Impact2020 Briefing: March 9, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Monday, March 9. This is McClatchyDC Politics Editor Adam Wollner filling in for Emily Cadei. As a Wisconsinite, the question at the top of my mind heading into Tuesday’s primaries: Is Missouri really in the Midwest? (I say only partially.)
We likely won’t settle that debate today, but here’s what we do know: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are going all in on a clear-cut midwestern state, Michigan, as well as Missouri, both of which hosted nail-biters in the 2016 primary. And Sanders (still) has a Cuba problem in Florida.
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On the Ground
Say Yes! To Michigan
The next two marquee contests in the 2020 Democratic presidential race will take place Tuesday in states that were decided by just a few thousand votes in 2016.
First up: Michigan, where 125 pledged delegates are up for grabs. Bernie Sanders scored an upset victory in the state four years ago by less than two percentage points over Hillary Clinton, but faces a much steeper challenge this time around against Joe Biden, thanks to his support with black voters and moderate suburbanites, McClatchy Political Correspondents David Catanese and Alex Roarty report.
“I never saw the same coalescing around Hillary Clinton with folks that you’re seeing around Joe Biden. I think people are saying, ‘We’ve got to get a nominee sooner rather than later,’” said Brandon Dillon, former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.
Show Me The Delegates
Then there’s Missouri, where 68 pledged delegates are at stake. Clinton won the state’s primary by fewer than 1,600 votes in 2016.
Biden and Sanders offer voters a stark ideological contrast in a state that has traditionally had a more moderate bent, the Kansas City Star’s Bryan Lowry and Kelsey Landis report. Like in Michigan, Missouri has an open primary, which means voters of all ideological stripes will be able to vote Tuesday if they request a Democratic ballot.
“It is possible that this could be a real nail-biter if history is any guide,” said Roy Temple, former chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.
The four other states voting Tuesday: Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota and Washington.
Cuba Controversy
After Tuesday, one of the next big states on the nominating calendar is Florida. The state was never friendly terrain for Sanders, and to make matters more complicated for the democratic socialist, he is still dealing with a Cuba-related controversy there.
On Sunday, the Vermont senator denied saying “I don’t know what’s so wrong with” Cuba during a visit with a political prisoner on the island six years ago. The Miami Herald’s David Smiley has the backstory.
Go Beyond the Bubble
Join Roarty, Catanese and I as we take a look back at the campaigns of the presidential candidates who dropped out of the race last week: Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar.
Download the latest episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
Trail Mix
March Madness
“The traditional Republican stronghold of West Michigan has become an unexpected battleground” for Biden and Sanders, Beth LeBlanc reports for the Detroit News.
Kamala Harris endorsed Biden, while Jesse Jackson threw his support behind Sanders, Joe Garofoli writes for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Another former presidential candidate, Cory Booker, is also backing Biden, Jonathan Salant reports for NJ.com.
The AFL-CIO canceled a presidential forum in Orlando that Biden and Sanders were slated to attend over coronavirus concerns, McClatchy White House Correspondent Michael Wilner reports.
In the Tacoma News Tribune, David Lightman has everything you need to know ahead of Washington’s primary.
Swing state watch
The Chicago Tribune’s Bill Ruthhart reports that Biden has won 41 of the 85 counties in the 2020 Democratic primary that flipped from Barack Obama to Donald Trump in 2016. All told, there are 206 Obama-Trump counties, including 12 in Michigan.
“An organization registering Florida voters in cooperation with a pro-Trump dark money group has been tied to allegations of fraud after a Florida elections office flagged dozens of problematic forms wrongly registering or changing the party affiliations of unwitting voters,” Smiley reports for the Miami Herald.
Battle for Congress
Montana Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock announced that he will run for U.S. Senate, the Helena Independent Record’s Holly Michels reports.
Kate Irby outlines the state of play in the seven previously GOP House districts that Democrats flipped in 2018 for the Sacramento Bee.
Andrew Romanoff won a U.S. Senate preference poll over former Gov. John Hickenlooper at Colorado’s Democratic caucuses, Justin Wingerter writes for the Denver Post.
Number of The Day
24
Biden holds a 24-point lead over Sanders in the Michigan primary, according to a new Detroit Free Press poll.
For Planning Purposes
March 9
Biden spends the day in Michigan, making stops in Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids.
Sanders holds a rally in St. Louis and a coronavirus roundtable with public health experts in Detroit.
March 10
Biden campaigns in Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio.
Sanders holds a rally in Rockford, Ill.
“I’m not dead, I’m just in the Senate.”
Warren meets the SNL version of herself (aka Kate McKinnon) after dropping out of the presidential race.
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 12:23 PM.
