Impact2020: May 26, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Tuesday, May 26. Republicans are grappling with President Trump’s threat to move the convention from Charlotte, a federal judge decides a major voting rights case in Florida, and COVID-19 upends a key House race in Kansas.
On the Ground
RNC relocation?
President Donald Trump threatened to move the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina unless Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper gives assurances that the late August event can have “full attendance,” Brian Murphy, Lauren Lindstrom and Jim Morrill report for the Charlotte Observer.
That quickly led to jockeying among other states to host the convention, and questions as to whether it was even possible to shift locations for an event that officials have been planning for years.
Ed Driggs, a Republican member of the Charlotte City Council questioned Trump’s authority to move the convention site. He said he doubted that any other city could put together a convention in the next three months, and noted that the city council accepted a $50 million federal security grant for the convention in April.
“I think this is the kind of thing that happens in politics, where, and particularly the president is known for dramatic gestures,” Driggs said. “I don’t know whether that tweet by him is supported by the Republican Party and all the people with whom we have been in negotiation for a couple of years.”
But let’s say the RNC could move. Where would it go? Florida Republicans said they would “welcome” the GOP convention, report the Miami Herald’s David Smiley and Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Contorno. However, “one Republican fundraiser questioned whether donors who contributed to the Charlotte host committee would allow their money to be used to sponsor an event in a different state.”
Vice President Mike Pence also listed Texas and Georgia as possible host sites. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy reports that Texas GOP chairman James Dickey said: “Texas would welcome President Trump and the RNC Convention.”
And GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp made a pitch for his state to hold the convention on Twitter: “With world-class facilities, restaurants, hotels, and workforce, Georgia would be honored to safely host the Republican National Convention. We hope you will consider the Peach State, @realdonaldtrump!”
While other states voice their interest in the convention, North Carolina HHS Secretary Mandy Cohen has requested a written COVID-19 safety plan from the CEO of the Republican National Convention, the Charlotte Observer’s Austin Weinstein reports. Cohen wrote that “we look forward to continuing to work with you and your team to ensure a safe RNC,” and cited a need for “several scenarios planned that can be deployed depending on the public health situation.”
A ‘game-changer’ in Florida
A federal judge ruled that felons in Florida have a right to vote even if they can’t afford to pay back court-ordered fees, fines and restitution, Lawrence Mower reports for the Miami Herald. The judge also restored the right to vote outright to three large groups of felons.
The ruling could have implications in cases nationwide. One reason people have their eyes on this ruling: “When voters in 2018 approved Amendment 4, which restored the right to vote to non-violent felons who had completed their sentences, it was the nation’s largest expansion of voting rights in decades.”
Neil Volz, a spokesman for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, called it “a game-changer.”
But Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to appeal the case to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. That court overall leans conservative, notes Mower, and “two of DeSantis’ hand-picked Florida Supreme Court justices are now on the bench there.”
Pandemic politics
Bryan Lowry lays out for the Kansas City Star how the COVID-19 has changed not only the way Kansas candidates interact with voters, but their messaging.
“The four Republicans seeking to unseat Rep. Sharice Davids have signaled support for the protest movement against coronavirus-related restrictions— in one case even attending a rally— as they seek to find a message that will resonate during the unprecedented pandemic,” Lowry writes.
Meanwhile, Davids, a first-term Democrat, has continued to support social distancing, and tried to distance herself from House Democratic leadership amid partisan furor.
And the battle over COVID-19 response will likely “be on the ballot this August when Republicans choose a nominee and in November when Davids for the first time defends her seat in Kansas’ 3rd congressional district, a suburban swing district,” Lowry reports.
Trail Mix
Election disruption
“Michigan’s statutory requirement that all absentee ballots be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted is being challenged in court,” Todd Spangler reports for the Detroit Free Press.
One million Georgia voters still need to return their absentee ballots for the June primary, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse reports.
Around half a million Indiana voters requested absentee ballots ahead of the June 2 primary, an “unprecedented number” for the state, Chris Sikich reports for the Indianapolis Star.
A federal judge ruled that South Carolina can’t require voters to get their ballot mail-in envelopes signed by a witness for the June primary, citing COVID-19. But the ruling can be appealed, The State’s John Monk writes.
A petition to expand Medicaid eligibility has collected enough signatures to be placed on the November ballot, but because Missouri’s secretary of state expedited the process, it means the governor could move the issue to the August primary instead. The Kansas City Star’s John Monk explains why some Medicaid expansion proponents are crying foul.
Joe Biden won Hawaii’s Democratic primary with 63.2% of the ranked-choice votes, Rob Shikina reports for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Biden also “made his first in-person appearance in more than two months on Monday as he marked Memorial Day by laying a wreath at a veterans park near his Delaware home,” the AP’s Will Weissert reports.
Battle for Congress
Kris Kobach and Roger Marshall are fighting for front-runner status in Kansas’ Senate race, and their contentious debate featured an argument over support for agriculture and who would best be able to challenge the presumptive Democratic nominee, Jonathan Shorman and Bryan Lowry report for the Wichita Eagle.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina released his first ad of the general election, which highlights the economy and his working-class roots as the Senate race kicks back into gear, reports Brian Murphy for the News & Observer.
Experts disagree on whether North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr’s stock sales will lead to a definitive answer on if it was insider trading, Jim Morrill reports for the Raleigh News & Observer.
You can hear more about the battle over mail-in voting in the new episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast. Download it on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts.
Number of the Day
63%
That’s how many voters said they support allowing all U.S. citizens to vote by mail in the upcoming presidential election, according to the latest national Fox News poll. But there’s a partisan divide.
For planning purposes
May 26
Biden holds a virtual fundraiser
May 27
Trump travels to Florida for the SpaceX launch
June 2
Primaries in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington, D.C.
June 6
Virgin Islands holds its Democratic caucus
June 9
Georgia and West Virginia hold primaries
June 23
Kentucky and New York hold primaries
Not stopping for a holiday
Credit: Jeff Siner, The Charlotte Observer
ReOpenNC protesters showed up at a government parking lot in Raleigh on Memorial Day to continue protesting North Carolina Roy Cooper’s reopening plan, saying it remains too restrictive. Similar events happened in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro and Wilmington.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 11:50 AM.