Impact2020: October 15, 2020
In today’s Impact2020 briefing, we take a look at how the president is losing his grip on a critical group of former supporters, why Kamala Harris is sidelined from the campaign trail for a few days, and how the Republicans running for Senate in Georgia are trying to out-Trump each other.
On the Ground
Breaking point
Voters who disliked Donald Trump personally but considered him to be the lesser of two evils were critical to his narrow but winning coalition in 2016. But as McClatchy’s Alex Roarty found while reporting from Raleigh, N.C., many of those reluctant Trump supporters have abandoned him for Joe Biden.
Jay Copa, a registered independent from Raleigh, said he’s supporting a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in 44 years after watching Trump’s “clown show” press briefings at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak and his “unbelievable” response to the death of George Floyd.
“We’ve done the four years with him, and he’s shown what he can do and what he can’t do,” Copa said. “He just does not deserve another four years.”
Credit: Evan Vucci, AP
The shift among voters like Copa came close to not happening, Roarty notes. “In interview after interview, a broad collection of political strategists said their own research found that many reluctant 2016 Trump voters were genuinely open to supporting him again when the year began, with many of them even likely to do so.”
But their views changed after the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests began in the spring. “The chaos that once felt confined to Washington had suddenly reached these voters’ own homes, and they didn’t like how the president responded,” Roarty writes.
Grounded for now
Speaking of North Carolina, Kamala Harris was slated to make two stops in the state today as early voting began. But she was forced to cancel that trip after two people involved in the campaign tested positive for COVID-19, the Charlotte Observer’s Tim Funk reports.
The campaign discovered that Harris’ communications director, Liz Allen, and a non-staff flight crew member had tested positive. While Biden campaign manager Jennifer O’Malley Dillon said that Harris “was not in close contact, as defined by the CDC” with the two individuals, “out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign’s commitment to the highest levels of precaution, we are canceling Senator Harris’ travel through Sunday.”
Harris’ visit would have coincided with Trump’s rally in Greenville, N.C., today. The Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill notes that after polling had shown the president and Biden in a virtual tie, the latest public surveys suggest the Democratic nominee has taken a slight lead in the battleground state.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit Johnston County, N.C., on Friday, Lucille Sherman reports for the Raleigh News & Observer.
A test of loyalty
McClatchy’s Francesca Chambers reports that the Georgia Senate battle between Republicans Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins is focusing on who has a closer relationship with Trump.
The president has not endorsed anyone in the race, but both candidates are leaning heavily on Trump allies. Loeffler has already campaigned in the state with Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, while Collins plans to announce visits from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and other Trump supporters during a 60-city tour.
In addition to trying to build their cases for who would better support Trump’s agenda, they have also highlighted their actions during the impeachment trial. While Collins’ campaign emphasizes his role as a member of Trump’s impeachment team, Loeffler’s camp points out that she voted against removing Trump from office.
Tune In
The Beyond the Bubble podcast team continues their battleground state tour with a look at the state of play in Arizona. Keep an eye on your feeds this afternoon: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts.
Trail Mix
Battleground state watch
A group funded by Michael Bloomberg is spending almost $2.5 million on behalf of the Democratic candidate running to be North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Jim Morrill reports for the Charlotte Observer.
Trump referred to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as a “dictator” during an interview with Fox Business, Dave Boucher writes for the Detroit Free Press.
Battle for Congress
Leading Democratic super PAC Senate Majority PAC is making a late investment in Texas’ Senate race, spending $8.6 million on ads boosting Democrat MJ Hegar over GOP Sen. John Cornyn, the Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek reports.
Mississippi GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith said she won’t debate Democratic opponent Mike Espy before the general election, Luke Ramseth reports for the Mississippi Clarion Ledger.
Governor watch
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is touting the drop in the state’s COVID-19 death rate from April to September in his campaign for re-election. But the Wichita Eagle’s Jonathan Shorman found that more people died in September than in April.
Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan wraps up the first and only debate between North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest for the Raleigh News & Observer.
Number of the Day
7
Biden leads Trump by 7 points, 51% to 44%, among registered voters in Arizona, according to a new Monmouth University poll.
And I complained about mowing my grass...
Photo credit: Biden for President
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s JR Radcliffe writes about how the “Father of Crop Art” has a new mission: carving pro-Biden messages into fields in swing states near you.
For Planning Purposes
Oct. 15
President Donald Trump visits Greenville, N.C. before traveling to Miami for an NBC News town hall
Vice President Mike Pence also travels to Miami
Joe Biden participates in an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia
Oct. 16
Trump visits Macon, Ga.
Pence travels to Selma. N.C.
Oct. 17
Trump travels to Muskegon, Mich., and Janesville, Wis.
Pence visits Reading, Pa.
If someone forwarded this email to you, please consider signing up here for our daily roundup of 2020 election news from McClatchy and other local journalists.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 1:14 PM.