Impact2020: July 30, 2020

In today’s Impact2020 briefing, we get a glimpse of the Trump campaign’s latest alternative to in-person rallies, take a closer look at what the Democratic National Convention schedule could look like, and examine the multiple layers of challenges facing Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins.

On the Ground

Trump pivots to ‘tele-rallies’

With the pandemic making it impossible to hold his signature in-person rallies, President Donald Trump is holding “tele-rallies” with swing-state supporters, McClatchy’s Francesca Chambers reports.

Here’s what that involves: “The campaign has targeted households with landline telephones in southern Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, central North Carolina and Iowa so far. Those contacted typically receive a phone call at home, telling them the president is about to have a tele-rally and inviting them to stay on the line to hear from him.”

Trump has held the five “tele-rallies” since promoting Bill Stepien to campaign manager earlier this month. The Trump campaign said the calls have already reached “tens of thousands” of homes.

These tele-rallies are just one of several changes that have happened in the campaign since Stepien has stepped into his new role, notes Chambers. Trump has resumed coronavirus briefings, urged the public to wear masks and canceled the Republican National Convention gathering in Jacksonville, Fla. during this time.

Tasked with forging a path to victory for the embattled incumbent president, dozens of current and former administration officials, campaign aides and Trump advisers have said Stepien has “helped to calibrate the president’s message so it reaches the right voters at the right time” as well as “improved the campaign’s swing state operations.”

Tough road ahead

Kansas’ 2nd congressional district is again home one of the most competitive races on the 2020 map. Bryan Lowry reports for the Kansas City Star: “Republican Steve Watkins was narrowly elected to Congress in 2018 in one of the nation’s closest races. Now, he’s fighting for his political survival in the face of felony charges and better-funded challengers in both August and November.”

Watkins faces Kansas Treasurer Jake LaTurner and Dennis Taylor in the Aug. 4 primary, and if he’s victorious, he’ll run against Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla, “a well-funded Democrat with a remarkable life story about her journey from homeless teenager in Puerto Rico to mayor of Kansas’ capital city,” Lowry writes.

But Watkins faces challenges before then, including fighting three felony charges and a misdemeanor related to allegations he voted illegally in an election last year. In the latest twist in the case, a Shawnee County sheriff’s detective alleged in an affidavit that Watkins falsely told him he didn’t vote in a 2019 Topeka city council election, Jonathan Shorman, Cortlynn Stark and Lowry report for the Wichita Eagle. The detective also alleged that Watkins stated he didn’t sign an advance ballot application ahead of the election but that he would have directed an employee to complete it.

The Eagle writes: “The charges were an explosive development in the race and Watkins has called the timing political. His attorneys are seeking to disqualify” Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay “from pursuing the case, arguing he faces a conflict of interest for using the same direct mail vendor as LaTurner.”

Down to two hours a night

A preliminary schedule was released for the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee from Aug. 17-20, showing that the meeting time will be pretty limited. “Democrats will meet for just two hours nightly, from 8 to 10 p.m. Central Time,” Bill Glauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Joe Biden is still expected to accept the party’s presidential nomination in person on the final night. But his vice presidential nominee will be nominated the night before and address the mostly virtual gathering, though it’s unclear whether that speech will happen in the city, Glauber writes.

Before the convention, more than 25 federal agents will be coming to Milwaukee as part of Operation Legend, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Alison Dirr and Mary Spicuzza report. Milwaukee leaders have expressed concern about the agents’ presence in the city during the DNC, which is already expected to draw protesters. Matthew D. Krueger, the U.S. attorney for Wisconsin’s Eastern District, said the federal officials will focus on violent crime, not protests or civil unrest, and “differs entirely” from the mission in Portland.

“You will not see federal agents amassing on Milwaukee’s streets,” Krueger said.

Trail Mix

Battleground state watch

• Trump is set to travel to Miami this weekend for a fundraiser at his own golf resort, but coronavirus restrictions and a tropical storm may put a damper on the event, David Smiley reports for the Miami Herald.

• Democrats are demanding Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis explain why his state isn’t following the White House coronavirus task force’s recommendations for slowing the spread, the Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty and Samantha J. Gross write.

Battle for Congress

• A major anti-abortion group is disputing an accusation from a super PAC that supports Kris Kobach in the Kansas Senate Republican primary. A mailer from the PAC, which is funded almost entirely by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, accuses Rep. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN, of performing abortions. Bryan Lowry has the details for the Kansas City Star.

• GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham are attacking each other on taxes. The Raleigh News & Observer’s Brian Murphy takes a deeper look at both North Carolina Senate candidates’ records.

• MLive.com’s Brian McVicar takes a closer look at how Trump is impacting the race in Michigan’s 3rd congressional district.

• California lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle denounced Trump’s suggestion that the November election should be delayed, reports Kate Irby for the Sacramento Bee.

COVID cases

• Rep. Kay Granger of Texas is self-quarantining after sitting next to Rep. Louie Gohmert, who has tested positive for COVID-19, Anna M. Tinsley reports for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

• Wesley Hunt, a candidate for Texas’ 7th congressional district, found out he tested positive for COVID-19 while on the way to join Trump’s trip to the state and had to back out, the Houston Chronicle’s Taylor Goldenstein reports.

Veepstakes

• A check-in on Biden’s VP shortlist (and more) will be available in a new episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast. Download this evening from: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

Number of the Day

47%

Biden and Trump are tied at 47% among registered voters in Georgia, according to a new Monmouth University poll.

Arrest in Dem HQ fire

A former volunteer at the Democratic Party headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz., is suspected of setting a fire there on July 24, Phoenix police said. The department released security camera footage of the incident after his arrest.

For Planning Purposes

July 30

Joe Biden speaks at the American Federation of Teachers’ virtual convention

Pence travels to Pennsylvania

July 31

Trump holds a fundraiser in Tampa

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Wisconsin state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa host a virtual Biden campaign roundtable

Cory Booker hosts a virtual Biden campaign roundtable in Philadelphia

August 1

Trump holds a fundraiser in Miami

August 4

Primaries in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington

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This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 12:00 AM.