| | | | | |  | | By Zach Montellaro | Presented by the United States Postal Service | Editor's Note: Weekly Score is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro's daily Campaigns policy newsletter, Morning Score. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — Instead of having a single keynote speaker, the Democratic keynote will feature 17 "rising stars" from across the party appearing on Tuesday. — President Donald Trump is trying to counterprogram Joe Biden's big moment, hitting the road and buying up valuable ad space during the Democratic convention. — House Democrats are calling for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the chair of the USPS board of governors to testify next week, as attention on changes at the Postal Service heightens. Good Monday morning. You can email me at zmontellaro@politico.com and follow me on Twitter at @ZachMontellaro. Email the rest of the POLITICO campaigns team at sshepard@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and amutnick@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve, @JamesArkin and @allymutnick. Days until the Alaska, Florida and Wyoming primaries: 1 Days until the Republican convention: 7 Days until the OK-05 GOP runoff: 8 Days until the 2020 election: 78 | | | | A message from the United States Postal Service: Whether your objective is to introduce your candidate, fundraise, or Get Out the Vote (GOTV), it's important to connect with your target audience on a deeper, more personal level. Winning their votes starts with understanding what drives them to take action. Learn more. | | | | | | CONVENTION TIME — The Democratic convention has finally arrived, and it won't look like one we've ever seen before. The convention, which starts tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern and runs for two hours — here's the full schedule for the week, along with some big POLITICO events — will be an entirely virtual one, beaming from sites across the country. ( The Washington Post's Michael Scherer has a good story on the preparation around the virtual convention.) The significantly shorter convention is shaving a lot of speeches off the schedule, and otherwise streamlining a long-winded process. (The Post reported that the roll-call vote on Tuesday will be a "30-minute, lightning-quick tour" of the country, as opposed to the sometimes "hours-long ordeal of chaotic floor speeches and home-state braggadocio," while The New York Times' Astead Herndon and Reid Epstein reported that outside of the major addresses, the average speech is two minutes long.) It also means that any messy floor fights — which already seemed fairly unlikely this year anyway — won't get their time on TV; Rep. Rashida Tlaib's vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the nomination and against the party platform was relegated to Twitter, for example. Democrats are also dispensing with the typical keynote address this year. Instead of a single keynote speaker — Score speculated on some possible candidates a couple of weeks ago — the party announced that a whopping 17 "rising stars" will give the address on Tuesday. Georgia's Stacey Abrams is the most prominent, but the group also includes a few members of Congress — Reps. Colin Allred (Texas), Brendan Boyle (Pa.) and Conor Lamb (Pa.) — Florida state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (the only current Democratic statewide elected official in the Sunshine State), Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and a handful of current and former state lawmakers and mayors. Democrats are ditching what has traditionally served as a massive launching pad for a single, prominent rising star of the party in favor of the group effort. Perhaps there's no greater example of a keynote address being rocket fuel for a politician than in 2004, when then-state Sen. Barack Obama gave a well-received address, four years before accepting the party's nomination himself. And it also isn't the first time a party is skipping the traditional keynote address: Republicans didn't have a single keynote last cycle, and NBC News' Steve Kornacki unearthed a Sacramento Bee article from 2000 talking about the GOP "dispens[ing] with the traditional keynote speech … operating on the assumption that listeners no longer have the tolerance for long-winded political speeches." Republicans have not laid out their keynote address yet (or much of any plans for their convention), but with 2024 jockeying already underway in the GOP, safe to say it'll be a coveted spot. | | | | HAPPENING TOMORROW 1:30 p.m. EDT – A SPECIAL CONVENTION PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI SPONSORED BY AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS: A global pandemic. An economic crisis. Stalled negotiations on the latest Covid relief package. And a historic election amidst it all. Join POLITICO Playbook Co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman as the 2020 Democratic National Convention kicks off for a virtual interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get a behind-the-scenes look at what is happening on and off the stage. