Impact2020: June 30, 2020
In this Tuesday edition of the Impact2020 briefing, we take a look at the long-awaited results of Kentucky’s Senate primary, how a coronavirus resurgence is throwing a wrench in Donald Trump’s Florida plans, and what a former presidential candidate has to say about his Democratic colleagues confronting policing issues.
On the Ground
McGrath squeaks out win in KY
A week after Election Day in Kentucky, we now know that former Marine Corps pilot Amy McGrath will face Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November. The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers writes that McGrath held off state Rep. Charles Booker in the Democratic primary, despite his recent surge in support.
Even though Booker won Kentucky’s three largest cities — Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green — McGrath took the rural parts of the state, Desrochers reports.
Her win comes after the primary was delayed a month due to COVID-19 concerns, and then conducted mostly by absentee ballot. “The extra month proved pivotal in making the race competitive,” Desrochers notes, as “Booker’s call for change was embraced by a sweeping political moment after the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked protests of racial injustice and police violence throughout the country.”
Credit: Lexington-Herald Leader, file photos
But in the end, the Associated Press called it for McGrath. In her victory statement, McGrath said: “The differences that separate Democrats are nothing compared to the chasm that exists between us and the politics and actions of Mitch McConnell. He’s destroyed our institutions for far too long.”
McConnell’s campaign responded to the news, saying it was “great to have” McGrath in the general election. “Extreme Amy McGrath is lucky to have gotten out of the primary with a victory, but her reputation sustained significant damage all across Kentucky,” said Kate Cooksey, McConnell’s spokeswoman.
It’s complicated
Florida’s uptick of coronavirus cases is complicating President Donald Trump’s campaign in the battleground state and preparations for the Republican National Convention, David Smiley and Francesca Chambers report for the Miami Herald.
A new order in Jacksonville requiring face masks indoors at public events where social distancing can’t be achieved could potentially apply to attendees at the late August event. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump had no objections to the mask mandate, but did not say the president would wear a mask during the convention if local rules require it.
While organizers are still planning health precautions for the convention in two months, RNC spokesman Rick Gorka said that it was “business as usual” for the campaign’s ground game in the state, where recent polling shows Joe Biden in the lead. But there have been some modifications to the Trump campaign schedule. Vice President Mike Pence’s Thursday stop in Sarasota as part of his Faith in America tour was “postponed out of an abundance of caution.” And Trump himself has promised a rally in Florida “but details of that event have not emerged,” Smiley and Chambers write.
Meanwhile, Democrats are focused on getting their convention up and running at a new main venue in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Center. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber reports that full-time staff returned Monday to the facility, where temperature checks, enhanced cleaning procedures and social distancing are now in place.
‘It’s a new day’
McClatchy’s Alex Roarty has an exclusive interview with former HUD secretary and 2020 presidential candidate Julián Castro, discussing everything from defunding the police, Democrats’ chances of beating Trump in Texas and who Biden should pick as his running mate.
Roarty notes that Castro “was ahead of his time,” promoting police reforms before the issue had gained prominence for many Democrats during his unsuccessful White House campaign last year. But that dynamic has changed following the recent Black Lives Matter protests, and Castro says he’s “confident that it’s a new day with an urgency to stand up for a system of law enforcement that is fair and one where officers who engage in this conduct are held accountable for their actions. And if police unions get in the way of that, as they often do, they cannot be supported.”
Castro, a former San Antonio mayor, said he’s confident that Biden will be “very competitive” in Texas, and may even have an edge, based on the latest polls. But Castro is cautious too, saying “the thing we learned in 2016 is we cannot take anything for granted, and so everyone has to run as hard as we can and get people out to vote and not assume anything about the election.”
Roarty has more, including Castro’s biggest worries about the election, in this Q and A.
Trail Mix
Election preview
Three states are holding statewide and local elections today. In Colorado, the marquee contest is the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, where progressive Andrew Romanoff is trying to score an upset over former Gov. John Hickenlooper. The Denver Post’s Andrew Wingerter has more.
In Utah, election officials are expecting record voter turnout for today’s primary, Beth Rodgers reports for the Salt Lake Tribune. The most competitive race is the GOP primary for governor between former Gov. John Huntsman and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.
And in Oklahoma, officials are anticipating a record number of mail-in votes, Adam Kemp writes for The Oklahoman. There’s notably a crowded GOP primary in the state’s 5th congressional district, where Democrat Kendra Horn pulled off a surprise victory in the 2018 midterms.
Looking ahead to the fall: the Atlanta Hawks are opening up their arena as an early voting site in Georgia, TJ Macias reports for the Macon Telegraph.
Battleground state watch
The Trump campaign is suing Pennsylvania over the ballot drop boxes officials used for the June primary, and is asking to have them banned in November, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Lai reports.
The Biden campaign hired six key staffers in Michigan, the Detroit Free Press’ Todd Spangler reports.
Mask on, mask off
Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly will order the state’s residents to wear face masks in public spaces beginning July 3, even though it “is almost certain to spark a backlash in the conservative state,” the Wichita Eagle’s Jonathan Shorman, Sarah Ritter and Chance Swaim report.
In Georgia, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp plans to make a statewide tour to encourage citizens to wear masks, but said he won’t require them to do so, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein and J. Scott Trubey report.
The road to 2024
“I wouldn’t support him for president either,” Nikki Haley told McClatchy in response to former national security adviser John Bolton’s statement that he would not support her for president in four years if she runs.
Number of the Day
80
The number of GOP members in the Wisconsin legislature who voted absentee in April, even though many of them oppose making it easier for people to vote absentee, the AP’s Scott Bauer reports.
For Planning Purposes
June 30
Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah hold primaries
Biden holds a virtual fundraiser
July 1
Pence meets with Arizona Gov. Ducey in Phoenix
July 2
Biden hosts a national call with Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois
Pence travels to Florida
New episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast. Download here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
July 7
Delaware and New Jersey hold primaries
That’s a look
The Daily Show creates a “more macho mask” for those who don’t want to look ridiculous wearing more traditional face coverings. Um, yeah...
Did someone forward this email to you? Please sign up here for our daily roundup of 2020 election news from McClatchy’s 30 newsrooms and other local journalists.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 2:04 PM.