Impact2020: October 6, 2020
It’s 28 days until the general election! In today’s Impact2020 briefing, we take a look at how Team Trump is plotting a campaign comeback, how the Supreme Court stepped in on a South Carolina election law, and the status of the next presidential debate in Miami.
On the Ground
Trump’s COVID strategy
With President Donald Trump down in the polls and sidelined from in-person campaigning during treatment for COVID-19, his campaign still saw an opportunity from his hospital stay, McClatchy’s Francesca Chambers and Michael Wilner report: “A political tale of a triumphant return, a great American comeback and a leader who has personally fought off the coronavirus and won.”
But Chambers and Wilner note that strategy is “fraught with risk, including the real possibility that the worst days for Trump are still ahead from both the standpoint of the virus and the political fallout associated with the disease that the president downplayed and is now spreading at the White House.”
After downplaying the effects of the virus, Trump said he planned to get back on the trail, a sentiment the campaign is hoping to seize on with four weeks to go until Election Day.
A senior administration official said privately, that the president is more concerned about his diagnosis. And a member of the Trump campaign advisory board, Ken Blackwell, says Trump’s campaigning comment “is more for the benefit of the psychology of both the president and the general public than it is for the execution of the state-by state revving up of the campaign.”
But will the comeback narrative work? Republican Voters Against Trump founder Sarah Longwell said it falls flat.
“This very much stands in contrast to the notion that the president has learned any particular lesson about COVID and how contagious it is and how dangerous it is, because the campaign continues to mock it,” she said.
SCOTUS rules on SC law
The U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a South Carolina election law “that requires voters who mail in their absentee ballots to have someone witness their vote by signing their name on the back of the mail-in ballot envelope,” John Monk reports for The State.
The decision ended a weeks-long court battle after a U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs had prohibited the witness requirement last month. In a short explanation of the high court’s decision, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that Childs’ decision over-reached and that she should not have engaged in “second guessing” South Carolina’s state Legislature because unelected judges traditionally lack “the background, competence and expertise to assess public health” and are not accountable to the people.
Kavanaugh also wrote that federal courts ordinarily should not alter state election rules so close to an election.
In an exception to its ruling, five Supreme Court Justices ruled that “any ballots cast before this stay issues and received within two days of this order may not be rejected for failing to comply with the witness requirement.”
“Up to 1 million South Carolina voters are expected to cast absentee ballots,” Monk writes. “Voters can still vote absentee in person at designated polling places. Anyone, including a spouse, friend or a child, can be a witness and sign the voter mail-in envelope.
Biden’s Miami play
During his visit to Miami, Joe Biden attacked Trump’s “hard-line policies in the Americas, saying his opponent’s tough talk and steep sanctions have only entrenched Cuba’s Communist government,” the Miami Herald’s David Smiley, Bianca Padró Ocasio and Jacqueline Charles write.
“The administration’s approach is not working. Cuba is no closer to democracy than it was four years ago,” Biden said. “There’s more political prisoners. The secret police are as brutal as ever. And Russia is once again a presence in Cuba and Havana.”
Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP
His speech in Little Havana, the historic heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community, was “delivered as a counter-punch to Trump’s relentless socialism-themed attacks on Democrats.” It also came “as he sought to reconnect with Miami’s Hispanic and Haitian-American voters, key blocs in the fight to win battleground Florida,” the Herald notes.
Biden also briefly stopped in Little Haiti, where he criticized the Trump administration’s efforts in federal court to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, and participated in a town hall hosted by NBC News.
“Biden’s ability to win over more supporters in left-leaning Miami-Dade County could prove crucial to his ability to win Florida,” the Herald team writes. Polls continue to show a tight race in the state.
Biden will soon be back in Miami if the Oct. 15 debate with Trump goes on as planned. The president tweeted Tuesday that he’s “looking forward” to their second debate, despite his COVID-19 diagnosis, Smiley reports.
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
Biden’s campaign quietly reserved $5.8 million for an ad blitz in Texas that starts today, the Dallas Morning News’ Todd J. Gillman reports.
After Florida’s voter registration website crashed on the final day of registration, the state is extending the deadline through this evening. Allison Ross has the details for the Miami Herald.
The Miami Herald’s Martin Vassolo spoke to an expert about whether Florida’s ballot design will have an impact on the outcome of the presidential race in the state.
Early voting kicks off today in Ohio, where 2 million voters have requested absentee ballots, the Columbus Dispatch’s Rick Rouan writes.
Fiserv Forum and Miller Park will not be used as early voting locations in Milwaukee after all, with officials citing “legal challenge concerns,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Alison Dirr reports.
COVID fallout
After initially resisting, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s office disclosed four staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, Jonathan Shorman reports for the Kansas City Star.
Sen. Thom Tillis’ spokesman said the North Carolina Republican is now symptom-free after testing positive for coronavirus, Luke Decock writes for the Charlotte Observer.
The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers reports that the clerk in Fayette County, Ky. is concerned that not enough voters have requested absentee ballots before Election Day.
The Indianapolis Star’s Justin L. Mack, Kaitlin Lange and Jordan Erb report there were long lines on the first day of early voting in Indiana.
VP watch
The Sacramento Bee hosted a panel to discuss Kamala Harris, how she represents communities across California, and what her vice-presidential candidacy means to those communities. Watch “Views & Voices: Community Perspectives on Kamala Harris.”
Number of the Day
45%
A new Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll shows the 45th president of the United States tied with his Democratic opponent at 45% in Florida.
Can you “Spot the Troll”?
Courtesy: Clemson University
Two Clemson University professors have created an online quiz to share what they’ve learned about identifying and exposing social media disinformation just in time for the final stretch before Election Day. Check out the full story from the Charlotte Observer’s Tim Funk.
For Planning Purposes
Oct. 6
Joe Biden travels to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Oct. 7
The vice-presidential debate takes place in Utah
Oct. 8
Biden, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris travel to Arizona
We’ll have a brand new episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast. Catch up with the latest episode here. Download and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
Oct. 9
Pence travels to Indianapolis, Indiana
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This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 12:01 PM.