.@justicedems laid off nine of its 20 staff members a few weeks ago.

I looked at both the proximate and deeper reasons, as well as the broader implications for the left -- at the ballot box and on Capitol Hill. huffpost.com/entry/justice-… 7 out of 9 people laid off were paid by Organize for Justice, the group's 501(c)4 -- the lobbying, organizing, and podcast arm.

The move signals a move away from leg. and organizing work, and a doubling down on core election mission.

New: Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson relentlessly defined his opponent as a "Republican" and presented a progressive plan for reducing crime that he had confidence would resonate with voters.

My deep dive into how he won: huffpost.com/entry/how-bran… via @HuffPostPol A few key elements:
-- Johnson began inoculating himself on "defund" by leaning into public safety before the runoff
-- He hit Vallas hard as a "Republican" from the night he made the runoff
-- 15-second TV ads to establish name ID
...

Earlier today, Rep. Chuy García endorsed Brandon Johnson, bringing two Latino state lawmakers and City Council members along with him.

Given García's first-place finish in many majority-Latino precincts in the city, this could have some juice for Johnson among Latino voters. There was some tension between Johnson and García prior to the runoff.

Many progressives blamed García for getting in the race late, clogging the left's lane.

huffpost.com/entry/chuy-gar…
...

Scoop: @ClyburnSC06 is endorsing @Brandon4Chicago in the Chicago mayoral race, providing the progressive contender a critical boost in his showdown with centrist Paul Vallas.

Clyburn has already been bundling money for him for weeks.

huffpost.com/entry/jim-clyb… via @HuffPostPol Johnson met with Clyburn in Selma, Alabama, and they developed a personal bond made stronger by their shared background as former teachers and sons of pastors.

Johnson also met with President Biden while he was there.

.@benwallacewells talked to Republican insiders about why they think Tuesday is going to be a "bloodbath" for Democrats.

newyorker.com/news/the-polit… The key takeaway: GOPers believe that the Dobbs decision prompted more Democratic "super voters" to participate in polls, at once inflating Dem share of likely electorate, and encouraging Dems to over-rely on abortion rights, Jan. 6, and democracy themes as their salience faded.

New: Facing Republican Joe O’Dea, a construction CEO critical of Trump, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) has emphasized economic policy differences.

My look at how Bennet, a Child Tax Credit champion, is running as a critic of "trickle-down economics": huffpost.com/entry/michael-… Some highlights:
-- Even in increasingly blue Colorado, Bennet's tax-centric populism -- complete with denunciations of Reagan and "neoliberalism" -- is unique. Polis and Hickenlooper sound different.
-- He embraces the Bernie left's analysis that inequality gave oxygen o Trump.

I’m at the Port Authority bus station in Manhattan this morning covering the arrival of more buses of asylum seekers sent by Texas. The people in green unloading the truck are from @MasbiaRelief, whose founder @AlexRapaport pitched me on covering this.

I spoke to the press conference attendee who interrupted Beto to say “That’s propaganda bro.” He’s conservative and has lost a relative in the attack. Please be kind. Cody Ytuarte, a carpenter from Harper, Texas, is in town because a cousin Kendall Olivera was shot and survived, and two other distant cousins whose names escape him were killed.

Awaiting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Paxton and one or more senators — in Uvalde HS auditorium. Paxton, Cruz, Cornyn, LG Patrick, Abbott and a whole lot of others are here

I drove from Laredo to cover the shooting. Not much to add right now but here’s a photo of Jennifer Click who lives in Bandera and wanted to just show support for her neighbors. She’s outside the civic center where families were coming to get information about their kids. Scene from inside the civic center courtesy of P.J. Talavera, a martial arts instructor in town who came to help out. Periodically a family would emerge wailing and crying.

I have yet to meet anyone here who is a firm supporter of Dr. Oz. In fact, there’s a whole section of people that boos every time he appears on screen. Catch it at the end of this video. Carrie Hamley, a Greensburg small business owner supporting Kathy Barnett, explained to me why they’re booing.

New: How gas price hikes present political challenges and opportunities for the climate left. (w/ ⁦@AlexCKaufman⁩) huffpost.com/entry/joe-bide… As @daveweigel noted, the same Democratic president who mothballed Keystone XL and pushed for Build Back Better is now taking short-terms steps to increase drilling, putting ascendant climate progressives in a bind ...

washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/…

I was just talking with someone who expressed confidence that whoever wins the Democratic nomination in the new NY-11 -- Biden +~10 -- would win in November.

But people forget how brutal partisan waves can be ... ... In a Sept. 2011 special election to replace Anthony Weiner, Republican Bob Turner won NY-9 by a solid 6 points: nytimes.com/2011/09/14/nyr…

New w/ @robillard: Building trades unions are teaming up with Big Pharma to beat back a Democratic bill empowering the federal government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. huffpost.com/entry/building… via @HuffPostPol For more than 15 years, the pharmaceutical industry and the building trades unions -- as well as the cop and firefighters unions who have zero relationship to pharma -- have operated a joint advocacy group called the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association (PILMA).

In the course of research on a totally different union-corporate political partnership, I'm reminded of the super PAC, American Working Families, which spent more than $1 million in support of Richie Neal during the 2020 primary ...

opensecrets.org/races/outside-… ... Most of American Working Families' donors are unions.

There are also a bunch of corporations like Dominion Energy; trade groups for doctors that benefited from surprise billing (anesthesia, pathology); and donors like Robert and Jonathan Kraft.

fec.gov/data/receipts/…

I want to thank every brave person who came forward to speak to me despite the professional risks

https://twitter.com/danielmarans/status/1426588633767858182

I still believe that this story would look a lot different if Jeff Weaver had not been the only aide to go on record -- and more importantly, to coordinate an organized press pushback.

There are lots of people who had stories to tell who were afraid of retribution.

New: Nina Turner has said that "corporatist" money backing her opponent is responsible for her defeat.

But Turner and IEs backing her outraised Shontel Brown and her IEs. Turner still went dark on TV at a key moment.

My look at Turner's mistakes: huffpost.com/entry/how-shon… Here are the TV competitives from May onward. Apologies for the small sizing designed to fit a lot of weeks in.

Stefane Goard got a city job through Councilman Kevin Conwell who endorsed Nina. Connell’s word matters to him. *Stefan — my mistake

New: The Democratic establishment and the activist left both have a lot on the line in Tuesday's primary election between Nina Turner and Shontel Brown.

My curtain raiser:
huffpost.com/entry/nina-tur… via @HuffPostPol .@SeanMcElwee notes: Since Biden's election, the left has lost La.-2, Va. Gov., and NYC mayoral.

“Each race has its own unique circumstances, but the broader narrative is that under the Biden presidency, progressives need an election message that resonates with our base voters.”

I just heard @bobpetersonfarm speak to a group of supporters in Chilicothe.

He’s an 8th-generation corn and soybean farmer and state senator running to succeed Steve Stivers, who left just a few months ago. Special election is Tuesday. This is a race w/ 11 candidates. One backed by Stivers (Jeff LaRe), one backed by Trump (Mike Carey), and backed by Rand Paul (Ron Hood).

Peterson is likely most traditional conservative — furthest right record per @ACUConservative and endorsed by @ohiolife.

Will it be enough?

New @ninaturner ad attacking @ShontelMBrown references donations to Brown from top Republicans, including Robert Kraft: Kraft and the former Cuyahoga County GOP chairman have indeed given to Brown: cleveland.com/open/2021/07/n…