Presidential Debate TONIGHT!

Lots of action in the Presidential primary tonight!

Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley take center stage in Iowa. The debate is going to be on CNN (sigh), but it will be unique in that it is the first head-to-head, two-person debate of the primary. Lots of opportunity to hear more from DeSantis and Haley and perhaps see some sparks fly. The anticipation is high, especially considering this is the final debate before the Iowa caucuses next week.

And President Trump will be appearing on Fox tonight for a live townhall from Iowa. The President will be taking questions from Iowa voters while Fox News hosts moderate. As usual I expect that President Trump will draw a very stark contrast between his record and vision, and the failed policies of the Biden administration.

Although the number of undecided voters may be shrinking, these are important opportunities to inspire and sharpen our own message as we head into this election year. The next Republican President is going to have domestic and foreign policy disasters to clean-up. We need all the energy and encouragement we can muster to fight like crazy this year. We can’t afford four more years of Biden. 

Bidenomics Is Failing Americans

Americans are continuing to financially struggle because of the results of the Biden Administration’s historic inflation. Fewer workers are finding ways to participate in the economy than before the pandemic. Despite Biden’s attempts to downplay his economic failures, American are not fooled; they know Biden is to blame. 

What you need to know:

• While it’s a good thing Americans are going back to work, many are still left struggling thanks to Biden’s economy.
• The labor force participation rate declined in December, suggesting a possible weakening in the overall labor market and remaining well below pre-pandemic levels.
• The unemployment rate rose for women, Hispanic Americans, person with disability, high school graduates who did not attend college, and those who attended some college.
• Hardworking Americans are struggling to stay afloat financially as Bidenomics continues to drain the wallets of families and businesses across the country.
• Prices have risen by 17.4%  since Biden took office – with Americans still reeling from the lasting effects of inflation.
• Real wages remain lower than when Biden first took office.
• The Fed has hiked interest rates 11 times since March 2022 – now at their highest level in 22 years – making it harder for families to buy a home, finance a car, pay off debt, and perform various other financial transactions.
• Americans are suffering from the lasting effects of Biden’s historic inflation, with many struggling to pay their debts, save for retirement, or  afford rent.
• 62% of Americans report living paycheck to paycheck.
• An increasing number of Americans are turning to food banks to cope with rising expenses.
• The personal savings rate was 4.1% in November, well below a decades long average of roughly 8.9%.
• Bidenomics has cost the middle class $2.4 trillion since March 2022.
• Biden deserves no credit for jobs that have been created – he paid Americans not to work for months and stifled economic growth.
• Republican-led states are the ones creating jobs and leading economic growth.
• The latest state jobs report shows that eight of the top 10 states for jobs recovered since the coronavirus pandemic are led by Republican governors, and all 10 states have Republican-controlled legislatures.

The bottom line:

Americans know Joe Biden and the Democrats are to blame for rising prices and the poor economy. Just 14% of voters say they have been helped by Biden’s economic policies, and 78% say the economy is in bad shape according to a Fox News survey. 68% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of inflation according to a Monmouth University poll. 59% of Americans believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track and almost half say their personal financial situation is worsening according to a recent Harvard CAPS-Harris poll. In November, voters will send Republicans to Washington to get our country on the right track.

Biden's Border Crisis Continues

The border crisis continues to worsen under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' failed leadership. This week, Speaker Mike Johnson led a Republican delegation to the border where they saw firsthand the damage Biden's open border policies have done to our country. 

What you need to know:

• Recent Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data released in December shows 242,418 illegal migrants were encountered crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in November.
• This is the highest total ever  for the month and the third-highest month of the Biden administration.
• 17 individuals on the terror watchlist were encountered, adding to the  record number already set under Biden.
• An astonishing 8.5+ million illegal immigrants  have crossed the border under Biden.
• This includes 1.7+ million known “gotaways”  who escaped past Border Patrol and into the country.
• Millions of illegal immigrants have been released  into U.S. communities often bringing deadly drugs.
• 167,000 illegal migrants  were encountered at the southern border in just the first 17 days of the month.
• Illegal daily crossings consistently  top  10,000+/day.
• The numbers don’t lie, Joe Biden created a humanitarian crisis at our border and is actively weakening  our national security, making our communities less safe, disrupting international trade, and allowing cartels to thrive.

The bottom line: 

When pressed during a TV interview, DHS Secretary Mayorkas refused to take any accountability for the border crisis. The Biden Administration has no serious plan to fix our open border. The border crisis remains a top concern for voters and in November 2024 Americans will send Republicans to Washington to stop the border crisis.

RNC Launches Phase Two Of Bank Your Vote

This week, the Republican National Committee (RNC) launched Phase 2 of Bank Your Vote – including the launch of 41 new Bank Your Vote websites to complete all 50 states.

What you need to know:

• “Bank Your Vote” is the RNC’s nationwide campaign focused on maximizing pre-Election Day voting, launched last June.
• Bank Your Vote will encourage, educate, and activate Republican voters on when, where, and how to lock in their votes as early as possible, through in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal.
• In addition to having state-specific Bank Your Vote websites for all 50 states, the RNC’s Bank Your Vote website is also now available in 16 different languages to continue the RNC’s investment and outreach to minority communities.
• The Bank Your Vote websites will not only inform voters, but also help them request a ballot online or by mail, register to vote, check their registration, find their early voting location, or even find their polling place on Election Day.
• As the election year progresses, additional features will be added and these tools will be enabled on each site to empower voters to bank their vote. For an early example of how this works, visit iowacaucus.gop.
• Bank Your Vote comes as the RNC establishes a full-time Election Integrity Department this cycle as a permanent part of the RNC’s infrastructure.
• The RNC has hired political and election integrity staff in 15 key states, including important House and Senate states, such as New York, California, and Montana.
• The 2022 midterm cycle was the RNC’s first opportunity to build an election integrity program due to a recently-lifted Consent Decree brought by Democrats which prohibited our participation in election integrity activities.
• The program was unprecedented in both scale and success, effectively completing a transition away from pop-up-shop style election operation to year-round infrastructure with tens of thousands of poll watchers and poll workers and dozens of key litigation wins.
• We will continue to file key lawsuits, hire in-state election integrity directors and counsels in our target states, and continue to recruit and train tens of thousands of poll watchers and poll workers.
• Currently, the RNC is engaged in over 72 lawsuits in 20 states across the country.
• 42 of those lawsuits are focused on safeguarding mail voting.
• To access the full list of the RNC’s Bank Your Vote websites, click here.

The bottom line:

When Republicans vote early, we win. Bank Your Vote will be critical to getting Republicans to vote early or by mail to beat Joe Biden and Democrats in November.

What We're Reading

• Fox News: RNC launches 'Bank Your Vote' websites in 16 languages across all 50 states ahead of GOP primaries (Brooke Singman, 1/4/2024)

• Breitbart: Bank Your Vote Early in 2024 (Ronna McDaniel, 1/5/2024)



• Politico: RNC and NRCC file Supreme Court amicus brief supporting Trump’s effort to remain on the ballot (Meredith McGraw, 1/5/2024)  

Thank you for allowing me to continue to serve you as your Texas Representative to the RNC! As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have at tad@toniannedashiell.com, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter at the links below. Thank you for being a strong Texas Republican, and together, let us work to Keep Texas RED!