WASHINGTON — If it’s Tuesday ... President Biden issues the first pardons of his presidency. ... A Federal judge temporarily blocks the Biden administration’s attempt to lift Title 42. ... New text messages highlight conservative efforts to overturn 2020 election. ... A new poll in the Georgia governor's race has Gov. Kemp up big over Perdue. ... Henry Cuellar goes on offense in the Texas 28 runoff. ... And Twitter has a new owner.
But first: Republican frontrunners David McCormick and Mehmet Oz faced off Monday night in their first debate in Pennsylvania's high-stakes Senate race, NBC's Dasha Burns reports. (Democrats also debated last night.)
In the GOP showdown, McCormick aimed to paint Oz as a liberal flip-flopper, saying “There’s no miracle cure for flip-flopping.” Oz’s digs mostly involved touting the fact that he got Donald Trump’s endorsement over McCormick. In the style of his endorser, Oz unveiled his nickname for McCormick: “Dishonest Dave.”
Burns watched the debate with four undecided GOP voters in Luzerne County (Wilkes-Barre area), one of NBC's key spots for the network's "County to County" series.
Overall, the focus group was frustrated with the amount of time spent on attacks. When asked to describe the debate in one word we heard: "Mean," "Three-ring circus," "Not constructive," and "Disappointing."
All four undecided voters said they consider themselves Trump fans, but not a single one became an Oz supporter after Trump’s endorsement. As Oz hammered Trump’s support in the debate, the groans grew louder and louder with each mention of the endorsement. “That's like his meal ticket,” said Jennifer. Sandra jumped in: “That’s not going to get him elected.”
McCormick got an applause line when he called out Oz: “The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trump's endorsement is because he can't run on his own positions.”
Ultimately, the group turned out to be less impressed with the frontrunners than expected after listening to the hour-long debate. Norb Dotzel, who owns a topsoil farm said, “I just didn't care for either one. They're just both wealthy guys. And they were just talking about all the global stuff.”
The surprise winner of the debate with this small group was Jeff Bartos, the GOP's 2018 Lt. Gov. nominee. Bartos got points for focusing on the issues instead of on his rivals. The voters liked that he stayed out of the fray and felt he answered questions directly. And felt good about his track record in the state, helping local businesses survive the pandemic.
Two of the four said they were undecided and still deciding, per Burns, with the other two leaning towards Bartos.
Tweet of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … $2.4 million
That’s how much money has been spent on ads, per AdImpact, in the Democratic primary in Oregon’s 5th District, where Rep. Kurt Schrader recently picked up an endorsement from President Joe Biden. The race has divided national and local Democrats, NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
“We don’t always agree, but when it has mattered most, Kurt has been there for me,” Biden said in his statement backing the Blue Dog Democrat, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Schrader has also had some outside help ahead of his May 17 primary race against former Talent City Manager Jamie McLeod-Skinner. A trio of outside groups, including two with ties to the pharmaceutical industry, has spent a combined $1 million on ads boosting Shrader. McLeod-Skinner, who has been endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, has only spent $85,000 on the airwaves.
Other numbers you need to know today:
$10,000: That’s how much a New York judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay each day until he turns over subpoenaed documents.
78: The number of people Biden is planning to grant clemency to as part of his first group of presidential pardons.
2: The number of days before the scheduled execution of Melissa Lucio that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decided to delay her execution.
2,319: The number of text messages CNN obtained that were sent and received by Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows between Election Day 2020 and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
81,253,326: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials.
996,477: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far.
Midterm roundup: Peach State poll
A new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp with a significant lead over his GOP primary challenger, former Sen. David Perdue, despite Perdue running with former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. A majority of likely voters — 53 percent — back Kemp, while 27 percent support Perdue.
Kemp needs to win a majority of the May 24 primary vote to avoid a runoff.
Trump, for his part, is sticking by Perdue, saying in a statement last night, “It is not easy to beat an incumbent, however, if our voters turn out, David Perdue will win in a landslide.”
The poll also finds 66 percent of likely voters supporting former football player Herschel Walker, who has Trump’s backing in the Senate race, while the other candidates polled in the single digits. Roughly 23 percent said they were undecided.
The University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs conducted the poll, surveying 866 likely primary voters from April 10-22. The survey had margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Colorado Senate: Republican Joe O’Dea is up with a new ad touting his business career, highlighting his support for the military and police, as well as a promise to “stop inflation.”
Ohio Senate: Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel has a new ad that features footage of Trump-backed J.D. Vance saying he’s a “never-Trumper.”
Florida Governor: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a new bill that creates an election police unit for the state that will investigate voter fraud and other election-related crimes.
Pennsylvania Governor: Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the top Democrat in the gubernatorial race, is up with his first TV ads with a minute-long bio spot and an ad highlighting his work against predatory student loan companies.
Texas Governor: Democrat Beto O’Rourke tested positive for Covid, and says his symptoms are mild.
Wisconsin Governor: GOP businessman Tim Michels launched his gubernatorial bid Monday that he says he will fund primarily with his own personal wealth.
Ohio 11: The Democratic Majority for Israel PAC goes after former Bernie Sanders campaign co-chair Nina Turner in a new ad as Turner takes on Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown in a primary rematch.
Kansas redistricting: A district court judge rejected the GOP legislature’s congressional map, ordering the legislature to draft another one that is less partisan and does not dilute the power of minority groups.
Climate agenda: NBC’s Julie Tsirkin reports that West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski organized a bipartisan meeting to discuss the possibility of a bipartisan climate and energy security bill, including seven GOP senators, eight Democratic senators and three House members.
Ad watch: Cuellar goes on offense
Congressman Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, is out with the first ad of his primary runoff campaign against attorney Jessica Cisneros.
The ad features Cuellar’s constituents touting his accomplishments on pandemic relief, border security and health care. One woman in the ad even says, “Henry helps us with prescriptions and Social Security benefits. If we lose him in Congress, we lose everything.”
This commercial is Cuellar’s first one that is unique to his runoff campaign. Previously, he was running ads that had aired before the Texas primary on March 1, where Cuellar received 49 percent of the vote and Cisneros received 47 percent of the vote. Because neither candidate earned more than 50 percent of the vote, the two will face off again on May 24.
So far, AdImpact hasn't captured any new ads from Cisneros in the runoff period. Before the original primary, though, Cisneros outspent Cuellar on ads, spending $1.2 million compared to Cuellar’s $985,000 before March 1.
ICYMI: What else is happening in the world
The Washington Post reports on a new excerpt from the upcoming book “This Will Not Pass,” which includes an on-the-record quote from then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hours after the Jan. 6 attack saying he felt “exhilarated” that Trump “finally, totally discredited himself.”
A bipartisan group of senators is working on making changes to the 1887 Electoral Count Act in the hopes of preventing a stolen presidential election.
Cedric Richmond, a top Biden aide, is planning to leave the White House next month for a new role with the DNC, NBC’s Natasha Korecki and Jonathan Allen write.
