Impact2020: July 23, 2020
Editor’s note: The first version of this briefing omitted the word ‘City’ from the email subject line. We apologize for the error.
We’re back with the Impact2020 briefing. Today, we take a closer look at the backlash over President Trump’s expansion of a federal law enforcement effort, how COVID cases among political staffers are underscoring the risk of in-person campaigning amid the pandemic and who now has the power to make or break the GOP convention in Jacksonville.
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On the Ground
‘It has terrified me’
Eight employees with the Progressive Turnout Project, a Democratic-aligned group that has been knocking on doors to speak to voters in a dozen states since June, have tested positive for COVID-19, reports McClatchy’s Alex Roarty.
The organization’s executive director, Alex Morgan, said it’s unclear how each contracted the virus, but that none of the eight staffers spread it to each other. “But Morgan acknowledged that five field staffers tested positive for the disease after speaking in person with voters, none of whom have been notified that they might have been exposed,” Roarty writes.
Morgan defended the decision not to contact potentially exposed voters, saying that the proper safety precautions were taken. But one mid-level staffer has quit. Liz Nimmo described that development as the latest example of why the group’s operations are dangerous.
“Every week since our canvas launch, we have had a COVID scare,” Nimmo said in an interview with McClatchy. “Every single week. It has terrified me.”
Roarty notes that “within both parties, whether and how to return to door-to-door voter canvassing — generally regarded as one of the most effective ways to mobilize and persuade prospective voters because of its personal touch — has been a controversial subject since the onset of the pandemic.”
A federal fact check
The tension over the Trump administration’s expansion of Operation LeGend, a federal law enforcement effort to crack down on violent crime in Kansas City, continues to grow as local government officials warn that the president lacks the authority to send federal agents to their cities.
Trump said Wednesday he had “no choice but to get involved”, McClatchy’s Bryan Lowry, Michael Wilner, Anna Spoerre and Cortlynn Stark report. And he claimed the increased violence was linked to “a radical movement to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments.”
In an attempt to back up the federal anti-crime effort, Attorney General William Barr said, “Just to give you an idea of what’s possible, the FBI went in very strong into Kansas City and within two weeks we’ve had 200 arrests.” But the claim was misleading.
Not only could local officials not verify the number, but a senior Justice Department official also clarified after the event that the 200 figure included arrests dating back to December 2019. “It also included, the official said, both state and FBI arrests in joint operations,” Wilner, Spoerre and Lowry report.
Prior to the clarification, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas not only expressed his doubts about the claim, but said that Trump was “exploiting the pain” of the city’s Black community during an election year.
“I do have concerns with the president’s racial undertones in his rhetoric. When I was growing up they used to call it dog-whistling. I think the president has exceeded that,” Lucas said.
Credit: Tammy Ljungblad, The Kansas City Star
What happens next
“The fate of the Republican National Convention is now in the hands of the Jacksonville City Council,” the Miami Herald’s David Smiley and Erin Doherty report.
Draft legislation that seeks to create “a special downtown convention zone and free speech area from Aug. 23 through Aug. 28” is up for a vote on Tuesday that “could make or break … Trump’s plans to celebrate his nomination in Florida.”
The legislation was introduced on an emergency basis because “the event is scheduled for the week of August 24 … and the city needs the approval of this legislation in order to adequately prepare for the event.”
Two-thirds of council members present for the vote must support the legislation for it to pass.
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
A new Quinnipiac University poll found a tight race in Texas, with Biden at 45% and Trump at 44%.
Greg Bluestein has an inside look at Trump’s ground game in Georgia for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ohio GOP Gov. Mike DeWine reversed course and issued a statewide face mask mandate, the Columbus Dispatch’s Patrick Cooley reports.
Sens. Ron Johnson of and Rick Scott say Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration ignored a request for information about how the state spent and allocated money from the CARES Act, David Smiley reports for the Miami Herald.
After Wisconsin’s messy April primary, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Patricia McKnight reports that officials say at least five changes could make the next election “smoother.”
Battle for Congress
Race has emerged as a key campaign topic in the rematch between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy in Mississippi, Luke Ramseth reports for the Jackson Clarion Ledger.
Veepstakes
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is still on the list of potential vice presidential picks for Biden. MLive’s Emily Lawler has more.
Listen of the Day
Get ready to download a new episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast this evening on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
Number of the Day
46%
That’s how many Americans said “major adjustments” are needed to reopen schools safely in the fall in an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll.
‘We’re all gonna get gassed as soon as you leave’ ...
… a protester told Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on Tuesday night. But later, Wheeler was also tear gassed by federal agents.
For Planning Purposes
July 23
Joe Biden holds a virtual fundraiser
Jill Biden and California Rep. Karen Bass join a DNC Women’s Caucus call
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth participates in Biden campaign roundtable in Michigan
California Sen. Kamala Harris holds a Biden campaign roundtable in North Carolina
Pete Buttigieg hosts an LGBTQ+ for Biden virtual town hall
July 24
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar participates in virtual Biden campaign roundtable
Jill Biden holds virtual event in Texas
Pence visits Indianapolis, Ind.
July 31
Trump holds a fundraiser in Tampa
August 1
Trump holds a fundraiser in Miami
August 4
Primaries in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 12:18 PM.