Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races.
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We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail. LEADING THE DAY: Former 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton formally endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden’s 2020 bid on Tuesday. "I've not only been a colleague of Joe Biden's, I've been a friend. And I can tell you that I wish he were president right now, but I can't wait until he is if all of us do our part,” Clinton said at a virtual town hall with Biden on the effects of COVID-19 on women. The endorsement is no surprise, given Biden is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Both Clinton and Biden served in the Obama administration. Clinton was also critical of Sanders’s 2020 candidacy this cycle, vocalizing her distaste for him after they battled it out for the Democratic nomination in 2016. Her announcement marks the biggest step off the sidelines that Clinton has taken into the primary so far. However, Biden and Clinton have also not had the rosiest relationship. The two both competed in the 2008 Democratic primary, and Clinton dealt with speculation eight years later that the-then Vice President was seriously considering jumping in the party’s primary, in which she was viewed as the front runner. On top of that, Biden said in 2017 that Clinton’s campaign failed to reach the country’s working class, a population to which he has many ties. “What happened was that this was the first campaign that I can recall where my party did not talk about what it always stood for, and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class," Biden said in a 2017 appearance at the University of Pennsylvania. Still, Clinton is the only Democrat who has run against Trump in a general election and could offer valuable advice on matters like debating the president. Clinton holds considerable influence among a large portion of Democrats. Biden referenced this in Tuesday’s virtual event, introducing her as "a woman who should be president of the United States." Meanwhile, Republicans already appear to be spinning the endorsement in an effort to closely tie Biden to the candidate President Trump defeated in 2016. “Both of them carry the baggage of decades in the Washington swamp and both of them schemed to keep the Democrat nomination from Bernie Sanders. President Trump beat her once and now he’ll beat her chosen candidate,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. The question remaining is how much Clinton will appear on the 2020 campaign scene and what kind of an effect she will have on the Biden campaign. —Julia Manchester READ MORE Hillary Clinton endorses Joe Biden by Max Greenwood. Democratic lawmaker knocks Stacey Abrams: 'Inappropriate' to lobby for Biden's VP by John Bowden FROM THE TRAIL: Former senior aides to Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign are launching a new super PAC aimed at rallying progressives behind Biden in his battle against President Trump in November. The group, which will be called Future to Believe In, will be led by Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to the Sanders 2020 campaign. Jonathan reports. Biden said Monday he would return to Obama-era policies of engagement with Cuba and reverse the Trump administration's sanctions if he wins the White House race in November. Laura Kelly reports. PERSPECTIVES: Antjuan Seawright: The real stakes in the Veepstakes. Charlie Gerow: Trump will win over persuadable voters. Amber McReynolds and Charles Stewart III: Putting the vote-by-mail fraud myth to rest. Rebecca Traister: Biden faces credible assault allegations. FROM CONGRESS & THE STATES: A growing number of states are moving toward partial reopening of their economies with the belief that the threat from the coronavirus has peaked. But how those decisions play out will have profound effects on the national political picture. Niall Stanage reports. Kansas Democrats have more than tripled their turnout this year over the 2016 presidential caucus after switching to an all-mail primary, the Kansas City Star reports. At least 40 people who voted in person or worked at polls in Wisconsin's elections earlier this month have tested positive for coronavirus, the state’s health department confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday. Rebecca Klar reports. MONEY WATCH: The largest Democratic super PAC is releasing a new ad in key battleground states using Trump’s campaign slogan to say he made “America first” in coronavirus deaths. Jonathan Easley reports. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: (Keep in mind these dates could change because of the outbreak.) April 28: Ohio May 2: Kansas Democratic primary May 12: Nebraska primaries May 19: Oregon primaries May 22: Hawaii Democratic primary June 2: Delaware primaries District of Columbia primaries Indiana primaries Maryland primaries Montana primaries New Mexico primaries Pennsylvania primaries Rhode Island primaries South Dakota primaries June 9: Georgia primaries West Virginia primaries June 23: Kentucky primaries July 7: New Jersey primaries July 11: Louisiana July 14: Alabama Republican Senate primary runoff August 11: Connecticut primary August 17-20: Democratic National Convention August 24-27: Republican National Convention ONE HOPEFUL THING Yesterday we gave you a recap of Brad Pitt’s impersonation of Anthony Fauci on Saturday Night Live (SNL), and today the doctor himself responded to the skit! “I think he did great, I mean I'm a big fan of Brad Pitt, and that’s the reason why when people ask me who I would like to play me I mention Brad Pitt,” Fauci said on during an interview on Telemundo’s “Un Nuevo Dia.” Fauci also praised Pitt for his comments after the impersonation after the actor took off his wig and thanked the “real Dr. Fauci” as well as front-line health care workers. “I think he showed that he is really a classy guy when at the end he took off his hair and thanked me and all of the health care workers,” Fauci said. “So, not only is he a really great actor but he is actually a classy person.” We’re hoping for a Fauci-Pitt meet-up after we’re past this pandemic! For more good news, be sure to check out The Hill's Selfless Acts page, where our reporters are detailing how Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus pandemic. We’ll see you all tomorrow for the latest campaign news and updates. |
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