Morning Digest: New GOP candidate for California governor was once a dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers

The group's founder was serving 18 years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attacks—until Trump stepped in

California Republican Chad Bianco, at left (credit: Chad Bianco Facebook)

Leading Off

CA-Gov

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco launched his campaign for California's open governorship as expected on Monday, making him the first notable Republican in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Gavin Newsom.

But if Bianco is to make inroads in a safely blue state that hasn't elected a Republican as governor in two decades, he'll have to deal with headlines like the one that accompanied this 2021 article in the Los Angeles Times: "Riverside County sheriff was once a member of an extremist group with ties to the Jan. 6 insurrection."

As the Times' Lila Seidman explained, Bianco had been a dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers, which the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as "one of the largest far-right antigovernment groups in the U.S. today." After Bianco's membership was revealed, Seidman reported, he "did not denounce the group" or explain why he'd joined in the first place

The founder of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes' sentence was commuted by Donald Trump last month upon his return to office.

A handful of other Republicans are considering bids, but the party has had no luck in statewide elections since 2006, when Arnold Schwarzenegger won reelection. A large number of prominent Democrats, meanwhile, are already running, but the field could get upended should Kamala Harris decide to join.

We always take the opportunity to shine the Klieg lights on troubling candidates like Chad Bianco above. Some media outlets, though, didn’t even mention his disturbing ties to the Oath Keepers. If you value news that tells the truth about authoritarianism in America, please support The Downballot as a paid subscriber today.

Dave Weigel on surviving the news onslaught

Senate

KY-Sen

The deep-pocketed Club for Growth announced Friday that it would "oppose" Rep. Andy Barr if he runs for the Senate, and it didn't wait long: The far-right group launched a TV ad previewing some of the attacks it could use against him in next year's Republican primary.

"Garland Hale Barr IV," the narrator intones as a white-gloved hand places a silver spoon next to a plate bearing the congressman's face. The minute-long commercial goes on to accuse Barr of having "[s]kipped past the real world into plum government jobs" and being an ally of "woke Wall Street banks."

The Club says its commercial ran on Sunday's political shows—hardly appointment viewing for most voters but an ideal platform for getting seen by the power brokers advising candidates. And the group, which has long been one of the biggest outside spenders in Republican politics, is more than capable of blasting its message out to a wider audience if need be.

Barr's team responded by arguing that the congressman was being targeted by "the same people who spent millions attacking and lying about President Trump." The GOP's supreme master and the Club have spent the last decade engaged in an on-again, off-again intraparty war, though according to comments from Trump last year, the two have once again reconciled.

The hardline anti-tax organization, which has spent decades making trouble for the old Republican establishment, initially responded to Trump's rise by spending millions on ads to beat him in the 2016 presidential primaries. The Club's longtime president, David McIntosh, explained at the time that it was supporting Ted Cruz's campaign because Cruz was "a consistent conservative who will fight to shrink the federal footprint, while Donald Trump would seek to remake government in his desired image."

The Club responded to Trump's shock win that fall by refashioning itself into an all-out MAGA enterprise and even targeting other former Trump skeptics for their past transgressions.

But that alliance fell apart in 2022 after Trump backed former "Never Trump guy" JD Vance in the Ohio Senate primary as McIntosh's outfit stuck with former state Treasurer Josh Mandel. The Club made the breach worse with an ad telling voters that Trump, who had endorsed Mitt Romney four years before, was capable of picking the wrong candidate.

Rolling Stone also reported that Tucker Carlson, who was one of Vance's key backers, had told Trump that McIntosh was untrustworthy because of what the story called "an embarrassing and 'chronic' personal sexual habit." The magazine refused to provide any details about this salacious claim, but it relayed that Trump "spent a notable amount of time gossiping and laughing about the prominent Republican's penis."

Vance's victory over Mandel did not end the hostilities. The Club spent the following year trying to block Trump from claiming the GOP nod again, while Trump branded the organization "[t]he Club For NO Growth, an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers."

McIntosh, though, once again sought to make peace after it became clear who the party's standard-bearer would be, and Trump was only too happy to accept his supplication.

"[W]e're back in love, we're deeply in love," Trump reportedly told Club donors last year. It didn't hurt that one of the Club's largest donors, Jeff Yass, is a major investor in Trump's Truth Social platform.

The Club's intervention in the unfolding Kentucky Senate race comes a week after CBS first reported that Barr told donors he'd run as long as the incumbent, former GOP leader Mitch McConnell, doesn't seek reelection. The Club and McConnell are also longtime antagonists and, unlike Trump, they've never reached any sort of detente.

Several other Republicans are also eyeing the race to succeed the 83-year-old McConnell, whom almost everyone expects to retire. While the Club has not signaled who, if anyone, it might support, it's leaving no ambiguity about its plans to take down Barr.

MN-Sen, MN-02

Rep. Angie Craig, who previously side-stepped questions about her interest in Minnesota's newly open Senate seat, confirmed on Monday that she's considering a bid to replace Sen. Tina Smith, a fellow Democrat. Craig said she would be "talking to Minnesotans in the weeks ahead" and "make a decision in the near future."

Craig, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has reportedly been encouraged to run by "[l]eaders in Minnesota and nationally," according to Punchbowl's Max Cohen. However, Craig just ascended an important rung in the House in December when she unseated Georgia Rep. David Scott as the top-ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee.

