Friday, September 9, 2022 / Washington Weekly Washington Weekly - August 31, 2022 Upcoming Washington Event: ASA Government Affairs is excited to announce that we are in the planning stages for an upcoming Legislative Fly-In to take place in March 2023. More details to come! This Week: The House and Senate are in recess. Congress: COVID-19: After additional funding plans failed over the current session, the federal government has begun the transition away from paying for vaccines and treatments (Paxlovid) that address COVID-19. Most funding runs out in January and will need to be paid for privately. Budget: When Congress returns after Labor Day, work will begin in earnest to finalize a budget or pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund government at current levels, presumably through the election. Resignation: On Wednesday, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) resigned from his seat in Congress to focus on his challenge to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). A former Republican himself, Crist’s Tampa-area seat will remain vacant until the November election. Politics: A Quick Look: The media always loves to cover a horse race and the 2022 election cycle is no exception. As numbers have shown over the last few weeks, generic ballot polls have indicated Democrats and Republicans are tied for the affection of voters and the expected ‘red wave’ is now billed as nothing less than a trickle. Much of the focus has been on the battleground races for the senate, but there are few that are ‘off the radar’ worth looking at: Colorado: Sen. Michael Bennet is seeking his third term in 2022. After Democrats meddled in the Republican Primary and failed in helping to elect a more conservative candidate, moderate Republican Joe O’Dea emerged as the GOP nominee. O’Dea, the CEO of a construction company, has bucked the trend of most Republican nominees by being more moderate on social issues like abortion. In 2010, Sen. Bennet won by less than 30,000 votes statewide against former GOP Rep. Ken Buck. In 2016, Sen. Bennet easily won with over 160,000 votes, but only won with a plurality of votes. While most political handicappers have rated this seat as a slam dunk for the incumbent, a late-August Trafalgar Group poll showed the race at Bennet 47% - O’Dea 42%. Sen. Bennet will have a fundraising and incumbency advantage over O’Dea and the race is far from over – but at this moment, appears to be much closer than originally thought. Missouri: After Attorney General Eric Schmitt successfully dispatched Rep. Vicki Hartzler and former Gov. Eric Greitens in the Republican primary, he now faces philanthropist and Anheuser-Busch heir Trudy Busch Valentine in the fall. The last two public polls in this race (Missouri Scout and SLU/YouGov) both show Schmitt with an 11-point advantage. Washington State: Sen. Patty Murray was first elected in 1992 (commonly known in American political history as the Year of the Woman). She has successfully seen off all Republican challengers, with her closest margin of victory being a 5-point win over Dino Rossi in 2010. This cycle, Sen. Murray is facing nurse and veterans advocate, Republican Tiffany Smiley in the general. While polling averages compiled over the last year have shown Sen. Murray up with a comfortable 13-point lead, the most recent public poll from McLaughlin & Associates in mid-August showed the race at Murray 49% - Smiley 43%. This poll could just be an outlier and expectations have been low for a Smiley upset, but it is an interesting development as this race starts to ramp up. Generic Congressional Ballot (RCP Average): Republicans +0.3 President Biden Job Approval (RCP Average): 42% Approve – 55% Disapprove Retirement Tracker: Senate: (1 D, 5 R); House: (34 D, 17 R). Special Elections: Republican-held: Indiana’s 2nd: 11/08/2022 The House now has composition of 219 Democrats to 211 Republicans (with 5 vacancies). The Senate is comprised of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans – with Democrats controlling the chamber as the Vice President also serves as the President of the Senate. State Legislation Tracking Please visit our web-based state legislative tracker here. Print