Ann Wagner

By Stephanie Akin, Bridget Bowman and Simone Pathé

Welcome back to At the Races! We are relaunching just as the campaign cycle gets interesting. Each week we’ll bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call team that will keep you informed about the 2020 election. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here.

Missouri Democratic state Sen. Jill Schupp, who is challenging Republican Rep. Ann Wagner in a St. Louis-area district, raised over $225,000 in the 24 hours after she launched her bid Tuesday, her campaign said. 

Democrats are sure to seize upon the number as a sign of continued leftward momentum in the suburbs. 

Leaders of a group formed by House Republicans after Democrats routed GOP candidates in suburbs around the country in the 2018 midterms said Wednesday that they would roll out dozens of bills in the coming months to show the party can appeal to voters beyond rural areas.

The product of a new suburban caucus launched last spring by Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner, the agenda might look familiar to anyone following the Democratic presidential campaigns. Caucus task forces have been dedicated to making health care affordable, supporting family caregivers and increasing school safety, for example.

When it comes to the battle for Congress, fundraising reports can provide clues about who’s in trouble and who’s mounting a strong campaign.

It’s still early in the 2020 cycle, but an analysis of reports for this year’s third quarter in House and Senate races that Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates as competitive sheds new light on where donors in both parties are directing their money. The reports were due by midnight Tuesday.

A pair of anti-money laundering bills are expected to be merged and head to the House floor soon after Congress returns from recess.

The House Financial Services Committee voted 55-0 in May to advance one of the bills, a measure co-sponsored by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Republican Steve Stivers of Ohio, that would update the framework used by federal investigators to combat money laundering.

Rep. Sean P. Duffy, R-Wis., spoke for what will likely be his last time as a member of the House Financial Services Committee Thursday. He took a moment at the end of remarks on border security to thank colleagues for “the friendships and camaraderie.”  Duffy thanked the Democratic committee chairwoman, Rep. Maxine Waters specifically for “always” treating him with respect. His comments spurred a collegial and impromptu tribute with Waters thanking him for the “good times and the bad times” and Rep. Ann Wagner choking up during her well wishes.

The results are in: Brews are definitely beer-partisan

The big winner at Wednesday’s second annual Brew Across America was Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner with her “Big House Brew,” which might have had a home-state advantage.

The first special election primary of the year is heading into overtime, with two of the 17 Republicans in North Carolina’s 3rd District advancing to a July 9 runoff for a seat that’s likely to remain in GOP hands. 

State Rep. Greg Murphy and pediatrician Joan Perry led the multi-candidate field, but since neither surpassed the 30 percent threshold to avoid a runoff, the race continues. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Murphy was in first place with 22.5 percent of the vote, followed by Perry with 15.4 percent, according to the Associated Press.  

Colleen breaks into a smile that almost touches her ears when she thinks about the moment she discovered she would become a mom. After almost a decade of trying to conceive with her husband, Randy, giving birth to her daughter felt like a “miracle.”

But following Macy’s birth, what was ostensibly the happiest time in their lives soon became one of financial and mental strain as Colleen battled postpartum depression. To make matters more difficult, her employer only provided partial paid family medical leave for 12 weeks, the amount required under New Jersey state law. The couple was forced to dip into their savings and return to work, even though Colleen was still dealing with postpartum issues and recovering from her cesarean section.

Republicans’ biggest problem electing women has been in primaries.

But in the first special election primary of the year, where 17 Republicans are vying next week for the nod in North Carolina’s 3rd District, the two candidates who have attracted the most significant outside support are women.