Impact2020: June 8, 2020
In your Impact2020 briefing for Monday, June 8, we look at where things stand after another weekend of demonstrations across the country, Joe Biden’s trip to Houston and his poll standing in Michigan, and an unusual occurrence regarding debates in North Carolina.
On the Ground
Protest fallout
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered all across the country this weekend to protest police violence and racism. Active duty forces didn’t end up coming into the nation’s capital to clamp down on protesters, but Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said, “We came right up to the edge of bringing active troops here.”
McClatchy’s Tara Copp and Michael Wilner report that thousands of National Guard forces that quickly arrived in Washington, D.C. last week were ultimately sent home. President Donald Trump tweeted over the weekend that he ordered them out “now that everything is under perfect control.” But he also added that they could “quickly return, if needed.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had demanded that federal forces leave the city, and she even sent a pointed message of support for the protesters by renaming the area near St. John’s church “Black Lives Matter Plaza” and having city workers paint “Black Lives Matter” on a street leading to the White House. As the feud between Bowser and Trump grew, a Florida lobbying firm with ties to Trump decided to drop its contract with the city, Ana Ceballos writes for the Tampa Bay Times. Ballard Partners, hired to help with COVID-19 financial relief, tweeted that it was “no longer in a position to deliver effective representation.”
Credit: Maya Alleruzzo, AP
Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who has been outspoken about the death of George Floyd, attended a Sunday rally in D.C., Josh Newman of the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Back where everything started in Minneapolis, the city council has begun the process of ending the police department. The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Liz Navratil writes: “While some council members have provided hints of what the changes might mean ... the group did not present a single, unified vision for how they would replace policing in Minneapolis.” She has more on “what is likely to be a long, complicated debate about the future of the state’s largest police force.”
And Joe Biden and Al Sharpton went to Houston, Texas, today. While Sharpton will give the eulogy at Floyd’s funeral service, the Houston Chronicle’s Julian Gill reports, Biden will tape a video message. Biden is also set to meet privately with Floyd’s family.
Debating more debates
It’s usually the challenger who wants more debates from the incumbent, but the Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill reports it’s the opposite for the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina. Republican Thom Tillis wants more than the three televised debates Democrat Cal Cunningham has agreed to participate in.
“Debates had been a point of contention in the race,” notes Morrill, but now Tillis is one of a handful of vulnerable Republicans pressing for more one-on-one showdowns. It’s particularly noteworthy because North Carolina “could be pivotal in determining which party gains control of the Senate.”
Convention update
Morrill is also keeping an eye on the latest Republican National Convention developments as GOP and Charlotte officials are still scrambling to pull a convention together after Trump ruled out a scaled-down event.
“After Trump tweeted … that he’s looking for another state to host the convention, Republican National Committee officials began looking for other cities to host the president’s acceptance speech, and maybe more. Charlotte would be left with the “official business” of the convention, though exactly what that is hasn’t been announced,” writes Morrill.
A timeline of how things fell apart in Charlotte and why some officials still hold some hope at least part of the four-day convention will still be held there starting Aug. 24 here.
Trail Mix
Election disruption
Nevada will hold its June 9 primary by mail but official results won’t be ready until 10 days later, report the Nevada Independent’s Kristyn Leonard, Tabitha Mueller, Savanna Strott and Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez.
Both parties are embracing absentee voting in Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse and Greg Bluestein have details.
Battle for Congress
A state board ruled that Rep. Roger Marshall can‘t appear on the Kansas Republican primary ballot for U.S. Senate as “Doc”, Jonathan Shorman reports for the Wichita Eagle.
Elsewhere in Kansas, opponents of Kris Kobach talked to the U.S. Senate candidate about concerns over his representation of minorities if he’s elected. More from the coffee shop event that Kobach said led to a fruitful conversation by the Wichita Eagle’s Michael Stavola.
Colorado’s ethics commission found that current Democratic Senate candidate and former Gov. John Hickenlooper violated state ethics laws twice in 2018, Justin Wingerter reports for the Denver Post.
Battleground state watch
Addressing the virtual Texas Democratic convention over the weekend, Biden said “we have a real chance to turn the state blue.” The Texas Tribune’s Alex Samuels has more.
A Harris County, Texas GOP chair-elect is already resigning after outcry over a Facebook post that juxtaposed a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote with a banana, Raga Justin writes for the Texas Tribune.
Number of the Day
12
Biden leads Trump by 12 points, 53% to 41% in Michigan, according to a new EPIC-MRA poll.
For planning purposes
June 9
Georgia and West Virginia hold primaries
June 11
Trump holds private fundraiser in Dallas
June 23
Kentucky and New York hold primaries
July 7
Delaware and New Jersey hold primaries
Leaving a message at the gate
Credit: Bruce Friedrich via Storyful
Anti-racism artwork covered the temporary barrier put up outside the White House this weekend.
Download it now
On the latest episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast, McClatchy’s Alex Roarty spoke with two journalists who have been covering the protests on the ground: Joe Bustos of The State and Carl Juste of the Miami Herald. Download it on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts.
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This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 11:58 AM.