The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, and Carolyn Fiddler, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
● NY-11: Now that the new fundraising quarter covering the period of Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 has begun, we should expect a spate of candidate announcements. Ex-Rep. Mike Grimm kicked things off on Sunday when he announced that he would challenge his successor, Rep. Dan Donovan, in the GOP primary for this Staten Island seat. Grimm, who stepped down in early 2015 on tax evasion charges and served seven months in jail, apologized for his past actions, but he quickly began tying himself to Donald Trump.
Grimm also quickly went after the incumbent, telling the crowd that Donovan is "a nice guy, right? A bit of a sweetheart. But let me tell you something: He's never going to get anything done, not ever," adding, "And in Washington, nice guys finish last." And whatever else you may think about Mike Grimm, you can not say he's a sweetheart. In 2014, Grimm threatened a TV reporter after the State of the Union, declaring that he would "break you in half. Like a boy." And yes, the camera was rolling.
Donovan, a former Staten Island district attorney, has the support of the island's GOP power players. The head of the state Conservative Party, which usually supports GOP candidates in general elections, also said he was for Donovan. However, despite, or maybe even because of, his troubled history, Grimm very well may be able to beat the incumbent. Back in 2014, after Grimm was indicted, national Republicans abandoned this race, and Grimm's fundraising quickly dried up. However, while national Democrats spent heavily here, Grimm decisively won re-election against a flawed Democratic foe. Grimm always maintained that the Obama Justice Department was unfairly targeting him, an argument that struck a chord in a community where plenty of voters believe they've been neglected by their city, local, and national governments.
Grimm built up a cult of personality by stoking this resentment, and that cult may very well live on. The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher quoted one Grimm supporter on Sunday saying that, while it was wrong for Grimm to underreport his employee's wages at his restaurant and to file false tax documents, "He did his time. Every business does that. He was made an example of." It's probably too much for Donovan to hope that this is an isolated opinion. Daily Kos Elections community member Taget was at the event, and he has some very interesting and smart observations that are very worth checking out.
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