Impact2020: August 11, 2020

It’s Election Day in a handful of states across the country. In this Impact2020 briefing, we’ll take a look at what to expect. Elsewhere, the economic plans of a Kansas congressman and Georgia senator share very similar wording, and states are responding to President Donald Trump’s plan for unemployment benefits.

On the Ground

A striking resemblance

The economic plan put forward by the U.S. Senate campaign of Kansas Rep. Roger Marshall included language that was nearly identical to a proposal posted online two months earlier on the official website for Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Bryan Lowry reports for the Kansas City Star.

The first plank of Loeffler’s plan from April reads: “Address the need to shift critical parts of our supply chains to America. Implement a ‘Made in the USA’ tax incentive package to provide investment tax credits, intellectual property incentives, and accelerated expensing to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.”

And the first provision of Marshall’s proposal states: “Address the need to shift critical parts of our supply chains to America. Implement a ‘Made in the USA’ tax incentive package to provide investment tax credits, intellectual property incentives, and accelerated expensing to bring manufacturing and other parts of the supply chain back to the U.S.”

Lowry notes: “Except for a few words inserted after ‘manufacturing,’ the language was identical to Loeffler’s. … It’s one of several identical or near-identical phrasings in Marshall’s economic plan.”

Loeffler’s office “did not directly address the striking resemblance between the plans. But it explicitly asserted that the provisions were the work of the Georgia Republican” while “Marshall’s campaign downplayed the similarities,” Lowry reports.

The two candidates have other similarities beyond the proposal wordings: Both have been Republican establishment favorites in their races this year, have received support from many of the same groups, and used the same digital consulting and strategic communications firm, though Marshall’s campaign said the firm “was not involved in the crafting of its economic plan.”

Another pandemic primary in Georgia …

Georgia election officials and voters are hoping for a smoother process during today’s runoffs than during the June primary. In addition to lower expected turnout, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse reports that there are a few changes in place that could help prevent hours-long lines. “Poll workers have been retrained. Technicians are on hand at every voting location in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. Voting machines were delivered well in advance of election day.”

Plus, Niesse notes that “nearly 377,000 Georgians already voted. ... About 60% of early votes were absentee; the rest were cast in person during three weeks of early voting.”

Among the closely watched contests in Georgia is a Republican U.S. House candidate who supports the discredited QAnon conspiracy theory “and has posted racist and xenophobic videos.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein has more.

… and a few other states

Similarly, Wisconsin is hoping to avoid a repeat of a chaotic primary earlier this year. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Allison Garfield reports that “absentee ballot return rates and polling locations are up in Milwaukee and the state capital compared with” the state’s April elections. “As of Monday morning, 56% of absentee ballots in the state have been returned.”

Meanwhile, Vermont is expecting record turnout for today’s statewide primaries due to a surge in early voting. WCAX-TV’s Calvin Cutler reports that more than 104,00 of the 152,000 people who requested absentee ballots have returned them so far. “The all-time record for primary voter turnout was in 2000 when 122,000 people cast votes,” Cutler notes.

Credit: Lisa Rathke, AP

Election officials in Minnesota said they have also seen a “tidal wave” of absentee balloting ahead of today’s primary amid “the largest expansion of mail-in voting in state history,” Zoë Jackson reports for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

But “in-person turnout could be particularly high in Minneapolis and Hennepin County, which have several competitive ... legislative primaries and the nationally watched contest between U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and her top Democratic challenger, Antone Melton-Meaux,” adds Jackson.

And in Connecticut, the state’s 1.2 million registered Republican and Democratic voters received absentee ballot applications, but there will still be nearly 800 polling locations open across the state today for in-person voting, Russell Blair writes for the Hartford Courant.

Trail Mix

Battleground state watch

• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Andrew Seidman reports that pro-Biden groups have spent twice as much as pro-Trump groups on TV ads in Pennsylvania.

• Texas Democrats want to send 1.7 million mail ballot applications to voters by the end of August, James Barragán reports for the Dallas Morning News.

• Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin defended his investigations of Joe Biden, his son, and the Obama administration in an 11-page “open letter.” Craig Gilbert has the details in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

COVID update

• The Raleigh News & Observer’s Will Doran reports on the confusion in North Carolina after President Donald Trump announced a plan to partially bring back coronavirus unemployment benefits.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Trump’s unemployment plan is unworkable for the state, David Lightman reports for the Sacramento Bee.

• Dr. Anthony Fauci says a new study could explain the range of symptoms that people experience with the novel coronavirus, McClatchy’s Michael Wilner reports.

Number of the Day

49%

A new Marquette University Law School poll in Wisconsin found 49% of likely voters supported Biden, while 44% supported Trump.

When a gaffe is already a shirt

Trump’s mispronunciation of “Yosemite” earlier this month has raised $30,000 for the National Museum of American Jewish History, which already had this t-shirt for sale.

For Planning Purposes

August 11

Vice President Mike Pence visits Arizona

Primary runoffs in Georgia

Primary elections in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin

August 13

Pence visits Iowa

Pete Buttigieg participates in virtual Biden campaign event in North Carolina

A new episode of McClatchy’s Beyond the Bubble podcast is available on

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts Until then, catch up with the latest episode.

August 18

Primary elections in Alaska, Florida and Wyoming

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This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 1:41 PM.