Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe. We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail. LEADING THE DAY: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday, becoming the last of his top rivals for the Democratic nomination to throw her support behind his presidential bid. “We're all in this together now,” Warren said in a video message posted online. “And now, it’s up to all of us to help make Joe Biden the next president of the United States. Let’s get to work.” The endorsement capped off a three-day show of unity for Democrats that also saw two of the party’s most prominent figures, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former President Barack Obama, throw their support behind Biden. Since ending her presidential campaign last month after lackluster finishes on Super Tuesday, including in her home state of Massachusetts, Warren has largely stayed out of the political fray. Even as the primary field winnowed to Biden and Sanders, her chief ideological ally, she declined to make an endorsement. But behind the scenes, Biden’s aides entered into discussions with Warren’s team. And publicly, the former vice president began making overtures, including endorsing the Massachusetts senator’s bankruptcy proposal. While Biden has begun outreach efforts to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, he faces skepticism from many progressives who are wary of his long legislative history and moderate brand. Warren acknowledged in an email to supporters on Wednesday that she and Biden have their differences. “Among all the other candidates I competed with in the Democratic primary, there’s no one who I’ve agreed with 100% of the time over the years,” she said. But she cast her endorsement as a necessary step towards uniting the party at a time when Biden is gearing up to take on President Trump in November, saying there was “too much at stake” to hold out any longer. -- Max Greenwood
READ MORE: Max Greenwood: Warren endorses Biden for president Max Greenwood: Progressive leaders skeptical of Biden despite Sanders endorsement
FROM THE TRAIL: Biden hasn’t given any indication that he’s nearing a decision on a running mate. But Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, is trying to make her case for the job, The Hill’s Tal Axelrod reports. "I have the capacity to attract voters by motivating typically ignored communities," Abrams, who has previously expressed interest in the running mate spot, told Elle in an interview. "I have a strong history of executive and management experience in the private, public and nonprofit sectors. I've spent 25 years in independent study of foreign policy. I am ready to help advance an agenda of restoring America's place in the world. If I am selected, I am prepared and excited to serve." Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says that she’s not ready to endorse Biden’s presidential bid yet, The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports. Ocasio-Cortez was one of Sanders’s most prominent surrogates during his White House run. But even though the Vermont senator endorsed Biden this week, Ocasio-Cortez said that she’s waiting for the former vice president to “clarify and deepen his policy stances on certain issues.” She also noted that her team has been in touch with Biden’s campaign recently. PERSPECTIVES: Albert Hunt: Trump lays bare the GOP’s mail-in voting hypocrisy. Liz Peek: Why Obama’s support may not help Biden in key swing states. Joe Lockhart: The secret weapon in Obama’s endorsement of Biden. Brent Budowsky: Obama, Sanders lead Democratic unity surge. FROM CONGRESS & THE STATES: The coronavirus pandemic is leading to major shifts in how Americans vote across the country and is forcing some of the most restrictive voting states to embrace change in their election procedures. The change is most apparent on the East Coast, where governors from New England to the South are signaling a new willingness to expand voting measures such as early voting and mail-in ballots, and on Capitol Hill where Democratic leaders are signaling support for such moves. More from The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Maggie Miller. MONEY WATCH: We’re set to get our first real look on Wednesday into how the 2020 money race is unfolding down ballot. Congressional campaigns are required to file their first-quarter financial reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by midnight, but some have already begun releasing their fundraising numbers. Here are some Q1 highlights ahead of the midnight deadline: -NORTH CAROLINA SENATE: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) raised nearly $2.1 million -TEXAS SENATE: Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) raised $2.7 million -GEORGIA SENATE: Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) raised $1.6 million -GEORGIA SENATE: Jon Ossoff, one of the Democrats challenging Perdue, raised over $1 million -ARIZONA SENATE: Mark Kelly, the Democrat challenging Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), raised $11 million -ARIZONA SENATE: McSally raised $6.3 million -CA-25 SPECIAL: Mike Garcia, a Republican running in the May special House election in California’s 25th District, brought in just over $1 million POLL WATCH: THE ECONOMIST/YOUGOV – NATIONAL Biden: 48 percent (+/-0) Trump: 43 percent (+1)
CIVITAS/HARPER – NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL Trump: 49 percent Biden: 42 percent
CIVITAS/HARPER – NORTH CAROLINA SENATE Tillis: 38 percent Cunningham: 34 percent
OH PREDICTIVE INSIGHTS – ARIZONA SENATE Kelly: 51 percent McSally: 42 percent MARK YOUR CALENDARS: (Keep in mind these dates could change because of the coronavirus outbreak.) April 17: Wyoming
April 28: Ohio
May 2: Kansas Democratic primary
May 12: Nebraska primaries
May 19: Oregon primaries
May 22: Hawaii Democratic primary June 2: Connecticut primaries 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 20: Louisiana primaries
June 23: Kentucky primaries New York primaries
July 7: New Jersey primaries
August 17-20: Democratic National Convention
August 24-27: Republican National Convention
ONE HOPEFUL THING QUARANTINE REMAKES: As all of us know, the quarantine life can get pretty boring sometimes — there’s only so much Netflix and Hulu binging one can do. But two families in the U.S. and the U.K. are making the best of their time together. The Heller family in Maple Valley, Wash., performed a near-perfect remake of Journey’s iconic “Separate Ways” music video. The remake, which was shot completely on an iPhone, now has more than 136,000 views and was featured on NBC’s “Today” show and in USA Today. You can watch the viral remake side-by-side with the iconic original video here. Meanwhile, across the pond in Kent, England, the Marsh family put on a performance of Les Miserables’ “One Day More.” The group of six even changed a number of the lyrics to fit present times, referencing online shopping, a pause in sports and online school. You can watch the rendition, which got more than 6.5 million views, here. 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 be back tomorrow with more campaign news of the day! |
No comments:
Post a Comment