NotedDC — Advocacy groups get money surge after Roe leak

Pro-abortion rights organizations have seen a surge in donations following the release of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading pro-abortion rights nonprofit, told NotedDC they have seen a 1,400-percent increase in donations since the opinion leaked, with 51 percent coming from first-time donors.

Planned Parenthood said it’s seen “a sharp uptick in online giving” while D.C. Abortion Fund, an organization based in the DMV, told us their donations tripled in 24 hours — from $34,000 on Tuesday to $105,179 by midday Wednesday.

And Abortion Care Network, an association of independent abortion providers, said its campaign Keep Our Clinics received more than $110,000 from over 4,000 donors as of Wednesday afternoon — its largest influx in a 24-hour period.

Expect fundraising to ramp up as we get closer to late June when the court issues its final decision.

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COVID fallout

ABC News’s Jonathan Karl is the first journalist to make headlines for testing positive for COVID-19 after the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner, where host Trevor Noah joked on stage that it was a “superspreader” event.

Karl tested positive Monday despite testing negative Saturday afternoon, before the dinner, a person familiar with the matter told The Hill’s Dominick Mastrangelo.

CNN reported that journalists from multiple other news organizations have also tested positive following the weekend’s festivities.

The dinner required attendees to be vaccinated and boosted and test negative within 24 hours of the event.

WHCA President Steven Portnoy defended the protocols, telling CNN they went “beyond any guidance or regulation issued by the CDC or the DC health department.”

SCOOP: Turning Point USA launching multimillion-dollar PAC effort

Turning Point USA, a conservative organization known for its steadfast support of former President Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, is launching its own political action committee (PAC) to support candidates it backs.

The group says the goal of Turning Point PAC is to cultivate a “next generation activist operation that grassroots conservatives across America can trust.” 

“Turning Point PAC has an unprecedented opportunity to tip the ideological balance of the conservative movement,” Turning Point PAC Founder Charlie Kirk said in a statement to The Hill about the new efforts.

“Conservatives often wonder why their elected officials stab them in the back once they take office. We will work to elect candidates who will courageously defend the values of grassroots voters, and we will work to replace the frauds who consistently betray us. The New Right lives here.” 

Turning Point launched as a nonprofit in 2012, zeroing in on high school and college campuses to recruit conservative supporters. 

According to a release from the group, “TPPAC intends to develop candidates to combat the consultant class and the globalist chamber of commerce establishment that has taken advantage of conservatives for too long.” 

TPPAC says it has “a multi-million dollar war chest” heading into this year’s mid-term election cycle.

Hogan flirts with 2024 bid 

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) isn’t shy about his presidential aspirations, making it clear he’d be an alternative to Trump-inspired candidates — or former President Trump himself.

Hogan previewed his message Tuesday in a speech at the Reagan Library: “Enough of the angry rhetoric and the grievance politics. Enough of the narcissism of small differences. We can’t build a successful party by tearing it apart or burning it down.” 

The governor told The Hill’s Reid Wilson he is “a voice of reason in the party.”

Still, it will be an uphill battle for Hogan to convince Trump’s base — voters who will be key for the success of any candidate in the Republican primary.

“The GOP would have to repudiate Trump to nominate Hogan,” Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told NotedDC. “Given the strength of Trump’s support in the base, it is very difficult to see that happening. Politics is a crazy business, so we’ll see.”

And don’t forget: Trump just scored big Tuesday with his endorsed candidate, J.D. Vance, winning the Senate GOP primary in Ohio.

QUOTEABLE

“Thanks to the president for everything, for endorsing me.”

– J.D. Vance after winning the crowded Ohio GOP Senate primary Tuesday.

The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Tal Axelrod have five takeaways on Vance’s win.

Replaying the tape

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch are drawing scrutiny from even some Republicans over their confirmation testimony about Roe v. Wade following news that the Supreme Court appears poised to reverse the landmark abortion ruling.

“If this leaked draft opinion is the final decision and this reporting is accurate, it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in a statement this week, noting the opinion isn’t final.

What they said: “I would tell you that Roe v. Wade, decided in 1973, is a precedent of the United States Supreme Court,” Gorsuch said during his confirmation hearing in 2017. “A good judge will consider it as precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court worthy as treatment of precedent like any other.” 

Kavanaugh in his hearing said Roe was “settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court, entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis,” but noted when pressed that he was open to and “listen[s] to all arguments.”

Per CNN’s Manu Raju, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) — the only Democrat who voted for Kavanaugh — said Wednesday “we are going back through all the things we have” to see what Kavanaugh said in meetings. 

GOP’S ROE MESSAGING

Senate Republicans’ campaign arm circulated a report Tuesday offering anti-abortion messaging for candidates with less than 190 days until the midterm elections.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) report, obtained by NotedDC, highlights messaging voters can expect to see in GOP speeches and ads:

• “Joe Biden and the Democrats have and will continue to spread lies about where Republicans stand on abortion and women’s health care.”
• “Joe Biden and the Democrats have extreme and radical views on abortion that are outside of the mainstream of most Americans.”
• “The leak of this document is indicative of the Radical Left’s mission to undermine the institution of the Supreme Court and ultimately pack the Court with liberal judges who will rubber stamp the Democrats’ radical agenda. It’s wrong and the leaker should be found, fired and potentially prosecuted.” 

The GOP’s messaging comes despite 57 percent of Americans wanting the court to support abortion rights, according to a new Morning Consult/Politico poll.

Team USA visits White House 

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, along with Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, welcomed dozens of athletes to the White House on Wednesday.

“You don’t just play a game, run a race, hit a target or win a competition,” Jill Biden said. “With every step, jump, roll, kick and twirl, you show us the height of our human potential–you show us how to fall, and then get back up.”  

• The athletes represented USA’s Summer and Winter Olympic teams from last year, as well as Paralympics athletes. 
• The first lady, wearing a red dress topped with a white Team USA rain jacket, acknowledged the athletes have had an unusual experience with COVID-19.
• The pandemic delayed the summer Olympics in Tokyo for a year and forced the Winter Olympics in Beijing to be held with very few spectators. 

No burgers here: The White House had breakfast items in the Rose Garden for attendees at Wednesday’s event: granola and other healthy items.

It also marked the first major public appearance for Harris, who had been sidelined for a week as she quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19.

ONE NUMBER TO KNOW

$12 million

Democrats raised that much in the day following the Supreme Court leak via ActBlue, a website that processes online donations for Democratic candidates and groups, as first reported by Bloomberg Government.

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