Impact2020: August 10, 2020
In this Monday edition of the Impact2020 briefing, we focus on two battleground states: Wisconsin and Arizona. Plus, we take a look at the future of the DNC, two big down-ballot races in Kansas and the latest on Kanye West’s ballot efforts.
On the Ground
GOP tries to keep Arizona red
With President Donald Trump trailing in the polls in the battleground state of Arizona, Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday will make his second visit to the state in seven weeks, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reports for the Arizona Republic.
Pence will stop in Tucson to accept an endorsement from the Arizona Police Association and then he’ll participate in a Latter-day Saints for Trump Coalition event in Mesa. Sanchez notes that the visit “seeks to make gains among core constituencies of the Trump-Pence ticket: pro-police voters who ardently oppose any calls to reallocate, or stop, funding for law-enforcement, and faith-based voters in Phoenix’s suburbs that helped decide the 2018 Senate election.”
Both parties are also keeping a close eye on Arizona’s Senate race, where polls show Democrat Mark Kelly running ahead of Republican Sen. Martha McSally. Sanchez reports that McSally will participate in Pence’s trip “in some fashion” as “Pence has pledged to fly into Arizona frequently to help improve Republicans’ standing.”
Arizona is becoming a key battleground state to win 85 days from the general election. McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast crew discusses how the battleground map is changing and what ad spending strategies tell us on the latest episode.
Download the episode on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
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Biden holds Midwest advantage
Tuesday is another primary election day in five states, including Wisconsin. But looking ahead to the general election, recent public polls show Joe Biden holding a solid lead in the battleground state.
Biden is ahead of President Donald Trump by 6 points in Wisconsin in new polls from CBS News/YouGov and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Patrick Marley reports that the UW-Madison poll also showed Biden leading by 4 points in Michigan and 9 points in Pennsylvania.
While these results look promising for the Democrats, Marley offers a reminder what happened four years ago: “Trump won all three states in 2016, when Democrats wrongly presumed they provided a ‘blue wall’ that would go to Hillary Clinton.”
Staying with Wisconsin…
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber details the efforts that went into trying to hold the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee during a pandemic, and the huge disappointment that followed when organizers realized it was going to have to go virtual.
After spending millions of dollars on the event, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez is among one of the few leaders expected to travel to Milwaukee the week of the convention. Biden will accept the presidential nomination in his home state of Delaware.
Convention CEO Joe Solmonese called the decision “heartbreaking” and said that the aim was to have “Wisconsin running through the whole thing,” a measure of how important the state would be in the fall.
But Marty Brooks, president and chief executive of the Wisconsin Center District, said, “You can’t be upset with a decision that has been made to make sure people don’t get sick and potentially die.”
And some are holding hope that Milwaukee could host again. Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, who helped spearhead the bid for the convention, stated, “I think it would be great if we were able to get a 2024 convention.”
Solmonese said he’d make the case for Milwaukee to host events like the convention in the future, insisting it “is absolutely in a position to host events of this size and scope, anytime.”
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
One of the two challenges to keep Kanye West off the ballot in Wisconsin alleges that there were bogus signatures, including “Mickey Mouse” and “Bernie Sanders,” on his nomination papers, Daniel Bice and Patrick Marley report for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Now that tens of thousands of people in Iowa with felony convictions who have served their sentences have their voting rights restored, groups are trying to get them registered to vote, Stephen Gruber-Miller reports for the Des Moines Register.
COVID update
Trump’s executive order could mean an extra $400 in weekly benefit payments to millions of unemployed workers. But states would have to help, David Lightman reports for the Tacoma News Tribune.
South Carolina epidemiologist Linda Bell said GOP Gov. Henry McMaster’s staff misled the public about her position on reopening restaurants to indoor dining, as well as barber shops and close contact businesses. The State’s Sammy Fretwell has more.
Battle for Congress
The State’s Joseph Bustos and Maayan Schecter examine how candidates for South Carolina’s U.S. Senate and 1st congressional district seats are battling for votes during the pandemic.
Voters will have a choice between two doctors in the race for Kansas’ open U.S. Senate seat offering contrast on health policy. Bryan Lowry has the details on their stances in the Kansas City Star.
Lowry also takes a look at the race in Kansas’ ‘Big First’ congressional district, which pits an ex-lieutenant governor against a former Wichita teacher.
Number of the Day
6%
Biden leads Trump by 6 points, 49%-43%, among Pennsylvania voters in the latest CBS News/YouGov poll.
“Absolutely”
Federal Election Commission’s Ellen Weintraub gave a firm answer to the question of whether we could have an honest election with mail-in voting.
For Planning Purposes
August 10
Joe Biden holds a virtual finance event
Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tammy Baldwin host a Biden virtual event in Wisconsin
August 11
Pence visits Arizona
Primary runoffs in Georgia and South Dakota
Primary elections in Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin
August 13
Pence visits Iowa
Pete Buttigieg participates in virtual veterans roundtable event in North Carolina for the Biden campaign
August 18
Primary elections in Alaska, Florida and Wyoming
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This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 12:00 PM.