Impact2020: April 1, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Wednesday, April 1. Donald Trump’s allies try to de-escalate a feud with a swing-state governor, Joe Biden raises doubts about the Democratic convention, and Bernie Sanders calls for an election delay in Wisconsin.
On the Ground
Michigan melee
President Donald Trump has not been shy about lashing out at Democratic governors during the coronavirus pandemic. But his team is concerned that one feud in particular could have 2020 campaign consequences.
“Trump’s allies are trying to contain a politically risky election year fight with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as he struggles to balance presidential politics with a global pandemic in one of the nation’s most important swing states,” Steve Peoples and David Eggert write for the AP in Lansing, Mich.
“Both sides have tried to de-escalate the feud, ... although Trump’s supporters in particular sought to downplay tensions.” Trump has “saved his most aggressive insults for the first-term female governor, who is considered a leading vice presidential prospect for his opponent.”
Credit: Michigan Office of the Governor via AP, Pool
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan resident, said: “I am rooting for Gov. Whitmer. I think she’s done good things. ... I just didn’t like her trying to lay every problem at the president’s feet.”
During an interview on MSNBC, Joe Biden confirmed Whitmer is on the short list to be his running mate. Beth LeBlanc has more on that for the Detroit News.
Making the rounds
Biden has been increasing his presence on cable TV this week as allies have voiced concerns that Trump and the COVID-19 crisis are drowning out his message.
McClatchy’s David Catanese notes that in his MSNBC appearance, Biden said it’s “hard to envision” that the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee will take place as planned in mid-July. Biden also said he’d appoint Ronald Klain, his former chief of staff who led the Obama administration’s response to the ebola outbreak, or a former general to lead his coronavirus task force if he were president.
And during an earlier interview with CNN, Catanese points out that Biden would not go as far as to say that Trump was responsible for coronavirus deaths, but that “he’s been very slow to act.”
You can get the latest 2020 presidential campaign news from Catanese via text. Impact2020 subscribers can sign up here.
Whither Wisconsin?
Bernie Sanders called on Wisconsin officials to delay their April 7 elections in a statement released Wednesday.
“People should not be forced to put their lives on the line to vote, which is why 15 states are now following the advice of public health experts and delaying their elections. We urge Wisconsin to join them,” Sanders said. “The state should delay Tuesday’s vote, extend early voting and work to move entirely to vote-by-mail. While we wait for a decision, we urge our supporters to vote-by-mail.”
So far, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and GOP leaders in the legislature, which has the authority to move the date, have not pushed to postpone the election. Part of the issue is that aside from the presidential primary, several other statewide and local elections are set to take place in Wisconsin next Tuesday, including one for a consequential state Supreme Court seat.
And any delay appears unlikely to come from the courts at the point. “A federal judge is signaling he will not move next week’s presidential primary but will expand people’s ability to vote — possibly by allowing them to cast ballots by mail after election day because of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Partick Marley reports.
To deal with the massive shortage of poll workers, Evers agreed to use members of the Wisconsin Army National Guard, Molly Beck writes for the Journal Sentinel.
“More than 100 communities in Wisconsin don’t have any poll workers for the spring election in six days and a record number of voters are overwhelming clerks with absentee ballots — leading to warnings that thousands of votes may not be counted.”
Trail Mix
Election disruption
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has rescheduled the state’s May 12 primary election to June 9, the Charleston, W.V., AP reports.
“Georgia’s entire Republican congressional delegation … pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to delay the May 19 primary,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse reports.
The Massachusetts Democratic Party canceled its May state convention, Lisa Kashinsky writes for the Boston Herald.
The Hawaii Democratic Party will now count mail-in ballots for the presidential primary on May 23, rather than this Saturday, the Honolulu AP reports.
Iowa’s secretary of state will mail every registered voter an absentee ballot request form ahead of the June 2 primary, Stephen Gruber-Miller reports for the Des Moines Register.
Most of New Mexico’s county clerks have asked the state Supreme Court to order that the June 2 elections be conducted by mail, Michael Gerstein and Jens Gould report for the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Hello, April
The Justice Department, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission, have launched a probe into North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr’s February sale of up to $1.7 million in stocks, Jim Morrill and Brian Murphy report for the Charlotte Observer.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Tia Mitchell and Chris Joyner report that Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s “most recent financial disclosures show that millions of dollars in stocks were sold on her behalf at the same time Congress was dealing with the impact of the coronavirus.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis says he will sign an executive order that will go into effect on Thursday “limiting all activity in Florida to essential services only for the next 30 days to try to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus,” reports Mary Ellen Klas for the Miami Herald.
“Mitch McConnell launched a new campaign ad … highlighting his leadership role during the novel coronavirus epidemic,” the Lexington Herald Leader’s Daniel Desrochers reports.
For Planning Purposes
April 7
Wisconsin primary
April 10
Alaska primary (done by mail)
April 17
Wyoming primary (done by mail)
April 26
Puerto Rico primary
April 28
Ohio primary (done by mail)
Number of the Day
46 percent
That’s how many of the remaining pledged delegates Biden needs to claim to win the Democratic nomination. Conversely, Sanders must win 64 percent.
Trump - the Tiger King?
If you use Facebook or Twitter, there’s no way you have escaped chatter about this Netflix series. Now, Trevor Noah finds a way to connect it to our nation’s leader.
Something to listen to while making bread
McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast. Download the latest episode on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
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This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 12:39 PM.