Should Craig seek a promotion, it could set off a competitive race to succeed her in the swingy 2nd District. Her constituency, which is based in the Twin Cities suburbs, voted for Kamala Harris by a 52-46 margin, according to calculations from The Downballot, though Craig won reelection by a more comfortable 56-42 spread. Four years earlier, the 2nd backed Joe Biden 53-45.

We always take the opportunity to shine the Klieg lights on troubling candidates like Chad Bianco in our lead item. Some media outlets, though, didn’t even mention his disturbing ties to the Oath Keepers. If you value news that tells the truth about authoritarianism in America, please support The Downballot as a paid subscriber today.

Governors

IA-Gov

Republican Brad Sherman, a far-right former state representative who'd reportedly been considering a primary challenge against Gov. Kim Reynolds, kicked off his campaign on Monday. Reynolds has yet to say whether she'll seek a third full term but all signs are that she will.

KS-Gov

Dayton Moore, who served as an executive with the Kansas City Royals for many years, says he's considering entering next year's Republican primary for governor. This post is held by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who is term-limited.

Moore was general manager of the Royals from 2006 until 2021—a stretch that included the team's second World Series win in 2015—when he was promoted to president of baseball operations. (While the Royals play just across the state line in Missouri, they have a large fanbase in Kansas.) However, he was fired the following year after a dismal season that marked the seventh in a row without a winning record.

Moore soon signed on as a senior advisor of baseball operations with the Texas Rangers, though he continues to reside in Kansas.

TN-Gov, TN-06

Tennessee Rep. John Rose still seems to be in "I'm going to tell everyone I'm running for governor who asks but not actually announce a campaign" mode.

When last we heard, Rose was reportedly informing supporters that he's going to run; now, says Knoxville News-Sentinel columnist Victor Ashe, the Republican congressman told him that "he's seeking the Republican nomination" and will pursue it "no matter who else decides to run."

But even after all this, we have yet to see a direct quote from Rose on the record confirming that he's really running—let alone anything resembling a formal kickoff.

It's worth noting, though, that Rose is wealthy: He sold a successful software company years ago and is worth more than $50 million. According to State Affairs' Andy Sher, he's "expected to spend heavily on his bid," which will likely put him on a collision course with Sen. Marsha Blackburn in next year's GOP primary.

Judges

WI Supreme Court

Following pleas by former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel, two deep-pocketed outside groups—including one linked to Elon Musk—are about to start spending heavily for the first time ahead of Wisconsin's April 1 Supreme Court race.

Building America's Future, which is backed by Musk, is shelling out at least $670,000 for TV ad buys supporting Schimel starting on Thursday, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Daniel Bice on Monday. At the same time, Fair Courts America, a super PAC funded by GOP megadonor Dick Uihlein, is devoting around $200,000 to a new flight of ads.

Earlier the same day, Bice reported on a recent recording of Schimel obtained by the paper in which he called on specific conservative groups by name to help out his campaign.

"I'm hoping that very soon we're going to start seeing friends like Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Fair Courts America, other groups like that—that very soon they're going to get on the airwaves and help take some pressure off," pleaded Schimel at a campaign event.

Bice was scathing in describing Schimel's entreaty, saying it was "not known if he was wearing knee pads when he urged Fair Courts America, WMC and his other allies to start spending in his race."

So far, the only outside spending, says Bice, has come from A Better Wisconsin Together, a progressive group that has spent about $250,000 to boost Judge Susan Crawford.

Mayors & County Leaders

Buffalo, NY Mayor

Former Judge James McLeod dropped out of the race for mayor of Buffalo on Sunday, a move that leaves nine candidates still in the hunt for the Democratic nomination.

And the field may get winnowed again this weekend after the Erie County Democratic Committee awards its coveted endorsement on Saturday. While winning the county party's endorsement does not guarantee victory in the June 24 primary, some candidates could drop out if they fail to secure it.

Four candidates advanced past the committee's initial screening stages to the final round of consideration: acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon, state Sen. Sean Ryan, former city Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield, and Common Council Member Rasheed Wyatt. The eventual Democratic nominee will be favored in the November general election.

New York, NY Mayor

"Entreaties have been made to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams" to run for mayor, says New York Magazine columnist Errol Louis, who frames her as "a well-liked, moderate legislator who has quietly contained the worst ultra-progressive excesses of the Council" and helped spearhead a successful rezoning effort last year.

On Monday, two days after Louis' piece was published, Adams called on Mayor Eric Adams, a fellow Democrat, to resign. (The two are of no relation.) The filing deadline is April 3, though campaigns must begin gathering the required 3,750 voter signatures ahead of time and can start as early as Feb. 25.

San Antonio, TX Mayor

San Antonio City Councilman John Courage unexpectedly reentered the already-packed race for mayor just half an hour before Friday's filing deadline.

Courage had announced a campaign a year ago to succeed termed-out Mayor Ron Nirenberg, a fellow Democrat, only to drop out in December. The 73-year-old councilman cited his age and "some health challenges" in explaining his decision, and he endorsed colleague Adriana Rocha Garcia in his stead.

Now, though, Courage says he's running again because he fears that "[s]pecial interests may have an interest in the mayor's race and the City of San Antonio." He cited the strong fundraising totals of former Republican Secretary of State Rolando Pablos plus a pair of Democrats—former Biden administration official Gina Ortiz Jones and businessman Beto Altamirano—to make his case.

Courage, who pitched himself as the only candidate who has "the experience and the really down-to-earth understanding" to lead, is the 27th and final contender to enter the race. All the candidates will compete on a single nonpartisan ballot on May 3, but the sheer number of choices means it's all but certain that no one will earn the majority necessary to avert a June 7 runoff.