Impact2020: April 21, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Monday, April 21. A trio of states are taking steps to reopen their economies this month, a Florida congresswoman’s stock activity is in the spotlight, and Mike Pence visits Wisconsin.
On the Ground
End in sight?
Republican governors in the South are beginning to give some businesses the green light to reopen despite lingering concerns about the coronavirus.
In Georgia, the Macon Telegraph’s Nick Wooten reports that Gov. Brian Kemp “issued an executive order to reopen businesses and institutions shuttered due to the novel coronavirus, citing data that suggests Georgia is on track to meet White House guidelines to restart the state’s economy.”
Kemp said certain businesses will be allowed to resume “baseline operations” on Friday. “The entities must ensure strict social distancing, sanitize regularly and adhere to other guidelines.”
Credit: Meg Kinnard/AP Photo
In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster “reversed restrictions on some businesses, allowing some retail stores to reopen as state public health officials continue to fight the novel virus that has so far claimed more than 100 lives in the state.”
The State’s Maayan Schechter and Joseph Bustos report that “McMaster said the public’s ‘compliance’ with social distancing recommendations and South Carolinians’ ‘common sense’ were guiding his decision, not any specific data point.”
And in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee announced “that his stay-at-home order will not be extended past April 30, and that some businesses around the state will begin reopening next week,” Natalie Allison writes for the Nashville Tennessean.
However, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania is going in the other direction: he extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 8, Angela Couloumbis reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Eyes again on stock sales
Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala of Florida “is creating a blind trust and selling most of her individual stock holdings as she prepares to oversee the Trump administration’s handling of $2 trillion in taxpayer funds to fight the effects of the coronavirus,” Alex Daugherty and David Smiley scoop for the Miami Herald.
Shalala’s office said “that she began selling individual stocks immediately after filing to run for Congress in March 2018 to eliminate any potential conflicts of interest between her public office and her private business interests.”
Shortly after she took office in early 2019, Shalala “began working with the House Ethics Committee to set up a blind trust for her assets and transfer her individual stock holdings into diversified investments like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.”
On Wisconsin
Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to the battleground state of Wisconsin today is drawing attention from Joe Biden.
Pence visited a GE Healthcare manufacturing facility in Madison to highlight the production of ventilators. Biden said while Pence’s visit “is meant to signal victory, the truth is that the slow and erratic response we have seen from this administration is anything but,” Bill Glauber reports for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Meanwhile, the state is still dealing with the fallout of holding in-person voting amid the pandemic. “Officials have identified seven people who appear to have contracted COVID-19 through activities related to the April 7 election,” the Journal Sentinel’s Alison Dirr reports. “Six of the cases are in voters and one is a poll worker.”
Trail Mix
Swing state watch
Priorities USA, a leading Democratic super PAC, began placing $65 million worth of TV ad reservations for the general election in six battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man has more.
Election disruption
A judge extended the filing deadline and eased signature requirements for candidates in Michigan to qualify for the primary ballot, Jonathan Oosting reports for Bridge Magazine.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont pushed back the state’s presidential primary again to Aug. 11, the Hartford Courant’s Christopher Keating writes.
“A federal lawsuit is seeking emergency changes to Georgia’s June 9 primary election — including another postponement and a switch to hand-marked paper ballots,” Mark Niesse reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Battle for Congress
“I can tell you that people are going to die if we shut down the Post Office,” said Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, who is calling potential cuts to the U.S. Postal Service a health care access issue. Bryan Lowry of the Kansas City Star has the latest.
GOP Rep. Ron Wright of Texas wants Americans to be able to sue China over the coronavirus, Anna M. Tinsley reports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Number of the Day
$1 billion+
That’s how much Michael Bloomberg ended up spending on his short-lived 2020 presidential campaign, new financial reports show.
For Planning Purposes
April 21
Biden holds a virtual fundraiser
April 28
Ohio primary (almost entirely by mail)
May 2
Kansas primary (done by mail)
A swab gets a lot of attention
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert zeroed in on a Trump press conference moment and went all in.
You can get the latest 2020 presidential campaign news from David Catanese via text. Impact2020 subscribers, sign up here.