Trump Raises $13 Million for House GOP: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump headlined a Washington fundraiser on Tuesday night that raised more than $13 million for House Republicans in their campaign to retake control of the chamber.

Hundreds of donors who contributed $35,000 or more to Take Back the House 2020 gathered at the Trump International Hotel near the White House, according to Drew Florio, the communications director for the re-election campaign of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy, a California Republican, and Trump took part in a roundtable discussion for some of the donors, Florio said. Trump also took part in a photo line before addressing the gathering, which included more than 100 Republican House members.

Warren Vows She Won’t ‘Back Down’ (5:51 p.m.)

Elizabeth Warren says she’s never “backed down from a bullet” -- even if the bullet is named Donald Trump.

Asked by a voter at a town hall in New Hampshire how she would deal with Trump’s “nastiness” if she were the Democratic nominee, the Massachusetts senator said she was ready.

“You don’t back down from a bullet. I never have and never will,” she said. “My goal is to tap into all the Americans that are getting tired of the Donald Trump show. It’s getting old and it’s getting boring.”

Sanders, Warren Tied in Poll of New Hampshire (1:32 PM)

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren are essentially tied for first place among Democratic presidential contenders in the neighboring state of New Hampshire, according to a new CNN poll, leaving Joe Biden trailing slightly.

The poll shows Sanders with 21% support, while Warren has 18% and Biden has 15%, within the margin of error of 4.6 percentage points for Democratic respondents. Pete Buttigieg had 10% and all other candidates were in the single digits.

The same poll shows a steady decline for Sanders, who started at 31% support in October of 2017, and Biden, who hit a high of 35% in February of 2018. Warren’s support has never been above 19% in the poll, which is conducted by the University of New Hampshire.

But Warren does better on a question of which candidate would be respondents’ second choice, going to 22% from 10% in February of 2019.

The survey of 1,266 randomly selected New Hampshire adults, of whom 574 were likely Democratic primary voters, was conducted from Oct. 21-27. -- Ryan Teague Beckwith

Biden Denied Holy Communion for Abortion Stance (12:40 PM)

Former Vice President Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion at a Catholic church in Florence, South Carolina, on Sunday because of his position on abortion.

The Rev. Robert Morey, the pastor of St. Anthony Catholic Church, said he had to refuse the sacrament to Biden, a 2020 Democratic candidate for president who supports abortion rights.

“Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching,” he said in a statement. “I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers.”

Biden has said he accepts church teaching but that the women should not be bound by it. “Reproductive rights are a constitutional right. And, in fact, every woman should have that right,” he said at this month’s Democratic primary debate in Ohio.

In 2004, the archbishop of St. Louis said Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, who is also Catholic, would be denied communion if he attended parishes in his archdiocese.

The Biden campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment. -- Gregory Korte

Ex-Biden Aide Joins Super-PAC Helping Old Boss (11:42 AM)

A former aide to Joe Biden has joined a super-PAC that other allies of the Democratic front-runner are forming to bolster his sluggish fundraising, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission.

Larry Rasky, a fundraiser who served as communications director for Biden’s 2008 presidential run, is listed as treasurer of Unite the Country on the super-PAC’s new statement of organization. Rasky and other Biden supporters discussed launching a super-PAC to defend Biden against attacks by President Donald Trump’s campaign.

On Sunday, Biden said he would take a hands-off approach to the super-PAC, as required by law, adding that he couldn’t stop it if he wanted to. His campaign disavowed the group when it was set up in April under its original name, For the People.

Rasky, who didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, has said that the super-PAC would be used to counter unsubstantiated allegations made by Trump’s campaign that Biden blocked a Ukrainian prosecutor from investigating a natural gas company whose board included Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Trump has spent $8 million on ads making the charges.

Super-PACs like Unite the Country can raise money in unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations and labor unions, but can’t coordinate their activities with candidates. Biden’s own campaign has struggled to raise money, spending $2 million more in the third quarter than the $15.7 million it raised, and had just $9 million in the bank at the end of September. -- Bill Allison

COMING UP

Fourteen presidential candidates, including Joe Biden, Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Buttigieg are scheduled to speak on Nov. 1 at the Liberty and Justice Celebration hosted by the Iowa Democratic Party in Des Moines.

--With assistance from Bill Allison, Gregory Korte, Ryan Teague Beckwith and Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Gregory Mott

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