Impact2020: April 15, 2020

Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Wednesday, April 15. Governors and members of Congress begin to consider plans to reopen their states, a potential Joe Biden VP pick is facing coronavirus blowback, and more lessons from Wisconsin’s election.

On the Ground

Planning for the future

What will post-coronavirus life look like across the United States? It’s a question that’s surfacing more this week as President Donald Trump and the nation’s governors discuss plans for reopening states.

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom doesn’t have a timeframe for lifting stay-at-home orders, but says the state will gradually ease measures aimed at slowing COVID-19’s spread, the Sacramento Bee’s Sophia Ballog, Sawsan Morrar and Benjy Egel report.

“There’s no light switch here,” Newsom said. “It’s more like a dimmer.”

Credit: Rich Pedroncelli, Pool via AP

Meanwhile, House Democrats, led by Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida, are drafting a plan of their own, Alex Daugherty reports for the Miami Herald. On Friday, they plan to introduce the Reopen America Act, “a bill that would establish a comprehensive national proposal for reopening America’s economy — and ensuring it stays open by relying on science to determine when to lift social distancing measures.”

The legislation would “give states money if they meet a national standard for reopening that would include more testing and protective equipment to make sure infection rates don’t rise. It would also create a federal board to set up widespread testing and push companies to manufacture needed equipment.”

Battleground backlash

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — who’s on Joe Biden’s vice presidential shortlist — is facing growing backlash to her response to the coronavirus, Beth LeBlanc and Craig Mauger report for the Detroit News.

“The pushback mounted Tuesday as thousands signed an online recall petition against the Democratic governor, four residents sued in federal court in a bid to unravel parts of the stay-at-home executive order as unconstitutional overreaches and six Michigan U.S. House Republicans urged changes as they called her new order ‘far too restrictive. … “

“Whitmer’s supporters counter that she’s taking the aggressive steps needed to protect health care workers and stem the spread of a virus that’s already killed 1,768 Michigan residents. Michigan has the fourth most cases of COVID-19 in the country.”

Lessons from Wisconsin

Members of both parties are still parsing the Wisconsin election results for clues about November.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Craig Gilbert writes that the state Supreme Court race provided “the Wisconsin map of Democratic dreams.” The western part of the state swung back towards the Democrats, the perennial battleground region of the Fox Valley tilted blue, and Republicans underperformed in the party’s traditional stronghold of the Milwaukee suburbs.

But before Democrats get too excited about their prospects in the general election swing state: “Could it happen again in November?” Gilbert asks. “Almost certainly not to this degree.”

Riley Vetterkind has more in the Wisconsin State Journal: “Jill Karofsky’s double-digit Supreme Court win isn’t quite a forecast for how Wisconsin’s toss-up presidential election will play out in November, but it highlights the vulnerabilities for … Trump and a potential victory strategy for … Biden.

You can get the latest 2020 presidential campaign news from David Catanese via text. Impact2020 subscribers, sign up here.

Trail Mix

Endorsement watch

• Elizabeth Warren became the latest prominent Democrat to endorse Biden for president, the Boston Globe’s Jess Bidgood writes.

• Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones is facing blowback for becoming the first state Democratic official to endorse Trump, Greg Bluestein reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

• Carole Baskin, one of the main characters of the “Tiger King” Netflix documentary, donated $1,000 to GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Brian Murphy notes in the Raleigh News & Observer.

Election disruption

• Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards moved the presidential primary and municipal elections for a second time to July 11, Ashley Mott reports for the Monroe News-Star.

• In Florida, the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office plans to send vote-by-mail signup forms to 1 million registered voters in the county who haven’t already asked to receive mail ballots ahead of the August primaries, Anthony Man reports for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County are working on mail voting plans as well.

• Maryland residents who cannot vote by mail will have the option to vote in person on April 28 for the 7th congressional district special election, the Baltimore Sun’s Emily Opilo reports.

• Election officials are already seeing an uptick in absentee and mail-in ballots for the June 2 primary in Pennsylvania, Mark Scolforo and Michael Rubinkam report for the AP.

• Attorneys for the Nevada State Democratic Party are threatening potential litigation if changes are not made to the state’s all-mail primaries on June 9, Riley Snyder reports for the Nevada Independent.

• Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said COVID-19 isn’t a legally permissible reason for Missourians to cast an absentee ballot, Jason Hancock reports for the Kansas City Star.

• A federal judge will consider whether ballot initiative campaigns should be allowed to gather signatures online as an alternative to collecting them at public spaces, now that social distancing guidelines prevent that method, Andrew Oxford writes for the Arizona Republic.

Battle for Congress

• In the Arizona Senate race, Democrat Mark Kelly raised $11 million in the first quarter and had $19.7 million in the bank, the Arizona Republic’s Ronald J. Hansen reports. Republican Sen. Martha McSally raised $6.3 million and had $10.2 million on hand.

• In Georgia, Rep. Doug Collins has $2.2 million in the bank as he prepares to challenge Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Bluestein also notes that in the state’s other Senate race, David Perdue raised $1.6 million in the first quarter and has $9 million on hand.

• In the Kansas Senate race, Democrat Barbara Bollier raised $2.4 million in the first quarter, the Kansas City Star’s Bryan Lowry scoops.

Number of the Day

34%

The final voter turnout in Wisconsin’s spring election. That’s higher than in 2019 (27%), and the highest for an April election in the state since 2016, when there were two competitive presidential primary races, the AP’s Scott Bauer notes.

For Planning Purposes

April 15

Biden will hold a virtual town hall with non-medical workers fighting COVID-19. Then he will hold a virtual fundraising event.

April 16

Biden appears on the DESUS & MERO show on Showtime. Sneak peek here.

April 17

Wyoming primary (done by mail)

April 28

Ohio (almost entirely by mail)

Signs “you’ve been in quarantine for a while”

Sanders supporter Cardi B chatted with the former presidential candidate about everything from the coronavirus to Joe Biden to the youth vote. But first, “quarantine nails.”

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This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 1:36 PM.