DeSantis sends migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, escalating GOP stunts on border policy

WASHINGTON — If it’s Thursday … President Biden announces a tentative deal to avert rail strike. … Biden also speaks at the United We Stand Summit, where he will speak out against “hate-fueled violence.” … NBC News projects Robert Burns wins GOP primary in New Hampshire-02. … Marquette poll shows tight Wisconsin Senate and Wisconsin gubernatorial contests. … Monmouth survey finds Democrat John Fetterman with a stronger fav/unfav rating than Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania Senate. … And Wednesday night’s Congressional Women’s Softball game raises more than $540,000 to support young adults battling breast cancer.

But first: It’s one thing for Republican governors to complain about the Biden administration’s border/migration policies, as well as about the financial burden these migrants place on border states. 

Yet it’s an entirely different thing to put these migrants on a plane to Martha’s Vineyard. 

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, escalating a tactic by Republican governors to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration’s failed border policies,” the AP writes. 

“Flights to the upscale island enclave in Massachusetts were part of an effort to ‘transport illegal immigrants to sanctuary destinations,’ said Taryn Fenske, DeSantis’ communications director.”

These kinds of actions get plenty of media attention. They put Democrats on the defensive (although Massachusetts’ sitting governor happens to be a Republican). And they get cheers from a conservative base that loves to “own the libs.”

But they also invite potential backlash. 

The New York Times reports that these migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard were from Venezuela, and there are plenty of Venezuelan immigrants (and voters) now living in Florida.  

It also comes after DeSantis’ lieutenant governor got criticized for saying that Cuban migrants would be transported to Delaware, President Biden’s home state. 

Maybe more than anything else, this practice of transporting migrants to blue states shows just how broken our public-policy system has become — where Republicans are preferring performance art to good-faith negotiations and solutions. 

And how many are not just tolerating this practice; they’re cheering it. 

Tweet of the day Data Download: The number of the day is … $28.9 million 

That’s how much more money Republicans have booked in advertising in New Hampshire’s Senate race through Election Day — largely $22.2 million from the Senate Leadership Fund and another $6.5 million from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, per AdImpact. 

The question is: Will that spending come to fruition now that retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc is the party’s nominee, considering the GOP establishment spent millions in a last-ditch, failed attempt to elevate a candidate they believed would make the race more competitive? Or will Republicans shift those resources elsewhere in the hopes of shoring up other seats they deem more likely to go their way? 

So far, Republicans are talking like the state is still going to stay on the map — NRSC Chairman Rick Scott told Politico that the NRSC is “going to be all-in to make sure he wins,” and other GOP leaders have sung a similar tune. 

It’s possible Bolduc is able to keep the race tight and keep the national GOP engaged in his state. But if he fails, that money might fall off the board. 

Other numbers to know:

750,000: At least how many people British police expect to camp out to view the Queen’s casket.  

22%: The week-over-week decrease in global deaths from Covid, per the World Health Organization. 

14 days: How many days Ohio’s six-week abortion ban will be blocked for after a recent ruling.  

59%: The share of registered voters who say they are extremely concerned about inflation/higher prices in the Fox poll (50% say they feel that way about the future of U.S democracy, 45% say that about abortion policy and 43% say that about higher crime rates).

3: How many Iranian nationals were indicted Wednesday in a hacking and ransomware scheme.

$540,000: That’s how much money was raised by last night’s Congressional Women’s Softball Game, a record amount for the Young Survival Coalition, which supports young adults battling breast cancer. The women lawmakers ended their losing streak, beating the press corps, 6-5.

Midterm roundup: Polls, polls and more polls

Polls released over the last 24 hours show that while the political environment appears to be improving for Democrats, races in battleground states are going to come down to the wire.  

A new Fox News poll of registered voters shows Democrats have a 3-point lead in the congressional ballot (44%-41%), although that’s within the margin of error. And an AP/NORC poll released this morning showed that Biden’s approval rating has improved over the last few months, rising to 45% after sinking to a low of 36% in July. 

Statewide races are still expected to be very close, especially in states Biden won narrowly in 2020, like Wisconsin. Anew Marquette Law School poll of likely voters found GOP Sen. Ron Johnson at 49% to Democrat Mandela Barnes’ 48%, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers leading Republican Tim Michels, 47% to 44%.

In Georgia, a new Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters showed Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock ahead of Republican Herschel Walker 52% to 48%, while GOP Gov. Brian Kemp is at 50% versus Democrat Stacey Abrams’ 48%.

Pennsylvania remains a potential bright spot for Democrats. A new CBS/YouGov poll found Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman leading celebrity doctor Oz 52% to 47% among likely voters. And a new Monmouth University poll found Oz has a higher unfavorability rating. The CBS/YouGov poll also finds Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro leads Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano 55% to 44%. 

Elsewhere on the campaign trail: 

Florida Senate: Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is backing the new 15-week abortion ban in Congress. He’s also up with two new ads criticizing Democratic Rep. Val Demings by casting her as too liberal. 

Georgia Senate: Republican Herschel Walker also supports the proposed 15-week abortion ban, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

North Carolina Senate: Republican Rep. Ted Budd will appear at a rally next Friday with President Trump. 

Pennsylvania Senate: Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz appear to have agreed to a debate, but are continuing to squabble over the terms. In an interview with the New York Times, Fetterman stressed that he is running a “perfectly normal” campaign as he recovers from a stroke. He still struggles with some speech and hearing issues, and NBC News’ Ben Goggin reports that some “deceptively edited” videos that exaggerate Fetterman’s speech issues have hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter and TikTok.

Massachusetts Governor: Democrat Attorney General Maura Healey leads Republican Geoff Diehl in the new Suffolk University/Boston Globe/NBC10 Boston/Telemundo poll of likely midterm voters by a margin of 52% to 26%. 

New York Governor: Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin is out with a new TV ad cataloging violent attacks that occurred in the state, telling voters to “vote like your life depends on it. It just might.”

Colorado-07: FiveThirtyEight says it obtained audio that shows Republican Erik Aadland saying “we have an illegitimate government in power.” 

Nevada-03: NBC News’ Sahil Kapur explores how Republican April Becker is trying to navigate the abortion issue in her race against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee.

Ad watch: “One of them”

In a new ad, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, calls out her opponent in Ohio’s 9th District race, Republican J.R. Majewski, for aligning himself with right-wing extremist groups.

“They’re called QAnon, and they believe Satan worshippers control our government. The FBI calls QAnon a domestic terrorist threat. They’re dangerous, extreme and prone to violence. Extremist J. R. Majewski is one of them,” a narrator in the ad says.

QAnon is a right-wing online movement based on untrue and sometimes violent conspiracy theories. Kaptur’s ad features a tape of Majewski saying, “I believe in everything that’s been put out from Q.”

Believers in Q were among the extremists that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and Majewski was among them.

ICYMI: What else is happening in the world

Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., are out with new legislation aimed at preventing future stolen elections, complementing the efforts in the Senate. 

Baltimore City’s state attorney is asking for a new trial in the infamous murder of Hae Min Lee, which was at the center of the crime-podcast “Serial.”