Press

Two vulnerable Democrats running for reelection in red states are threatening to become thorns in President Biden’s side with their campaign seasons heating up as well as his own.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is up for reelection this cycle, has vowed to block the Biden administration’s nominees to Amtrak’s board of directors, while another vulnerable Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), has floated the idea he would vote to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, posing a threat to the president’s signature accomplishment. Together, they hold the keys to the party’s ability to retain the majority next year, and taking on Biden and top Democrats in their ruby-red states is considered a political winner for the two moderates. 

ROKK Senior Vice President John Labombard discussed with The Hill how the White House, heading into the election season, will be giving much less heartburn to moderate Democrats than it did in the first two years. Get the full story here.

Republican attacks on “woke” American corporations are exposing deep divides within the GOP, with some Republicans worried the party is straying from its roots by going after the internal politics of big businesses. The Republican at the center of the fight is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has tested the limits of the party’s appetite for government crackdowns on private industry with his war on Disney and Disney World.

But not all Republican voters approve of the anti-ESG push, which a small number of conservative critics have criticized as government overreach. In fact, a recent poll from ROKK Solutions and Penn State’s Smeal College of Business found that only 32 percent of Republican voters support their state government “excluding certain financial institutions from state investment portfolios due to their stance on environmental or social issues.” 

Get more on this in The Hill and don’t forget to check out ROKK’s latest ESG research, “Navigating ESG in the New Congress: Voter Views on ESG Investing,” here.

ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn spoke on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” political panel with political strategist Doug Heye and discussed President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign. Watch the replay here.

ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn joined Republican Strategist Colin Reed on Fox News Live where they discussed President Biden’s anticipated re-election announcement, the GOP and Democrat fields for the 2024 presidential election and key issues for voters. Watch the replay here.

A majority of investors believe their financial returns depend in part on companies’ climate-change mitigation efforts, according to a new survey by ROKK Solutions with a team of researchers from Penn State University, and the data included 80% of respondents who identify as Democrats and 53% who identify as Republicans.

But respondents’ wariness of ESG-related losses was also bipartisan, hinting at the balancing act for Wall Street money managers as they navigate choppy markets and political pressures over environmental, social and governance investing.

Get more on this in The Wall Street Journal and don’t forget to check out ROKK’s latest ESG research, “Navigating ESG in the New Congress: Voter Views on ESG Investing,” here.

ROKK Solutions Partner Kristen Hawn spoke on Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power” political panel with Republican Main Street Partnership’s Sarah Chamberlain and discussed the Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems settlement, Florida Governor DeSantis’s ongoing battle with the Walt Disney corporation, and the debt ceiling standoff. Watch the replay here.

In the post-Roe fight for reproductive rights, preserving federal control over broad access to the abortion pill is the Biden administration’s best chance to protect reproductive rights at the federal level.

With the GOP-controlled House, codifying Roe v. Wade is not likely to happen anytime soon, and red states are moving quickly to restrict abortions — enough to accelerate the White House’s fears that a national abortion ban could be coming. Less than a week after a federal judge acted to roll back access to an abortion drug, the Biden administration launched a legal fight to uphold all parts of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decades-old approval of mifepristone, as well as shored up other health care privacy protections.

ROKK Senior Vice President John Labombard discussed with The Hill how the White House is doing much of what they can do to actually protect women’s access to health care. Get the full story here.

President Biden faces a ticking timer on the resumption of student loan payments by the end of the summer — but will he allow it to go off? The payments, paused amid the coronavirus pandemic, are set to begin either 60 days after the Supreme Court makes a ruling on Biden’s student debt forgiveness program or 60 days after June 30, the White House has said. 

Policy-wise, the move would put the Democratic president in line with student debt advocates and others in his party who are demanding an extension of the payment pause.

In The Hill, ROKK co-founder and partner Rodell Mollineau noted that from a political standpoint, this is popular among a cross-section of voting demographics, and that should always be a consideration going into a presidential election year. Get the full story here.

Senate Republicans, including members of leadership and even Trump allies, say former President Trump should stay out of the 2024 Senate primaries, hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s disappointing midterm elections.

Even Trump’s strongest allies would like to see next year’s Senate races play out without Trump including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) saying, “If I were him, I’d focus on his own election, but I doubt if he’ll take that advice.”

In The Hill, ROKK co-founder and partner Ron Bonjean noted that Trump didn’t have a good record picking winners in last year’s toughest races and his involvement shifts the debate away from topics that GOP leaders want to emphasize: inflation, gas prices, crime, the border and federal spending. Get the full story here.

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, significantly influencing the way brands market their products and services, much like the rise of television once did. Social media trends are powerful tools brands can leverage to engage with their audiences, and the interactive nature of social platforms means there are always a plethora of emerging trends for brands to consider incorporating into their marketing and advertising strategies.

Because social media trends ebb and flow in terms of viral popularity, it’s important for brands to stay up to date on the latest trends to create the most relevant, engaging content. Featured in Forbes, ROKK Executive Vice President of Digital and Paid Media Rachel Winer shares social media trends she believes brands should consider incorporating into their campaigns to boost their effectiveness and reach.

Check out the piece in Forbes to get more from Rachel and take a look at RADIUS for ways to elevate and amplify your story to drive optimized results.