Impact2020: March 26, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Thursday, March 26. Another state moves its primary to June 2, Florida’s first-term governor is in the spotlight, and uncertainty looms over the Democratic convention.
On the Ground
Super Tuesday, the sequel
Pennsylvania is set to become the latest state to postpone its presidential primary. After receiving approval from state lawmakers, Gov. Tom Wolf is expected this week to sign legislation moving the election from April 28 to June 2, Julian Routh reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
That means 10 states and Washington, D.C. are now slated to hold their nominating contests on the first Tuesday in June (and New York, another April 28 primary state, could soon join them.) With upwards of 700 pledged delegates at stake, June 2 is shaping up as the second-biggest delegate day on the calendar, behind only the original Super Tuesday on March 3.
One state that won’t be joining them as originally expected: Ohio. After the state’s March 17 primary was canceled, lawmakers “approved a plan for an all-mail primary election running through April 28,” Cleveland.com’s Andrew J. Tobias reports. Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign the bill this week, but the plan still could face legal challenges.
Facing the unknown
Credit: John Raoux/AP file photo
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a key ally of President Donald Trump in the swing state of Florida, “is making decisions that could have ramifications for years and potentially determine whether people live or die” amid the coronavirus pandemic “with little precedent to guide him,” David Smiley writes for the Miami Herald.
DeSantis said the moment is “kind of like a real-life experiment.” He has taken similar actions as other governors: closing nursing homes to visitors, bars and restaurants’ dining areas, and beaches. He even ordered the Florida National Guard to tell travelers coming off flights from New York City to self-isolate.
But DeSantis has not ordered all Floridians to stay at home. Smiley notes that DeSantis, like the White House, has “emphasized the importance of the economy while avoiding sweeping national orders.”
Convention watch
The Democratic National Convention is “still set for July 13-16, and … organizers are working remotely to make it happen. But the questions surrounding the massive event are virtually endless,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber and Craig Gilbert report.
“Gilberto Hinojosa, state Democratic chair of Texas, said he would not be surprised if the Milwaukee convention did not come to pass as planned ‘unless this massive effort at social isolation works between now and then.’”
Glauber and Gilbert also point out that fundraising will need to pick up. “The host committee announced it had raised $25 million by the end of 2019, as it sought to meet a target of up to $70 million to stage the convention.”
Trail Mix
Election disruption
The city of Green Bay sued Wisconsin state officials to cancel the April 7 elections, and instead mail ballots to all registered voters with a June 2 deadline for submission, Haley BeMiller and Patrick Marley report for the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Nebraska is forging ahead with its May 12 primary. “Nebraskans can vote by mail in every county across the state – they just have to apply for the ballot ahead of time,” Becca Costello writes for NET News.
March Madness
“The Montana Republican Party helped finance the effort to qualify the Green Party for Montana’s 2020 elections, paying $100,000 to groups that hired or financed mostly out-of-state signature-gathers,” Mike Dennison reports for MTN News. The Montana Democratic Party called the effort “election fraud.”
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto had to self-isolate after a trip to Washington, D.C. He said he had “no word” from the federal government that there was a serious travel risk, Ashley Murray reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Battle for Congress
It looks like there will be a rematch in Michigan as Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones announced she will challenge Rep. Rashida Tlaib in the Democratic primary in the state’s 13th congressional district, Melissa Nann Burke reports for the Detroit News.
Swing state watch
Trump issued a major disaster declaration for Texas as the state continues to log a growing number of coronavirus cases, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Anna M. Tinsley reports.
Number of the Day
$2.2 trillion
That’s the cost of the coronavirus relief spending package the Senate approved Wednesday night. The House is expected to vote on the bill Friday.
DON’T FORGET
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For Planning Purposes
April 4
The Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming contests are held exclusively by mail.
April 7
The Wisconsin primary takes place.
Sometime in April
The Democratic presidential debate. We’re still waiting on an exact date.
Not sure what to do with that stimulus money?
Trevor Noah to the rescue with an idea for what to do with that check.
Check back in soon
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This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 12:09 PM.