Impact2020: May 29, 2020

Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Friday, May 29. National Republicans and North Carolina Democrats struggle to find common ground on the convention, the Kansas Senate race loses a GOP candidate, and mail ballot requests are on the rise in several states.

On the Ground

Convention controversy

The Republican National Committee sent a letter to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Charlotte officials giving them less than a week to approve and provide safety guidelines for its late August convention, Brian Murphy reports for the Charlotte Observer.

“Convention organizers are asking Cooper to approve several preliminary safety protocols, including daily online health care questionnaires and pre-travel health surveys. Attendees would get thermal scans done prior to boarding sanitized, pre-arranged transportation and would get health checks before entering the arena,” Murphy writes. “It does not mention social distancing or face coverings.”

Credit: Matt Rourke, AP File (2016)

But North Carolina health officials are asking for much greater detail from the RNC.

The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill reports that “state Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen asked convention officials how many people were expected each night of the convention in Charlotte’s Spectrum Center and whether they would be socially distanced.

She also asked whether convention officials have a plan for masks, social distancing and other safety measures at every party, event and meeting surrounding the convention.”

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Observer’s Fred Clasen-Kelly and Austin Weinstein note shutting down the convention could be costly for the city.

“Under a contract the city signed two years ago, RNC organizers could ask the courts to force Charlotte to host the event or pay millions of dollars in damages if city leaders don’t allow the event to happen,” they report.

Thinning out

The Kansas GOP Senate field got a little less crowded after state Senate President Susan Wagle dropped out of the race just four days ahead of the filing deadline, Jonathan Shorman and Bryan Lowry report for the Kansas City Star.

“Wagle pointed to conversations with party leaders and concerns that a divided Republican electorate could be a boost to Democrat Barbara Bollier in the general election,” they write. Wagle also cited poor fundraising as a contributing factor, specifically referencing past speculation about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s potential candidacy.

The announcement came hours after Kansans For Life’s PAC announced it was endorsing Rep. Roger Marshall. Last month, Kansas Republican chair Mike Kuckelman had pressured Wagle to drop out.

Wagle’s decision to end her campaign will likely boost Marshall, who is trying to establish himself as the main alternative to former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who some Republicans worry could cost them the Senate seat if he is the nominee.

A record pace

Lowry and Sarah Ritter also report for the Kansas City Star that more than two months out from the state’s August primaries, “Kansas has already surpassed the total of mail ballot applications for the entirety of 2016 with 57,687 processed as of Friday morning. ... That’s more than 3,500 above 2016’s total and the figure will continue to increase as the election approaches.”

They note that “the embrace of mail voting in Kansas comes as it faces an increasingly hostile political environment. President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders have denounced efforts to expand it during the pandemic, asserting without evidence that it heightens the potential for fraud.”

Kansas has allowed voters to cast ballots by mail for any reason since 1996.

Trail Mix

Election disruption

• Nearly 500,000 Iowans have requested absentee ballots and more than 300,000 had already voted early by mail as of Thursday ahead of next week’s primaries. “If the remaining requested ballots are returned … Iowa will break its primary turnout record,” Stephen Gruber-Miller writes for the Des Moines Register.

• In Pennsylvania, about 1.3 million registered Democrats had requested and been approved for mail ballots for the June 2 primaries as of Thursday, compared with about 524,000 Republicans, Andrew Seidman reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

• The North Carolina House passed a bill making it easier for people to vote by mail in the 2020 elections with near unanimous support, Will Doran reports for the Raleigh News & Observer.

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he will extend the early voting period for the November elections amid the pandemic, the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reports.

• Texans may cast ballots from their cars for curbside voting for the local July elections, but officials are warning it won’t be a quick process, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Anna M. Tinsley writes.

• The Kansas City Star’s Crystal Thomas reports that Missouri Gov. Mike Parson told Missourians if they don’t feel safe enough to cast a ballot in-person in Tuesday’s local elections, they should not go out and vote. The state does not offer no-excuse absentee voting.

Battleground state watch

• Vice President Mike Pence is visiting Georgia for the second Friday in a row to talk with business leaders about the state’s coronavirus response and honor the memory of a prominent evangelist, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports.

• Revelations that a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House tested positive for the coronavirus sparked allegations of a cover-up, calls for the lawmaker to resign and a push for an official investigation. Julia Terruso and Angela Couloumbis have the story for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Veepstakes

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada withdrew her name from consideration to be Joe Biden’s running mate, citing the state’s economic crisis, the Nevada Independent’s Megan Messerly reports.

Ready now

A brand new episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast has the team debating whether Trump’s latest Twitter tirades will affect his political standing and examining Biden’s relationship with African American voters. Download it on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts.

Number of the Day

$10.2 million

That’s how much the Trump campaign spent on TV and radio ads between April 1 and May 28, according to Advertising Analytics, more than any other campaign or super PAC during that period.

For planning purposes

May 29

Mike Pence travels to Georgia

Pete Buttigieg hosts virtual organizing training with volunteers and supporters in New Hampshire for Biden campaign

June 2

Primaries in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Washington, D.C.

June 3

The Biden campaign holds a call with Elizabeth Warren

June 6

Virgin Islands holds its Democratic caucus

Biden to address Texas Democratic Party convention

June 9

Georgia and West Virginia hold primaries

June 23

Kentucky and New York hold primaries

Not kidding around

Goats and other animals are having the time of their lives right now. See some fun clips courtesy of the Daily Show.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 12:57 PM.