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | CONVENTION COUNTERPROGRAMMING — Trump is doing his best to butt into Biden's big moment at the convention this week. Trump himself is hitting the road, POLITICO's Meridtih McGraw reported, taking a tour of battleground states like Minneosta, Wisconsin and Arizona throughout the week, as Biden is formally named the Democratic nominee. The biggest (metaphorical, at least) stop for Trump: He'll be speaking in the Scranton, Pa., area on Thursday, the same day that Biden is set to accept the nomination. The Trump campaign will also run a "nightly recap" of the Democratic convention, per Fox News' Brooke Singman. — The Trump campaign is also launching an extensive digital campaign during the convention, The New York Times' Nick Corasanti and Maggie Haberman reported. The "high-seven figures" effort will include the banner on YouTube for 96 hours, which is considered one of the most far-reaching (and expensive) pieces of real estate on the internet, along with ads on news sites and Hulu. TICKET BUILDING — Biden's selection of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate is already "showing signs she can act as an accelerant to his bid — and give the campaign a new dimension to excite voters heading into the Democratic convention this week," POLITICO's Chris Cadelago and Natasha Korecki wrote. — Harris' ascension is also energizing West Indian voters in Florida, POLITICO's Marc Caputo wrote, a small but potentially decisive voting bloc in the state. ON THE AIRWAVES — Biden's campaign is going up with a handful of new TV ads. One ad in battleground states criticizes the president over the coronavirus, and says Biden "knows we need to listen to medical experts." A second ad, which will "target television programs watched by older Americans," has Biden talking about prioritizing seniors. Biden is also releasing a Spanish-language ad in Florida and Arizona talking about Biden's family and faith. — Trump is up with a new ad, saying "greedy drug companies" are lying about him, while promoting his drug plan and hitting Biden. ENDORSEMENT CORNER — A pair of endorsements both campaigns are likely thrilled about, as they try to drive home recent messaging: The New York City Police Benevolent Association backed Trump (here's more from the New York Daily News' Bill Sanderson ) — while the National Association of Letter Carriers, which represents postal workers, backed Biden (and more from NBC News' Sahil Kapur). POLLS POLLS POLLS — Four national polls out on Sunday give us a pre-convention baseline. Campaign Pro chief Steve Shepard has a roundup of all the new polls in a deep dive on the eve of the conventions. A CNN/SSRS poll has a tight race, when the full tickets are mentioned. Biden (and Harris) are at 50 percent, to 46 percent for Trump (and Vice President Mike Pence) (987 registered voters; Aug. 12-15; 4.0 percentage point MoE). But other polls show Biden with a larger lead: A ABC News/Washington Post poll has Biden and Harris at 54 percent to 44 percent for Trump and Pence (Likely voters [sample size not specified]; Aug 12-15; MoE not specified). An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll has Biden at 50 percent to 41 percent for Trump (900 registered voters; Aug. 9-12; +/- 3.3 percentage point MoE). A CBS News/YouGov poll has Biden at 52 percent, to Trump's 42 percent (2,152 likely voters; Aug. 12-14; 2.5 percentage point MoE). YEEZUS IN CHIEF? — Kanye West is forging ahead with his bid to get on the ballot in at least five purple(ish) states, New York magazine's Ben Jacobs wrote. As of Friday, he's officially on the ballot in four: Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont. | | | |   | | | | | | THE PROCESS — House Democrats want to hear from DeJoy, the relatively new postmaster general, as soon as possible. The House Oversight Committee called on DeJoy and Robert Duncan, the chair of the USPS board of governors and former RNC chair, to an "urgent hearing" on Aug. 24, pushing up their request to hear from DeJoy from mid-September to next week. "The hearing will examine your sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service, which experts warn could degrade delivery standards, slow the mail, and potentially impair the rights of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the upcoming November elections," read the letter to DeJoy from Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chair of the oversight committee. Maloney asked for a response by today. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also calling back the House to vote on USPS-related bills as soon as Saturday, per POLITICO's John Bresnahan, Sarah Ferris and Heather Caygle. The latest round of concerns came after The Washington Post's Erin Cox, Elise Viebeck, Jacob Bogage and Christopher Ingraham reported that the USPS sent letters to 46 states (and D.C.) saying that it cannot guarantee delivery times for some mail ballots. (These are the same letters Score reported on last week that went to states like Washington and Utah, but going out across the country.) It is also worth noting this: Election experts have long raised concerns with some state deadlines being incongruous with the reality of the USPS, before this cycle. That isn't the only point raised in the letters, but it isn't a new concern. — Kentucky is the latest state to make fairly extensive election administration changes for November due to the pandemic. