Impact2020: July 6, 2020
In this Monday edition of the Impact2020 briefing, we take a look at how the Biden campaign is stepping up its campaign in a must-win state, tomorrow’s primaries in two states, and how Amy McGrath’s former challenger is throwing support behind her ahead of November.
On the Ground
Bulking up staffing in Florida
Joe Biden is bringing on several veteran strategists to help lead organizing efforts in Florida, the nation’s largest swing state, reports Miami Herald’s David Smiley.
Biden’s campaign is adding a new coordinated director who served as director of national campaigns for California senator and potential Biden running mate Kamala Harris: Brandon Thompson. Thompson, who also worked for Organizing Together 2020 Florida, will be “responsible for syncing operations with the Democratic National Committee and the Florida Democratic Party.”
And, “Biden’s campaign is also tapping two Florida strategists who have been involved in efforts to build back the Democratic Party’s registered voter advantage over Republicans in the state: Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Juan Peñalosa and former Organizing Together 2020 Florida political director Karen Andre.”
Jackie Lee will remain the Biden campaign’s Florida state director.
Florida, with its 29 Electoral College votes, is seen as a must-win state for President Trump. the candidates. Recent polls show Biden leading Trump in the state.
Unifying to take on McConnell
Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers reports that after a contentious Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky, Democratic nominee Amy McGrath’s former challenger has signaled he will support her campaign as she prepares to take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in November.
State Rep. Charles Booker tweeted, “Our common enemy is Mitch. We must beat him, so we can do the real work.”
Desrochers notes that “Booker’s willingness to work with McGrath comes after months of criticism over her more moderate political approach.” Booker had even run ads saying McGrath was a pro-Trump Democrat, and in June he told the New York Times that McGrath would lose to McConnell. Meanwhile, “McConnell’s campaign attempted to paint her as ‘too liberal for Kentucky’” even as she lost endorsements from people like Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Credit: Ryan C. Hermens, Lexington Herald-Leader
And though McGrath won the primary without appealing to many progressives, Booker’s support -- and those of his supporters -- could help in the months ahead.
As McConnell’s spokeswoman Kate Cooksey put it, “After getting only 45% of the vote from Kentucky Democrats, McGrath obviously needs all the help she can get to be remotely competitive against Mitch McConnell.”
Trying out voting by mail
Tuesday’s primary will be the first election in New Jersey to be conducted by mail-in ballot after Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order, reports Mike Deak for the Bridgewater Courier News.
Sen. Bernie Sanders remains on the Democratic presidential ballot there along with Biden, who has already wrapped up the Democratic nomination, and Donald Trump is running on the Republican presidential ballot unopposed. But incumbent Democrat Sen. Cory Booker faces a challenger, community activist Lawrence Hamm, and several Republicans are running to see who will likely take on Booker in November.
Delaware, also holding a mostly-by-mail primary on Tuesday, will also make voting by mail available for the September Delaware primary and the November general election, reports WGMD’s Mark Fowser. House Bill 346 created an alternative to in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic, Fowser explains, and “mail-in voting would also be possible if special elections are scheduled in 2020.”
In both cases, it could be days before we see official results as elections officials will need time to receive and count the expected influx of mail-in ballots.
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
According to records dating back to 1980, Cal Cunningham’s second-quarter fundraising haul is the largest single quarter for a U.S. Senate race in North Carolina, reports Brian Murphy for the News & Observer.“A recent federal court decision will cut in-person early voting this fall in half in Wisconsin’s largest cities, but the effects of the ruling could be mitigated because so many people are turning to mail voting amid the coronavirus pandemic,” reports Patrick Marley for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Lehigh University students in Pennsylvania want Election Day to be declared a holiday. The Morning Call’s Michelle Merlin has more.
Trump will host an outdoor rally Saturday in New Hampshire where attendees will be given a face mask “that they are strongly encouraged to wear,” New Hampshire Union Leader’s Paul Feely reports.
Congress watch
The State’s Jack Kelly takes a closer look at Sen. Lindsey Graham’s recent “unusual torrent of dissent” to President Trump.
On the ballot
St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Mark Schlinkmann explains how a measure to make political party labels a thing of the past in most St. Louis races ended up on the ballot.
12 measures from “funding for stem cell research to a repeal of the state’s ban on affirmative action and an expansion of consumer privacy laws” will be up for a vote in California in November, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner reports.
The Supreme Court has ruled that states can require presidential electors to support their states’ popular vote winner in the Electoral College. More on the ruling from the Associated Press.
Convention
As the 2020 DNC organizers prepare for their August event in Milwaukee, Tim O’Neil has a look back at the 1904 convention in St. Louis for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A Minnesota billionaire who’s donated more than $2 million to GOP campaigns and causes since 2016 is “balking at the idea of backing the rescheduled Republican National Convention in Jacksonville.” Mark Reilly has the details for the St. Paul Business Journal.
COVID-19 action
A judge issued a temporary restraining order on Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive orders limiting attendance at racetracks and class sizes at daycares, reports Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers.
The Sacramento Bee’s Andrew Sheeler reports that The California Assembly is limiting the number of employees allowed to work in the office after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a multi-million-dollar ad campaign promoting the importance of wearing a mask, report Sheeler and Kim Bojórquez.
Gov. Kate Brown met with Oregon State Police officers days after they were seen on video not wearing masks in a coffee shop. Alex Hardgrave has the story for The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Number of the Day
90%
The chance Biden has of winning the electoral college, according to a forecast by The Economist.
For Planning Purposes
July 7
Delaware and New Jersey hold primaries
July 8
Biden holds virtual event for high school students with Karine Jean-Pierre
July 11
Louisiana primary
Trump holds rally in New Hampshire
July 12
Puerto Rico Democratic primary
Two-thousand and late?
Is Kanye West kidding or not? As CNN’s Alaa Elassar puts it, getting on the ballot at this point “won’t be Yeezy.” But perhaps Mark Cuban can help?
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 July 6, 2020 at 12:52 PM.