The Hill’s Campaign Report: New York cancels primary amid coronavirus

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:  

CANCELED: Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) team and allies are hitting back against a vote by Democrats on the New York State Board of Elections to cancel the party’s presidential primary. The vote, which took place on Monday, declared that the state’s presidential primary was canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, but is allowing congressional and state-level races to go ahead as planned. 

The cancellation of the presidential primary could potentially lower turnout and the number of ballots that need to be counted. This could prevent further spread of the virus in the state, especially in the downstate region.

However, Sanders’s team is hitting back, calling the move “a blow to American democracy” after the campaign, which was suspended earlier this month, sent a letter to the State Board of Elections asking that he remain on the June 23 ballot. 

Remember, Sanders may be out of the race, but he has vowed to stay on the ballot in remaining primaries in an effort to gather enough delegates to exert pressure on the Democratic National Convention to adopt more progressive platforms.

Sanders adviser Jeff Weaver accused New York in a statement of violating its delegate selection plan, saying the state should lose all of its delegates ahead of the party’s convention, as well as calling for a “broader review by the Democratic Party of New York’s checkered pattern of voter disenfranchisement.” Meanwhile, the Sanders-aligned group Our Revolution said they will go to the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) credentials committee and challenge any delegates New York plans on sending to the convention. 

The brewing dispute does not appear to be calming down anytime soon. While the party’s leaders are mostly unified around Biden, the outcry over the move to cancel the primary could reinforce skepticism toward the party’s establishment among progressive voters ahead of the general election.

— Julia Manchester

 

READ MORE:

New York cancels Democratic presidential primary over coronavirus, by Julia.

Sanders adviser: NY presidential primary cancellation ‘a blow to American democracy’, by Julia.

Sanders petitions New York to remain on primary ballot, by Jonathan Easley.

Bloomberg to pay health care costs for campaign workers through November, by John Bowden.

Jesse Ventura says he’s ‘testing the waters’ for Green Party bid for president, by John.

 

FROM THE TRAIL:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) formally endorsed Biden on Monday, calling him a “voice of reason and resilience.” “When our nation faced the Great Recession, it was Joe Biden who led the implementation — and the accountability — of the Recovery Act, helping create and save millions of jobs. When the Democratic Congress was passing the Affordable Care Act, Joe Biden was a partner for progress in the White House and also championed the Cancer Moonshot,” Pelosi said in a prerecorded video. Pelosi is the latest major Democratic figure to throw her support behind Biden, following Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as former President Barack Obama. The Hill’s Justin Wise reports.

Biden also scored an endorsement from House Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) on Monday a week after her fellow co-chair Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) threw his support behind the former vice president. “While I have not always agreed with Vice President Biden on matters of policy, I am ready to work with him to craft and then implement the most progressive agenda of any candidate in history,” Jayapal said. Pocan, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who endorsed Biden last week, served as co-chairmen of Sanders’s campaign, Julia reports.

Biden is mostly watching from the sidelines as fellow Democrats in Congress and at the state level clash with Trump over the federal government’s response to the coronavirus, Alexander Bolton reports.

Trump’s love of the spotlight maybe be backfiring on him as public sentiment cuts against the president, Niall Stanage reports.

Sanders has outlined steps Biden can take on health care that he says would be popular as the former vice president prioritizes uniting the Democratic Party ahead of the general election, Tal Axelrod reports.

 

PERSPECTIVES:

Joshua Sandman:Trump on course for reelection, even if he loses the popular vote

Jason Gold: How Joe Biden can make history with his finance picks

Douglas Schoen: President Trump faces hurdle with swing state voters

 

FROM CONGRESS & THE STATES:

Support for mail-in voting is growing as many states grapple with how to safely hold elections amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

 

MONEY WATCH:

The progressive super PAC Pacronym is preparing to launch a roughly $800,000 digital ad buy hitting Trump over his response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill’s Max Greenwood reports. The ads are set to run across digital platforms in five key battleground states — Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — as part of a $75 million effort by Pacronym and its affiliated nonprofit Acronym. 

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is out with a new four-figure digital ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over his recent suggestion that states declare bankruptcy rather than receive additional federal aid as they grapple with the coronavirus outbreak, Max reports.

Biden’s allies are concerned that the former vice president’s campaign will not be able to compete with Trump’s fundraising juggernaut, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy. Amie Parnes and Jonathan Easley report.

 

POLL WATCH:

USA TODAY/SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY – NATIONAL

Biden: 50 percent (+9)

Trump: 40 percent (-4)

 

SIENA COLLEGE – NEW YORK GENERAL ELECTION

Biden: 65 percent

Trump: 29 percent

 

AP-NORC– MAIL-IN-VOTING

SUPPORT MAIL-IN-VOTING: 39 percent

OPPOSE MAIL-IN-VOTING: 40 percent

 

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

New York primaries (CANCELED)

 

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 

We haven’t technically seen Anthony Fauci in a few days due to the absence of the White House daily press briefings over the weekend, but we did see the renowned infectious disease doctor impersonated on NBC’s Saturday Night Live (SNL) over the weekend by none other than Brad Pitt. 

The skit, which served as the show’s cold open, featured Pitt sitting at a desk with a wig and glasses on. Pitt, imitating Fauci’s voice, responded to a number of video clips of President Trump talking about his coronavirus response. 

At the end of the clip, Pitt took off the wig and glasses to thank Fauci and first responders across the country. 

Now this all came after Fauci jokingly told CNN earlier this month that if he would want anyone on Saturday Night Live to play him, he’d want Pitt. 

You can watch the full SNL clip here. 

We’ll see you all tomorrow for the latest campaign news and updates.