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (a Democrat) and Secretary of State Michael Adams (a Republican), announced the overhaul on Friday. The state will effectively have no-excuse absentee voting, with anyone being able to request a ballot absentee by citing the coronavirus. (Maybe we can call this loose-excuse absentee?) Other changes include in-person early voting, a mandated cure process and more. The Lexington Herald-Leader's Jack Brammer has additional details. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, indicated that he'll sign a bill that'll allow all voters in New York to vote absentee if they want to, POLITICO New York's Bill Mahoney reported (for Pros). (New York is typically an excuse-required state.) New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy also formally rolled out his state's universal vote-by-mail program for November (as in every voter will receive a ballot), per POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman . Counties will be required to have at least 50 person of their in-person voting spots open, where voters can cast a provisional ballot. PRIMARY PROBLEMS — Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is doing the unthinkable in his primary against Rep. Joe Kennedy : attacking the Kennedy legacy in Massachusetts. "Markey is calling out specific Kennedy family members by name, needling the wealth and privilege that attaches to the family name, and even drawing from the Kennedy myth in his bid to fend off his youthful challenger," POLITICO's Stephanie Murray wrote. — The primary between Democratic Rep. Richie Neal and Holyoake Mayor Alex Morse is getting incredibly complicated. A short recap: College Democrats in the state sent a letter disinviting Morse from future events, with vague allegations of making students uncomfortable and dating college students. The Intercept later reported that some of those college Democratic leaders were angling for a gig with Neal, and on Friday The Intercept's Eoin Higgins, Daniel Boguslaw, Ryan Grim later reported that state party leaders had been coordinating with those college Democratic leaders, connecting them with attorneys. Progressive groups, many of whom didn't publicly respond to the story or started to at least inch away from Morse, have gotten back on board. Morse also talked extensively with BuzzFeed News' David Mack. "Long after this election, I think this country needs to reckon with our puritanical fantasy about people's sex lives and these heteronormative expectations put on all of us, including all of us in the queer community," Morse said to BuzzFeed. FIRST IN SCORE — COUNTING HEADS — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) led a letter from Senate Democrats on the Senate subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies calling on the Government Accountability Office to track how the Census Bureau abandoned plans to ask for extensions for various deadlines. "We believe that truncating data collection operations during a global pandemic could cause a massive undercount in historically hard-to-count areas, including Native American, rural, and immigrant communities," the letter reads. The Senate Democrats requested that the GAO track various benchmarks and operations, including hiring of enumerators and "how the Census Bureau's decision to compress data collection, after announcing an extension, may have contributed to confusion among respondents, community partners, and stakeholders – possibly resulting in lower response rates." | | | | INTRODUCING POLITICO MINUTES: An unprecedented campaign season, demands an unconventional approach to news coverage. POLITICO Minutes is a new, interactive content experience that reveals the top takeaways you need to know in an easy-to-digest, swipeable format delivered straight to your inbox. Get a breakdown of what's been learned so far, why it matters, and what to watch for going forward. Sign up for POLITICO Minutes, launching at the 2020 Conventions. | | | | | ON THE AIRWAVES — More ads! — Battle for the Senate: One Nation, the Republican nonprofit, is up with a pair of new ads. One ad praises Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for standing up to sexual assault in the military. A second ad says Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) is "leading the fight" against China. Plus there's more ads from Duty and Honor, the pro-Democratic nonprofit. One ad criticizes Sen. David Perdue (D-Ga.) over drug costs. A second goes after Daines over a similar subject, while one says Ernst is "coming up short on coronavirus" for calling for schools to reopen without a plan. — CO-Sen: Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is out with another ad, with environmentalists praising his record. — KY-Sen: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is out with a TV ad condemning a previous ad from Democrat Amy McGrath. McGrath's ad is critical of China and says McConnell made "millions from China." McConnell's response ad says McConnell is tough on China, and the ad is a "racist attack" on McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, It also cites a report from The Washington Post that calls the McGrath ad "grossly misleading." — CA-21: Former GOP Rep. David Valadao is out with his first ad as he tries to regain his seat. The ad — a coordinated spot with the National Republican Congressional Committee — has quite the remarkable imagery: In big letters, it says "David Valadao worked with Obama" on water issues. — OK-05: Ahead of next week's race, Republican Stephanie Bice is out with a new ad attacking her runoff opponent Terry Neese as someone who has "master[ed] the art of dirty politics" and says she can't beat freshman Democratic Rep. Kendra Horn. STAFF SHAKEUP — McGrath is shaking up her staff and replacing her campaign manager. Dan Kanninen will take over for Mark Nickolas, who is remaining on as a senior adviser. POLITICO's Marianne LeVine and Bres have more. QUITE FRANKLY — Freshman GOP Rep. Jim Hagedorn has spent about $280,000 of his congressional budget on franking mail this year, with $100,000 of that going to a company owned by a part-time staffer, Daniel Newhauser reported for the Minnesota Reformer. (The Minnesota Reformer is one of the States Newsrooms websites, which is funded by the left-leaning Hopewell Fund.) The Daily Caller's Peter Hasson reported that Hagedorn has fired his chief of staff, Peter Su. | | | | A message from the United States Postal Service: In today's political landscape, it's all about reaching voters where they are—whether it's on their phone or checking their mailbox. And by understanding what really makes them tick, you can speak directly to what matters to them most. Connecting with constituents wherever they are in their journey to the polls is essential to capturing attention and sparking voter action. Learn more. | | | FIRST IN SCORE — (INTERNAL) POLL POSITION — An internal poll obtained by POLITICO's Laura Barrón-López shows a tight race in CA-50, where Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar and former GOP Rep. Darrell Issa are facing off. The poll, conducted by Republican pollster Justin Wallin for the Deputy Sheriff's Association (which supports Issa), shows Campa-Najjar and Issa close together, 42 percent to 39 percent. The ballot test was conducted within a regional poll focused on a primarily Republican supervisorial district to "test the waters" of the congressional race (400 likely voters; May 29-June 2; +/- 4.9 percentage point MoE). FIRST IN SCORE — WEB WARS — Gardner was running a pro-Trump Facebook ad that appeared everywhere but in Colorado, HuffPost's Amanda Terkel reported last week. (Gardner's campaign told Jesse Paul of The Colorado Sun that "Facebook's algorithms are just optimizing based on people who engage with similar content.") In a trolly campaign, Democratic nominee John Hickenlooper is now running ads in Colorado linking to said HuffPost story. CANDIDATE PROBLEMS — Thomas Gilmer, holds an incredibly narrow lead in the GOP primary in CT-02, despite the fact he withdrew from the race as polls were opening in the state because of assault charges, The Hartford Courant's Daniela Altimari reported. The charge against Gilmer is ripping through the state party, for not taking any action or properly vetting. The New York Times' Neil Vigdor reported that Gilmer had a 17-vote margin, well within the margin for an automatic recount, but should Gilmer choose not to vacate the win (if it holds following the recount), there's no way for the state GOP to replace him. (CT-02 is a district Hillary Clinton only narrowly carried in 2016, but it hasn't really been on either party's radar this cycle.) — An invitation from a member of Republican Bob Good's "Faith Coalition" used transphobic language, The New York Times' Stephanie Saul reported. Good ousted freshman GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman in VA-05, in a bid driven in part because Riggleman officiated a same-sex marriage, and Democrats are feeling more confident about the seat. FIRST IN SCORE — THE GOVERNATORS — Democrat Woody Myers, a physician running in an uphill race challenging GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb in Indiana, released a Putnam-produced video talking about institutionalized racism in medicine. (A language warning: Myers says a racist epithet that has been directed at him in his career.) "I've had professors look at the color of my skin and assume I was too stupid to pass their class," Myers says in the video, which is part biographical. ON THE ISLAND — After Puerto Rico's chaotic primary was restarted, incumbent Gov. Wanda Vázquez (who heads the pro-statehood party) lost her primary to former Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, per the AP's Dánica Coto. CONSULTANTS' CORNER — WPA Intelligence, the Republican polling and data firm, has promoted Conor Maguire to the role of principal and managing director. CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm not head over heels for him, but I think he's fine." — Ralph Perkins, an 89-year-old Pennsylvania retiree, on Biden to The New York Times. (Perkins also called Biden "very much superior" to Trump.) | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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