Impact2020: May 20, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Wednesday, May 20. Mike Pence faces criticism from a Joe Biden VP contender as he travels to Florida, mail voting battles heat up across the country and Oregon’s primary results are in.
On the Ground
VP contender on the attack
Florida Rep. Val Demings, who is on the shortlist of possible running mates for Joe Biden, attacked Vice President Mike Pence ahead of his visit to the battleground state today.
The Miami Herald’s David Smiley writes that during a video conference hosted by the Florida Democratic Party, the congresswoman said “the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force chief has done too little to protect seniors and Florida families, and dismissed his plans to also drop off protective equipment at a nursing home as empty symbolism.”
Demings said: “Here we are again. Another smoke-and-mirrors moment. The president and vice president want you to take your eyes off the real condition on the ground. Pay no attention to the people who have died. Pay no attention to the people who are sick.”
Credit: Patrick Semansky, AP
Aside from delivering PPE, Pence is also slated to meet with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and with “tourism industry leaders” about their plans to revive the state’s economy amid the coronavirus pandemic during his visit to Orlando. Steve Lemongello and Mark Skoneki of the Orlando Sentinel have more.
Mail voting melee
President Donald Trump upped his attacks on mail voting Wednesday, threatening to withhold federal funding from Michigan and Nevada over changes officials have made to the way they are conducting their states’ elections in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In Michigan, Trump criticized Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s plan to send every registered voter an absentee ballot application in the mail for the state’s August and November elections, calling the move “illegal.”
But the Detroit Free Press’ Todd Spangler notes that “while it is illegal in Michigan to send absentee ballots to voters who do not formally request them, it is far from clear that there are the same legal hurdles to sending applications for the absentee ballots to registered voters, though it could be challenged in court. Benson and some local clerks sent out applications to voters before the May 5 local elections in response to the pandemic.”
Benson also responded on Twitter, saying her “GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia” are also sending absentee ballot applications to voters.
Trump similarly claimed that Nevada Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske’s decision to hold next month’s primaries almost entirely by mail was “illegal.”
The Nevada Independent’s Megan Messerly and Michelle Rindels write that “the plan for a mostly mail election has been subject to several legal challenges from both sides of the political spectrum, including one from Texas-based True the Vote, a conservative voting monitoring group. A federal judge blocked the group’s first lawsuit on the grounds that it lacked standing.”
Meanwhile, Texas and Wisconsin are taking steps to expand mail voting.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Tessa Weinberg reports that a federal judge ruled that all Texas voters are eligible to cast their ballot by mail amid the pandemic. Texas GOP Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to appeal the ruling.
And the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Patrick Marley reports that “Wisconsin election officials are considering mailing absentee ballot request forms to 2.7 million voters this fall.”
What Oregon’s election tells us
Results are in for Oregon’s primary elections, in which 1.2 million people voted. Biden’s win in the Democratic primary may not come as much of a surprise, but it may suggest a change in attitude among Oregon voters.
As The Oregonian’s Betsy Hammond summarizes: “In 2016, when the Democratic establishment said ‘Hillary Clinton is our choice,’ Oregon Democrats went rogue and showed their love for lefty Bernie Sanders. … But this year ... Biden captured 69% of Democrats’ primary vote as opposed to Sanders’ 19%.”
We’ll have to wait until June for the official results for Idaho’s primary. What we do know is that more than 370,000 ballots were requested and if all of those mail-in ballots make it back to election offices by the June 2 deadline, it “would result in record turnout in a primary election,” Ryan Suppe writes for the Idaho Press.
It should also be noted that there was a problem with the Idaho Votes site as it was flooded with last-minute requests. The Idaho Statesman’s Ruth Brown has that story.
Trail Mix
Veepstakes
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer “has had ‘a conversation with some folks’ connected to … Biden’s campaign about being his running mate, but stopped short of saying she is being seriously vetted for the job,” Todd Spangler writes for the Detroit Free Press.
Battle for Congress
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Amy McGrath have resumed their attack ads in the Kentucky Senate race amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel Desrochers reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Democrat Adair Ford Boroughs has won the endorsement of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn in her bid to unseat Republican Rep. Joe Wilson in South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district, Emma Dumain reports for The State.
Rep. Roger Marshall, who is running for U.S. Senate in Kansas, said he not only supports Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine to ward off the coronavirus, but he’s taking the drug as well, the Wichita Eagle’s Jonathan Shorman reports.
The Raleigh News and Oberser’s Brian Murphy delves into how North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr’s seat could be filled if he resigned.
Number of the Day
7
Biden leads Trump by 7 points, 50% to 43%, in Arizona, according to a new OH Predictive Insights poll.
For planning purposes
May 20
Joe Biden holds virtual events in Wisconsin and delivers a virtual commencement address at Columbia Law School
Vice President Mike Pence visits Orlando
May 21
Govs. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas and Laura Kelly of Kansas visit the White House
Trump visits the Ford Motor Co. plant in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Jill Biden holds virtual events in Georgia
May 22
Hawaii primary
It’s a mystery
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel further examines Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine with some creative editing in this video.
Don’t miss out
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This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 12:31 PM.