| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus and Daniella Diaz | |  Multiple candidates have joined the 2024 fray within the last few days, giving early shape to races that will decide majorities in the next Congress. | Gregg Newton/Getty Images | With an assist from Nancy Vu ‘TIS THE SEASON — Next year's House and Senate races are just beginning to heat up — setting up the first looks at elections that will make majorities one way or the other in the next Congress. Just within the last few days, multiple candidates have waded into 2024 races that could seal the deal for either party. Here’s a few that caught our eye: Tony Vargas is running for Congress, again, potentially setting up a general election rematch against Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Bacon is a distinctive moderate Republican who has had success in the swing seat that includes Omaha, but Vargas came within three points last cycle. Biden beat Trump in the 2nd District in 2020 by more than 6 percentage points. The BOLD PAC — the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — endorsed Vargas today for the seat. Have T-shirts, will run: Actor Hill Harper is finalizing plans to launch his Michigan Senate campaign in the coming weeks, Holly Otterbein reports. He's already shot his announcement video and ordered campaign T-shirts, despite Democratic leaders hoping that Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) would have a clear field for the primary nomination and extra lead time to fundraise for the general election in a key state. Mondaire makes a move: Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) j umped into the Democratic primary for New York’s 17th District, setting up a rough-and-tumble primary and general election in a potentially majority-making swing district. He'd be trying to beat Liz Whitemer Gereghty (sister to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer) in the primary. Both are hoping to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who flipped the seat in 2022. Sam Brown coming to town? He fell short of the Senate in 2022 but Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown is eyeing a challenge to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.). Brown fell short in the 2022 primary, where he was bested by Adam Laxalt who then fell to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) in the general election. Nevada is a purple state, one of a handful where Democrats will have to sweat holding on to their narrow Senate majority. A tale of two states: Human rights lawyer Quasim Rashid is running to unseat his fellow Democrat Rep. Bill Foster in Illinois’ 11th District. But what he doesn’t say is that this isn’t his first run for public office ― he’s tried several times, but in Virginia, Nancy reports. In 2019, Rashid made a bid to run for Virginia State Senate, winning the primary but ultimately losing to incumbent state Sen. Richard Stuart (R-Va.). In 2020, he suffered a similar fate when he ran to represent Virginia’s 1st congressional district. He’s now taking his chances in the district that he grew up in ― claiming that he’s been there longer than Foster has.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, July 6, where yes, of course there are still fireworks popping. THREADS WATCH — There’s a new(ish?) social media platform in town and it’s here to try to replace Twitter. Facebook parent company Meta has launched Threads in an effort to compete with Twitter and just in the last few hours (it launched Wednesday), a handful of politicians jumped on the app to get an early start in building an audience there as users look for an alternative to Twitter. We saw North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is running for President, share a thread on Wednesday. Have you seen any lawmakers on Threads? Email us and let us know! WATCH OUT, BIG BANKS — Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance is teaming up with Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to take on giant lenders, keep them from acquiring other banks and crack down on credit card fees. He's a former venture capitalist who’s already endorsed former President Donald Trump's White House bid, but Warren says he is "terrific to work with," Eleanor Muller reports. SEND MONAHAN MARCHING? — Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), former head of the White House medical unit, has offered two amendments to the NDAA to term-limit and replace the Capitol’s attending physician, who is a Navy Medical Corps physician and usually holds the rank of rear admiral. Jackson’s proposals would limit the attending physician to serving 10 years in the post and dictate how the post should be filled. Current Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan was selected for the role in 2009 and faced major criticism from Republicans over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic on Capitol Hill, including consultation with Democratic leadership on the use of proxy voting. WOMEN’S SOFTBALL GAME DEETS — Come one, come all to the 15th annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game on Wednesday, July 12 at Watkins Recreation Center on Capitol Hill. The game this year will benefit the Young Survival Coalition, a non-profit that supports young adults with breast cancer. This year’s congressional captains include Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). Make sure you get your tickets here.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | QUICK LINKS U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raises $6.2 million in first 2 months of Senate race, Patrick Svitek at The Texas Tribune How C-SPAN got more fun, from Kadia Goba at Semafor TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. AROUND THE HILL Last few quiet days of recess.
| | WEDNESDAY’S WINNER: Debby Disch correctly answered that at Lyndon Johnson’s Texas ranch, a blue flag with five stars and the initials “LBJ” flies beneath the American flag. Each star stands for a member of the Johnson family, including Lyndon Baines, Lady Bird, Lynda Bird, and Luci Baines. The fifth star represents Little Beagle Johnson. TODAY’S QUESTION from Debby: Who was the youngest U.S. president when inaugurated? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine and Daniella on Twitter @ktullymcmanus and @DaniellaMicaela | | | | Follow us | | | | |
