The White House is hoping to use local reporters to advance the prospects of Democratic Senate candidates running against Republican incumbents.
President Obama hosted a handful of local journalists at the White House on Monday. Each reporter was granted four minutes with the president as well as off-the-record sessions with White House spokesman Josh Earnest and a "surprise" visit from Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. All of the invitees came from states in which Democrats hope to retake Republican-held Senate seats, including Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin.
WMUR reporter Josh McElveen documented the setup in a Monday post that emphasized the political motive behind the meeting. Earnest directed the reporter’s attention to the nomination of Merrick Garland to fill the Supreme Court seat held by the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans have delayed holding hearings on the nomination, saying that the Senate should wait until the November election to consider a nominee.
"I'd like to think my invite to the White House for an interview with the president is the result of being a respected, fair journalist. Or at least it's because of my sparkling personality and quick wit," McElveen wrote. "The fact is, every reporter in this White House holding room (they call it the Map Room) is from a state in which an incumbent Senate Republican is up for re-election. In New Hampshire, of course, that is Kelly Ayotte."
McElveen’s brief interview began with Obama attacking Ayotte over the judicial nomination.
"I let the president say what he wanted on the topic, including a rip of Senator Ayotte (he pronounced it Aye-oat)," he wrote.
Ayotte’s opponent, Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, and liberal super PACs have made the Supreme Court nomination a key piece in their attacks against the freshman Republican. Sen. Harry Reid’s Senate Majority PAC spent $400,000 on a television ad that aired for two weeks statewide to advance the narrative.
"Donald Trump wants the Senate to delay filling the Supreme Court vacancy so he can choose the nominee next year," the ad says. "Senator Kelly Ayotte is right there to help and Ayotte joined Trump and party bosses in refusing to consider any nominee."
Conservative groups are attempting to counter the White House nomination in swing states. The Judicial Crisis Network has spent $500,000 to air an ad criticizing Garland’s record in Colorado, West Virginia, North Dakota, Iowa, and New Hampshire. The 30-second spot, titled "He’s No Moderate," focuses on Garland’s record on the Second Amendment and abortion.
"The Second Amendment is at stake. Small business owners oppose him because he would harm our fragile economy. Liberals agree he’d be the deciding vote for partial birth abortion," the ad says. "He’s no moderate."
Ayotte responded to the president’s criticism on WMUR on Tuesday. She said that delaying the vote in an election year gives voters a voice in the process and accused President Obama of hypocrisy on judicial nominations.
"It is up to the U.S. Senate to give advice and consent. And certainly, when he was in the Senate, when he voted to filibuster Justice Alito, he understands that is the separate responsibility of the Senate," she said. "Waiting for the elections—we are in the midst of a presidential nomination process—to have the people weigh in at the election in November is important given we have a 4-4 court."
The Obama administration used a similar tactic in his 2012 reelection campaign, inviting influential local reporters for meetings with the president. This tactic had mixed results.