Impact2020: August 27, 2020

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Impact2020 briefing, where Donald Trump is set to deliver his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in just a few hours. But first, let’s look at Mike Pence’s latest coronavirus promise, Democrats’ vote-by-mail push in Pennsylvania, and who one group is already pushing to replace Kamala Harris in the Senate if she becomes VP.

On the Ground

PA Dems prioritize mail voting

Democrats in the pivotal battleground state of Pennsylvania are pushing past concerns about Postal Service delays and making voting by mail a centerpiece of their election mobilization strategy, McClatchy’s Alex Roarty and David Catanese report — and the effort “already appears to be paying dividends.”

Democrats in the state account for two-thirds of the 1.3 million mail ballot requests that have already been made, according to a top Democratic political data firm. Roarty and Catanese note that unlike other states that have voted by mail for several election cycles, “Pennsylvania is entering uncharted waters this fall, as a no-excuse mail voting law was first signed last October.”

Election officials were overwhelmed by the surge of mail-in ballot requests for the state’ June primary and it ultimately took nearly two weeks to complete the tabulation process.

Credit: Matt Rourke, AP file

Democrats in the state are still preparing to encourage their voters to submit their ballots in a variety of ways, write Roarty and Catanese, perhaps a “partial acknowledgment that some voters — particularly in the Black community — are wary about the reliability of the post office and insistent that they vote in the way they always have.” A recent Muhlenberg College poll found that 64% of all Pennsylvania voters said they intended to cast their ballot in person.

Still, Democrats say that encouraging Pennsylvanians to vote by mail is the best way to guarantee the highest possible turnout in November’s election “and avoid losing out on voters wary of contracting the coronavirus.” And Roarty and Catanese note, “it also helps the campaigns track which voters have already submitted their ballot and which voters need further encouragement to do so.”

Pence’s promise

Vice President Mike Pence said the U.S. is “slowing the spread” of the coronavirus and defended President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic during his Republican National Convention address, McClatchy’s Michael Wilner reports from Fort McHenry.

Pence acknowledged the challenges faced by the administration during the COVID-19 crisis, which has claimed the lives of 180,000 Americans. “After all the sacrifice in this year like no other — all the hardship — we are finding our way forward again,” Pence said. “Thanks to the courage and compassion of the American people, we are slowing the spread, we are protecting the vulnerable, we are saving lives, and we are opening up America again.”

Countering Joe Biden’s Democratic convention statement that there was “no miracle” coming to handle the pandemic, Pence said that “America is a nation of miracles and I’m proud to report we’re on track to have the world’s first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year.”

Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, “argued that the Trump administration had ‘marshalled the full resources of the federal government from the outset’ and directed ‘seamless partnerships with governors across America in both parties,’” Wilner writes.

Ultimately, Pence stated, it will come down to who voters can trust to rebuild the economy. “As we work to bring this economy back, we all have a role to play and we all have a choice to make,” Pence said. “My fellow Americans, we are passing through a time of testing.”

Coming tomorrow: The Beyond the Bubble podcast team wraps up all the action at the Republican National Convention. Download and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

Never too early

With more than 9 weeks still to go before Election Day, some Democrats are already looking ahead to who would replace Kamala Harris in the Senate if she’s elected vice president.

The progressive group Latino Victory is launching a five-figure digital ad campaign advocating for the appointment of California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, to fill that seat if it becomes available, Kim Bojórquez reports for the Sacramento Bee.

Latino Victory president and CEO Nathalie Rayes said: “We want to make sure that we have a diverse voice in that U.S. Senate seat, and I think the earlier that we can coalesce around one leader, the better. We want to make history.”

Bojórquez notes that despite gains at the state legislative level and the fact that they represent 39% of the state’s population, a Latino has never become a U.S. senator or governor in California. A total of nine Hispanic Americans have served in the U.S. Senate in history.

Trail Mix

Battleground state watch

• The Milwaukee Bucks’ decision not to play an NBA playoff game in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake led to boycotts across the sports world. Players spent time on a conference call Wednesday with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Matt Velazquez reports.

• Pennsylvania lawmakers are divided over Gov. Tom Wolf’s pitch to legalize recreational marijuana to help close a “pandemic-bloated” budget gap, the Allentown Morning Call’s Ford Turner reports.

• Former FBI Director Jim Comey, former RNC chairman Michael Steele and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci were among the speakers at a virtual anti-Trump GOP convention that ws originally based in North Carolina, Jim Morrill writes for the Charlotte Observer.

• A Florida charter school that Sen. Marco Rubio’s son attends quoted Rubio in a press release about a new air filtration system designed to help reduce COVID-19 infection, raising concerns about whether he played a role in the school getting the system, Alex Daugherty reports for the Miami Herald.

Election disruption

• “Several Navajo Nation citizens with concerns about the U.S. Postal Service are asking a court to ensure their ballots will still be counted in Arizona even if delivered late,” Andrew Oxford reports for the Arizona Republic.

• Georgia election officials say they need more than 20,000 poll workers statewide for the November election. So far, about 6,000 have signed up, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse writes.

Convention watch

• North Carolina Republican Madison Cawthorn, who would become the youngest member of Congress if elected this fall, address the RNC Wednesday, saying that “if you don’t think young people can change the world, then you just don’t know American history,” Will Doran and Brian Murphy write for the Raleigh News & Observer.

Number of the Day

59%

Biden leads Trump 49% to 42% among registered voters in Pennsylvania, according to a new Franklin & Marshall College poll. Among Biden supporters, 59% said their vote is against Trump rather than for the Democratic nominee.

The struggle is real

Doggone it! Don’t you just hate it when you’re doing an interview and the dog just won’t cooperate?

For Planning Purposes

Aug. 27

President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas are among the speakers at the RNC

Joe Biden holds a virtual fundraiser

Kamala Harris delivers a speech in Washington, D.C. on coronavirus and the economy

Aug. 28

President Donald Trump delivers a speech in Manchester N.H.

Vice President Mike Pence travels to Minnesota and Michigan

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This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 1:21 PM.