Press

The House this year has been mired in chaos, punctuated by a 15-round speakership vote, an eight-person regicide, flirtations with government shutdowns and policy stagnations. Next year’s elections could determine if the Senate follows suit.

Rabble-rousing Republicans are running for a handful of Senate seats, including Kari Lake in Arizona, Alex Mooney in West Virginia, Jim Marchant in Nevada, James Craig in Michigan and more. Meanwhile, dealmakers like Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, are retiring.

That means the normally staid Senate could become more like the often chaotic House, injecting further drama into Congress, if several big-name Republicans win their elections next year. 

John LaBombard, SVP at ROKK Solutions and former top aide to Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., shared his insights with ABC News on whether the House’s lack of decorum will make its way into the Senate. Read the full article here. 

While Ramaswamy is packing his schedule with stops across Iowa, including multiple events on Tuesday and Wednesday, he has failed to move up in the 2024 Republican primary race and is increasingly at risk of becoming an afterthought. He is polling in the mid to high single digits and has left critics asking what his endgame is or if he is staying in the race only to boost former President Donald Trump.

After an earlier flurry of attention, the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur and first-time political candidate is gaining more notice over his debate provocations than for signs that his campaign is resonating with voters.

ROKK Co-Founder and GOP strategist Ron Bonjean spoke to The Associated Press about Ramaswamy’s position in the Republican presidential candidate field. Read the full article here.

Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) planned exit from the Senate is delivering a blow to the eroding dealmaking sector of the upper chamber, as compromise becomes devalued and partisanship wins out at the ballot box. 

The West Virginia centrist has played among the most prominent roles in numerous bipartisan legislative efforts, including President Biden’s signature infrastructure law in 2021, negotiations on firearm background checks and on energy policy. 

John LaBombard, SVP at ROKK Solutions and former top aide to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), shared his insights with The Hill about what departures by senators like Manchin means for bipartisanship moving forward. Read the full article here. 

The dwindling number of 2024 GOP primary candidates is raising fresh questions about the race as the Iowa caucuses fast approach.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced Sunday he was suspending his campaign, marking the latest exit from the field as the race to beat former President Trump increasingly looks like a match-up between former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

ROKK Co-Founder and Partner, Ron Bonjean spoke to The Hill about why Scott wasn’t getting enough traction to stay in the race.

The DeSantis campaign recently posted a thread of more than two dozen clumsy or confusing remarks by former president Donald Trump, positing that “this is why his handlers won’t let him debate.”

As Trump’s Republican rivals face growing pressure to stop his momentum, while Democrats seek to neutralize concerns about Biden’s age, the two sides are converging on a common argument — that Trump’s cognition has declined too far for him to lead the country again.

ROKK Co-Founder and advisor for the pro-Biden super PAC Unite the Country, Rodell Mollineau spoke with The Washington Post on how those covering this election season should react to Trump’s improvisational speeches and rallies.

Fewer and fewer people are watching the GOP’s presidential debates, raising sharper questions about their relevance in a cycle where the party’s front-runner, former President Donald Trump, is skipping them.

Fewer than 7 million people tuned in for this week’s debate, where Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis both got solid reviews for their performances.

As it gets closer to the Iowa caucuses, some worry if Trump’s competitors have a realistic path to the GOP presidential nomination and whether the debates are even relevant, which ROKK Co-Founder and Partner, Ron Bonjean spoke to The Hill about. 

Democrats are dealing with conflicting messages ahead of next year’s presidential race, as recent polls prompt worries about President Biden’s reelection bid — and his party notches key election wins across the country.

For some, the Democratic wins are a reason not to pay too much attention to polls one year out from Election Day 2024. As voters cast their ballots in a smattering of off-year races Tuesday, the Biden reelection campaign released a memo to news outlets downplaying poll results that showed Biden trailing former President Trump, the front-runner of the GOP primary field, in several battleground states.

ROKK Co-Founder and Partner, as well as Democratic strategist, Rodell Mollineau, spoke to The Hill on what the public should take away from these polls.

House Republicans, led by new Speaker Mike Johnson, passed a $14.3 billion Israel aid package tied to cuts in IRS funding, triggering a clash with Democrats over tax law enforcement that risks delaying US financial help. 

ROKK Senior Vice President John LaBombard shared his insights on the House’s passing of this large aid package to Israel. Listen to him here. 

Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. 

On this edition, Joe and Kailey speak with: Global Situation Room President Brett Bruen about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the efforts to protect civilians in Gaza. Bloomberg Politics Contributor Rick Davis and ROKK Solutions Vice President Alvin Jordan about Congress’ plans for supplemental aid to Israel and the latest from the 2024 GOP Presidential Race.

Hear from ROKKS’s Vice President Alvin Jordan by listening to this episode of Bloomberg’s Sound On podcast.

Democrats are seeking to make new Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a boogeyman going into next year’s general election, citing his conservative voting record in the House. 

Following Johnson’s election Wednesday, President Biden’s reelection campaign blasted out a fundraising email, calling Johnson “a Trump lackey.” Meanwhile, the House Democratic campaign arm sent messaging guidance, referring to Johnson as “Jim Jordan in a sports coat.”

But Republicans say it’s too soon to tell how much of a liability Johnson will be for vulnerable candidates. Read more insights from ROKK Co-Founder and Partner, Ron Bonjean, in The Hill.