillary Clinton, where she asked voters who they wanted answering a late-night call in the event of an international crisis.
ICYMI: What else is happening in the world
NBC News’ Kevin Collier explores the growing issue of political disinformation spreading over text message
The West Virginia legislature passed a new bill banning abortion except for rape and incest victims, who would be able to get abortions up to eight weeks into their pregnancy if they report to law enforcement first.
In new filings, the Justice Department warned that further delays in its investigation into the classified documents seized at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago could cause “irreparable harm.”
Wisconsin’s senators don’t agree on much, but they could decide the future of gay marriage protections in the Senate, NBC News’ Scott Wong and Frank Thorp write.
