A SENATE CANDIDATE LOST IN THE MAIL? During his 2022 primary against Mehmet Oz, GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick wanted so badly to count “undated” Pennsylvania mail ballots that he turned to the courts for help — and won. Two years later, McCormick is mounting another Senate run. This time, now that he’s cleared the Republican field as Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-Pa.) likely challenger this fall, counting mail ballots would hurt him, not help him. And it just so happens that he’s gone quiet about whether he’s changed his mind. The stakes for PA-SEN: There will likely be tens of thousands of undated mail ballots cast in Pennsylvania this November, and whether they’re counted or thrown out could make the difference in a close election. But while GOP mail voters were breaking for McCormick in 2022’s primary, mail ballots tend to tilt overwhelmingly toward Democrats. Which means that two years ago, McCormick pushed to get undated mail ballots counted so he could help close the gap with Oz. But this time around, sharp partisan split in mail ballot usage, the strong majority of undated mail ballots will come from Democrats. Getting those ballots rejected would mean a loss of thousands — almost certainly tens of thousands — of Democratic votes for Casey this fall. The stakes for Congress: McCormick, a former hedge fund manager, is waging a well-funded challenge to Casey. While Pennsylvania is not in the top tier of GOP Senate targets, it still could determine which party controls the Senate majority next year. If both vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection hang on in Montana and Ohio, the GOP may find itself reliant on flipping Pennsylvania to preserve its hopes of regaining control. Underscoring that fact, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) joined McCormick on the trail this week. Then, of course, there’s the likelihood that counting mail ballots helps not just Casey but another son of Pennsylvania and Senate guy who’s on the ballot this fall – President Joe Biden. So, how do mail ballots work? Pennsylvania law requires voters to sign and date their envelopes when voting by mail. The state Supreme Court has ruled that means undated ballots should be rejected. But voting advocates and Democrats have argued that federal civil rights law protects those ballots from being thrown out, and some courts have agreed. Back in 2022, McCormick — trailing celebrity doctor Oz in a tight recount — fought to have undated ballots counted under both state and federal law, saying throwing out the ballots “disenfranchises registered voters of both political parties.” The RNC and the Pennsylvania Republican Party opposed his position. McCormick won the lawsuit, but not the primary. Meanwhile, the legal fights over undated ballots have continued. Just last week, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Civil Rights Act doesn’t protect those ballots. The RNC applauded the ruling as a “crucial victory.” Whither McCormick? He has repeatedly declined to say where he stands: Does he still believe mail ballots are a big voting rights issue, opposing the RNC? Or has he changed his position? The McCormick campaign has not returned repeated requests for comment. After acknowledging POLITICO’s first request a week ago, campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory hasn’t responded to email or text messages since. If any Inside Congress readers spot McCormick on the trail or visiting the Hill, please ask him about his position for us! We’d love to know. – Ally Mutnick and Jonathan Lai GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, where the Senate pages managed to dodge the afternoon rain and finally got to get gussied up for their official photos. JOHNSON’S AID CONUNDRUM: THE SENATE Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Thursday underscored the problem with Speaker Mike Johnson's ever-shifting plan for foreign aid: the Senate still exists. It’s become abundantly clear that Johnson is committed to altering the Senate-passed supplemental — which includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — before putting it to a vote in the House. That, of course, means the bill would have to go back to the Senate for another vote before it heads to President Joe Biden’s desk. The same rules would apply if Johnson chose to hold separate votes on Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan aid, since they were originally lumped together in the Senate’s version. And the upper chamber, or at least its Democratic majority, hardly seems interested in changes. “It came out of the Senate with overwhelming support, and that's what needs to move forward,” Duckworth said of the comprehensive bill on Thursday. “If they send something back, it’s going to have to go through this process, and I don't think it will survive on this side.” Duckworth specifically warned that evolving Democratic attitudes on conditioning aid to Israel could cause holdups. Following the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza this week, a number of Democratic senators have expressed deep frustration with the Israeli government’s handling of the war. Duckworth herself said that while she is “always reluctant to add conditions when we send aid to an ally,” the situation in Israel is such that lawmakers “have to take a really long, hard look at how they are using this aid.” “But that's why it's so important [the House] just pass the Senate version,” Duckworth said. “Because it would just get stuck back over here before we could get anything out the door again.” — Ursula Perano GIANT FISA FIGHT, PART III Speaker Mike Johnson has 99 problems and FISA is one … that will return next week. The House Rules Committee is expected to formally announce Friday that it will mark up a reauthorization of the controversial surveillance authority known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act next week. That means the battle between the House Intelligence and Judiciary Republicans will likely erupt right as Congress returns from recess, multiple Republicans tell us. The expected announcement lines up with the timeline we first reported in March when Johnson told us he planned to bring back the bill next week. The bill language is a compromise that leadership hashed out between the two warring committees (it’s already posted on the Rules website). Two of the biggest sticking points center on warrant requirements on foreign data searches that are related to Americans, as well as a provision preventing data brokers from selling consumer information to law enforcement. Amendments on both of those fronts could come up, though there’s still ongoing haggling about which ones will get a vote on the floor. And remember: This is the same bill that Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) walked away from two months ago. And there’s no guarantee legislation actually gets through the House this time either, even as Congress approaches the April 19 deadline for reauthorizing 702. Meanwhile, some conservatives warn that the FISA battle could stir some more malcontent against Johnson, as Greene’s motion to boot him hangs over his head. As the Georgia conservative told us in an interview this week: “The people are outraged. And you want to know what? If he passes Ukraine funding next week, and then follows up the week after with FISA, the base is going to lose their minds.” — Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers
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