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10:01 AM PT (Jeff Singer): Indianapolis Mayor: On Wednesday, state Sen. Jim Merritt became the latest Republican to decline to run in next year's open seat contest. City-County Councilman Scott Keller looks likely to take the plunge, and it looks like he may end up having the GOP field to himself. The Democrats are fielding former U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett, who so far has no primary opposition.
12:19 PM PT (Jeff Singer): Philadelphia Mayor: The already-crowded Democratic field just got a little larger. Judge Nelson Diaz, a former city solicitor who served as general counsel to the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration, is now the fifth candidate to run in the May 19 primary. Diaz joins former District Attorney Lynne Abraham; former Director of Federal Affairs Terry Gillen; former City Solicitor Ken Trujillo; and state Sen. Anthony Williams.
1:40 PM PT (Jeff Singer): OH Redistricting: On Friday, the Ohio Senate passed a law that would change how the state handles legislative redistricting from now on. The state House is expected to easily pass it soon as well. The law will not need Republican Gov. John Kasich's signature, and will instead head to the November 2015 ballot.
Right now, legislative lines are drawn up by a panel consisting of the governor, secretary of state, auditor, and a lawmaker from each party. Only a simple majority is currently needed to pass a 10-year redistricting plan. The new proposal would add an extra Democrat and an extra Republican to the panel, and would require at least two votes from the minority party to pass the redistricting plan for the entire decade. If those votes aren't found, then a majority can just pass it for four years.
Sounds great, right? However, if the next time the commission meets they can't get enough bi-partisan support for the second map... well, nothing really happens. The commission can just pass their new map with majority support, and it will remain in place for the final six years of the decade.
There are some protections in place to reduce gerrymandering, such as limiting how much communities may be divided. But it's hard to see this as inaugurating a new era of bi-partisan redistricting. It's also quite possible it won't pass next November: Voters have rejected changes to the process three times over the last three decades. Note that this will not apply to congressional lines, where the state legislature will still pass a plan and the governor will be able to sign or veto it.
1:57 PM PT (Jeff Singer): Deaths: On Monday, ad man David Garth passed away at the age of 84. Garth's clients included well known figures like New York Govs. Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo, and Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. In a fascinating New York Times obituary, Sam Roberts gives us a taste of Garth's style:
Mr. Garth’s political ads were characterized by an unusual feat of political jujitsu, one in which he would elevate potential liabilities into an asset by cajoling candidates to face a video camera earnestly and do something daring, even distasteful, in the ego-driven scrum of a campaign: admit their mistakes.
You can definitely see Garth's influence in modern ads. One recent example is from Republican Cory Gardner's successful 2014 campaign for U.S. Senate. Despite having a long record opposing various forms of birth control, Garnder cut a spot
where he declared that he wanted the pill to be cheaper and more accessible, while Democratic rival Mark Udall wanted more government regulation that meant more profits for drug companies. The commercial helped Gardner flip a liability, a strategy right out of the Garth playbook.
2:04 PM PT (Jeff Singer): AZ-02: This is the last uncalled major race of 2014, but it's not likely to stay that way. On Monday, Pima County finished re-tabulating a random 5 percent of its ballots, as is required under Arizona recount law. Cochise County also performed a hand recount of 3 percent of its ballots, but in neither county did any results change. The recount numbers are expected to be announced on Wednesday but it's all but impossible to see Democratic Rep. Ron Barber prevailing over Republican Martha McSally when all is said and done.
2:22 PM PT (Jeff Singer): GA-???: In an interview with Roll Call, outgoing Democratic Rep. John Barrow did not rule out a future campaign for office, saying, "If an unusual set of circumstances came up down the road, I wouldn’t rule it out." Barrow had a reputation as a formidable campaigner, surviving Republican attempts to redistrict him out of his seat in 2006 and 2012. However, the 2014 wave was too much even for him, with Barrow losing his conservative seat to Republican Rick Allen 55-45.
2:30 PM PT (Jeff Singer): TX-27: On Thursday, National Law Journal broke the news that Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold is being sued by Lauren Greene, his former communications director, for sexual harassment. Greene goes into many disturbing details, and alleges that she was fired after complaining about her treatment. Farenthold's office is denying the whole thing. Mitt Romney won the district 61-38 but if Farenthold's situation gets worse, he could attract a primary challenge.