Impact2020 Briefing: March 13, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Friday, March 13 (cue the ominous music). This is McClatchyDC Politics Editor Adam Wollner filling in once again. My colleague Meta Viers will officially take over this newsletter starting Monday, so give her a follow!
Of note today: 2020 candidates up and down the ballot are completely rethinking how to run their campaigns in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Plus, we preview next week’s Illinois primary and provide an update on where Washington state’s contest stands.
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On the Ground
‘There Is No Reference Point’
2020 presidential and congressional campaigns are scrambling to adapt to the coronavirus outbreak. Many candidates are sending their staff home and planning to move their activity entirely online, canceling public events and fundraisers. Election officials are being urged to make major changes to the voting process. And operatives are beginning to wonder if either party will be even able to hold its conventions this summer.
McClatchy’s Alex Roarty, David Catanese and David Smiley write: “The coronavirus pandemic that has increasingly disrupted daily American life is now suddenly upending the country’s politics in the midst of a critical election year. And no one has any idea when, or if, the process will go back to normal — or what the long-term effect will be.”
Democratic strategist Doug Gordon hits the nail on the head: “We are about to go through something we have never been through before as a nation. There is literally no way to predict how it will impact politics. There is no reference point. No data. No history to check it against. It is completely unknown.”
Come On Feel The Illinoise
“Joe Biden’s momentum shows no signs of slowing next week in Illinois,” Kelsey Landis reports for the Belleville News-Democrat. “Building on wins in four states this week that all but shuttered … Bernie Sanders’ campaign, Biden goes into the March 17 primary with a lead his opponent is unlikely to overcome.”
Illinois, along with Arizona, Florida and Ohio, will vote next Tuesday, when 577 pledged delegates will be up for grabs.
Washington State Update
Biden has extended his lead over Sanders in Washington’s primary to nearly 27,000 votes with 87% of precincts reporting, but the race has still not been called.
As David Lightman and Sara Gentzler write for the Tacoma News Tribune, the state’s contest ended up mattering a lot less than officials had hoped when they moved the election date up from 2016, and ditched the byzantine caucus system in favor of a more traditional primary.
“Washington saw itself as a big player in the presidential race this year when it scheduled an early, meaningful primary. It got a split decision: While the results wound up largely a national afterthought, voters turned out in huge numbers.”
Trail Mix
March Madness
Rep. Marcia Fudge cut a new radio ad aimed at black voters for the Biden campaign in Ohio, Cleveland.com’s Seth A. Richardson reports.
Rick Rouan of the Columbus Dispatch reports Ohio election officials are desperate to recruit additional workers ahead of Tuesday’s primary as hundreds have dropped out due to COVID-19.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona endorsed Biden, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports for the Arizona Republic.
The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill dug through some recent data to see how voters have been responding to the coronavirus threat thus far. In North Carolina, which voted March 3, data from Edison Research “showed that nearly six in 10 voters over 50 said the virus was a factor in their vote and those voters were more likely to support Biden.”
April Showers
State officials are pushing Louisiana’s presidential primary back from April 4 to June 20 due to coronavirus concerns, Sam Karlin reports for the Baton Rouge Advocate.
It doesn’t appear Sanders plans to drop out anytime soon. His campaign is opening five field offices in Pennsylvania and dedicating 20 staffers to the state, which votes April 28, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Julia Terruso reports.
Swing State Watch
The Arizona Republic’s Richard J. Hasen and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez look at how progressives in the state are testing how far to the left the state will go in the general election.
Battle for Congress
- A PAC bankrolled by California billionaire Pete Thiel is launching a TV ad attacking Rep. Roger Marshall, who’s running against former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in the GOP primary for a U.S. Senate seat in the state. The Kansas City Star’s Bryan Lowry has the details.
Number of The Day
55
A new national Morning Consult poll found that 55% of Democratic primary voters said they trust Biden over Sanders for leadership during a crisis. Conversely, 30% chose Sanders.
For Planning Purposes
March 15
Biden and Sanders meet for a head-to-head debate at CNN’s Washington studio.
March 17
The Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio primaries take place.
“I am running to be the next host of Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
Now that he’s no longer running for president or serving as mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg has some free time on his hands.
Stay In The Loop
For even more 2020 political news, download the latest episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 12:37 PM.
