Impact 2020: June 9, 2020
Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Tuesday, June 9. This is McClatchyDC Politics Editor Adam Wollner filling in for Meta Viers. Today, we examine the Democratic Party’s sudden shift on police reform, a late push from an underdog Senate candidate in Kentucky, and a shifting political landscape in Texas.
On the Ground
An ‘electric bolt’
The death of George Floyd and ensuing protests across the country have transformed the politics surrounding police violence and racism within the Democratic Party in the span of just a couple weeks, McClatchy’s Alex Roarty reports.
“It’s a change that has set a new standard for the minimum set of reforms most Democrats now support (like de-militarizing the police), introduced once-unthinkable far-reaching measures into the party’s mainstream (like defunding the police), and emboldened many party leaders that they can embrace a sweeping set of changes without facing broader political consequences in the November elections,” Roarty writes.
Roarty spoke to several Democratic leaders, including Julián Castro, the former Democratic presidential candidate and mayor of San Antonio, who compared the protests to an “electric bolt that electrifies everything it touches.”
“The energy around change is broader and deeper than anything that we’ve seen on this issue ever before,” Castro said.
Of course, not every proposal is earning consensus among Democrats, particularly the activist-led push to defund the police. The party’s de facto presidential nominee, Joe Biden, said he does not support that move.
Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP
Meanwhile, congressional Democrats announced a plan “to raise the legal standard for when law enforcement officers can use deadly force, proposing a bill similar to a new California law that aims to reduce lethal encounters,” Kate Irby reports for the Sacramento Bee.
Kentucky kerfuffle
The Kentucky Democratic Senate primary in two weeks has largely flown under the radar, with former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath establishing herself as the heavy favorite to win the right to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the fall.
But as the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers notes, the spotlight has increasingly been shining on McGrath’s main Democratic opponent, state Rep. Charles Booker.
Booker has been heavily involved in the protests in his hometown of Louisville, where Breonna Taylor and David McAtee were killed at the hands of the city’s police department. That’s led to more national media exposure and greater fundraising success, which Booker’s campaign put towards its first statewide TV ad Tuesday, casting McGrath as a “pro-Trump Democrat.”
Booker also received endorsements Tuesday from two national progressive leaders: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Texas transformation
Even though Texas Democrats were forced to hold their convention virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, that didn’t stop them from raising a record-breaking $2 million during the week-long event, James Barragán reports for the Dallas Morning News.
By comparison, the state party raised only $18,000 at their 2018 convention, and collected a total of $2 million over the entire election cycle.
“Throughout the week, Hollywood celebrities like George Takei, Debra Messing and Mark Hamill lent the virtual attention some added publicity by tweeting that winning Texas would lead to” defeating President Donald Trump, Barragán notes. “Several celebrities posted similar tweets and asked for a $38 donation to represent the state’s 38 electoral votes.”
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Anna M. Tinsley notes that many delegates were also focused on defeating GOP Sen. John Cornyn.
“I’m phone banking, sending out letters to voters in my precinct ... telling people how to get vote by mail applications,” said Heather Buen, a Fort Worth-area delegate. “I won’t do any block walking yet, until maybe September, depending on what happens with COVID-19.”
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
Georgia’s primary election today has already been plagued with problems due to the state’s new voting computers. Mark Niesse, Greg Bluestein and Tyler Estep have more for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Conservatives asked Wisconsin election officials “to ban individuals or groups from gathering absentee ballots from voters and delivering them to clerks, a practice known as ballot harvesting,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Patrick Marley reports.
Pennsylvania’s pandemic primary wasn’t a disaster, but officials say with that election as a test case, there’s “more the state can do ahead of November, … when turnout is expected to be much higher and the fate of the presidency could hinge” on the state, Jonathan Tamari and Jonathan Lai write for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan and Will Doran have a deep dive into the debate over confederate statues in North Carolina for the Raleigh News & Observer.
Convention watch
Republican National Committee members toured Savannah, Ga., on Monday as a potential site to host part of the GOP convention, Greg Bluestein reports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Veepstakes
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s chances of becoming Biden’s running mate appear to be plummeting, Patrick Condon writes for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Stacey Abrams’ talks about restructuring the “architecture of American democracy” in her new book, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports.
Number of the Day
2
Trump plans to resume in-person campaign rallies in roughly two weeks, McClatchy’s Michael Wilner reports.
For Planning Purposes
June 9
Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and West Virginia hold primaries
Biden attends a virtual fundraiser
June 11
Trump holds a private fundraiser in Dallas
June 23
Kentucky and New York hold primaries
July 7
Delaware and New Jersey hold primaries
#WatchLocal
St. Paul, Minn. Mayor Melvin Carter joined comedian Conan O’Brien’s show to discuss how his community is responding to George Floyd’s death and police violence.
Tune In
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 9, 2020 at 1:16 PM.
