Impact2020: July 16, 2020

Welcome to the Impact2020 briefing on this Friday eve! (We’re still celebrating Fridays, right?) Well, Democrats are hoping what’s old might work like new again in California’s congressional races, Donald Trump holds back on an endorsement in Georgia’s Senate race, and we take a look at who has the upper hand in fundraising in North Carolina.

On the Ground

Returning to an old playbook

“Democrats trounced Republicans in the battle districts of California in 2018, largely by focusing on health care and the GOP efforts to dismantle Obamacare. … Now, with the novel coronavirus as a backdrop, Democrats have a new reason to trot out Obamacare as a campaign issue,” Kate Irby reports for the Sacramento Bee.

With the Trump administration asking the Supreme Court to throw out the Affordable Care Act, “Democrats think revisiting their 2017 health care message will help them win those same … districts in 2020 — and possibly expand.”

“Voters across the country and California have said time and again at the ballot box that access to affordable health care is not only critical to maintaining economic security for them and their families but also vital to building a better future for their children,” said Andy Orellana, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But, the White House isn’t worried the Supreme Court brief will cost Republicans seats in Congress. Judd Deere, White House deputy press secretary, also said Obamacare “limits patient choice, forces Americans to purchase unaffordable plans, and restricts patients with high-risk preexisting conditions from accessing the doctors and hospitals they need.”

GOP consultants contend that the Democratic messaging won’t be as potent this year, since Republicans are the challengers and don’t have records on Obamacare votes, Irby notes.

For a closer look at why 2020 isn’t (or is) just like 2016 for Joe Biden and Donald Trump, download a new episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast this evening here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

Not choosing sides

President Donald Trump isn’t picking sides in the contentious GOP Senate primary battle in Georgia between Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins, McClatchy’s Francesca Chambers reports.

Trump called Loeffler a “good woman” and Collins an “incredible man and friend” at an Atlanta event that both candidates attended during his trip there on Wednesday.

Both candidates also got to spend time with Trump. “Loeffler and other Georgia lawmakers rode in Air Force One to Atlanta, while Collins secured one-on-one time with Trump on the tarmac when the president landed.”

Credit: Evan Vucci, AP

Loeffler and Collins are both jockeying for the president’s endorsement. But a White House official said that Trump remains neutral in the race.

Collins raised $1.3 million over the last three months, while Loeffler pumped in another $5 million of her own money to the campaign, the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports. Democrat Raphael Warnock raised nearly $3 million during the same period.

Where Democrats are outraising Republicans

And in North Carolina, Democrats in many top statewide races far outraised their Republican opponents over the past few months, Brian Murphy and Will Doran report for the Raleigh News & Observer.

In the nationally watched Senate race, Democrat Cal Cunningham raised a record-breaking $7.4 million in the second quarter of 2020, while GOP Sen. Thom Tillis collected $2.6 million.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper raised nearly $6 million from mid-February to the end of June, compared to the $2.4 million his opponent in November, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, brought in.

Murphy and Doran write that this high level of fundraising occurred even as the country dealt with the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest. They also note that “candidates on both sides will have ‘dark money’ groups that support them … Some, including both Cooper and Forest, also have support from outside committees that disclose their donors but, unlike their individual campaigns, don’t have any limits on how much any one person or group can give.”

“Combining the super PAC numbers with the individual campaigns, Cooper and his affiliated group have $23 million, or nearly 10 times as much as Forest and his affiliated group: $2.9 million in cash,” Murphy and Doran report.

Trail Mix

Convention watch

• With coronavirus cases soaring in Florida, the Republican National Committee announced that it would limit attendance at the Jacksonville convention in late August. Francesca Chambers and David Smiley have the details for the Miami Herald.

• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber is keeping up with all of the changes happening at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.

Battle for Congress

• In the Kentucky Senate race, Democrat Amy McGrath and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had roughly the same amount of cash on hand heading into July, the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers reports.

• Kansas GOP Rep. Steve Watkins’ attorney filed a motion seeking to disqualify Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay’s office from prosecuting the felony case against Watkins, Bryan Lowry reports for the Kansas City Star.

• Lowry also writes that Democrats may be using some of the same tactics from former Sen. Claire McCaskill’s 2012 campaign by trying to boost Kris Kobach’s chances of winning the GOP Senate nomination in Kansas.

COVID action

• The White House said it has “zero concerns” that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who said he tested positive for the coronavirus, interacted with Trump at a June campaign rally, reports McClatchy’s Francesca Chambers.

• Former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who was noticeably “off his game” during virtual debate in Florida on Tuesday, was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, Charles Rabin reports for the Miami Herald.

Number of the Day

65%

That’s how many voters who said they trusted the information Dr. Anthony Fauci is providing about the coronavirus, according to a new national Quinnipiac University poll. By comparison, 67% said that they do not trust the information they are getting about the virus from Trump.

For Planning Purposes

July 16

Trump makes remarks on “Rolling Back Regulations to Help All Americans”

Joe Biden delivers remarks for a virtual climate town hall launching “Biden Climate Voters” with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

Jill Biden holds a virtual event in Reno, Nev.

John Kerry hosts a virtual Biden campaign roundtable in New Hampshire

The Biden campaign hosts a virtual event with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Elizabeth Warren

Stacey Abrams and Connie Britton host a Women for Biden national call

Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Ron Kind host a virtual Biden for President roundtable in Wisconsin

July 17

Mike Pence visits Wisconsin

Jill Biden holds virtual events in Michigan and Colorado

“He’s a gnat”

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth (and potential Biden VP contender) told Seth Meyers exactly what she thinks about Tucker Carlson in this interview.

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This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 11:51 AM.