Tag: 2020 election

‘I Gave the Other Guy a Shot’

New York Times logoAfter taking a chance on Donald Trump in 2016, a swing county in western Pennsylvania is up for grabs again.

ERIE, Pa. — Mark Graham, a real estate appraiser in this faded manufacturing hub, sat with friends at a gym named FitnessU on the morning after the Democratic debate in mid-September. He had voted for Barack Obama, but in 2016 he took a gamble on Donald Trump. Although he called the president’s conduct in office “a joke,” he was unwilling to commit to voting Democratic in 2020, unconvinced by the 10 party hopefuls the night before.

Jump ahead to October and Democrats in Congress are investigating evidence of President Trump’s possible abuse of power. Mr. Graham has had an electoral conversion.

“Things have changed in the last couple weeks: More stupidity has come out,’’ Mr. Graham, 69, said in a telephone interview last week. He hopes Democrats nominate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., but he is not particular. “I’d vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is at this point,” he said. “If Mr. Trump gets into another four years, where he’s a lame duck, it’s going to be like adding gasoline to the fire.”

View the complete October 7 article by Trip Gabriel on The New York Times website here.

 

Elections chief says a GOP colleague blocked wide release of her foreign activity

Washington Post logoIn a politically apocalyptic year, with the threat of foreign interference in the 2020 election looming, one thing has been constant: You could set your watch to the Federal Election Commission’s digest showing up online.

The latest in election regulatory activity has published every Friday in 2019 and has posted in a similar frequency going back to 2009. The only recent disruption was the government shutdown that began around Christmas last year.

That was until this Friday, after what FEC Chair Ellen L. Weintraub said was a Republican commissioner’s effort to block a draft memo on prohibited foreign national electoral activity from being included in the digest, which led to the digest being withheld from the public.

View the complete September 28 article by Alex Horton on The Washington Post website here.

How disinformation could sway the 2020 election

In 2016, Russian operatives used Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to sow division among American voters and boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

What the Russians used to accomplish this is called “disinformation,” which is false or misleading content intended to deceive or promote discord. Now, with the first presidential primary vote only five months away, the public should be aware of the sources and types of online disinformation likely to surface during the 2020 election.

First, the Russians will be back. Don’t be reassured by the notorious Russian Internet Research Agency’s relatively negligible presence during last year’s midterm elections. The agency might have been keeping its powder dry in anticipation of the 2020 presidential race. And it helped that U.S. Cyber Command, an arm of the military, reportedly blocked the agency’s internet access for a few days right before the election in November 2018.

View the complete September 9 article by Paul M. Barrett, Deputy Director, Center for Business and Human Rights, Stern School of Business; Adjunct Profession of Law, New York University, on the Conversation website here.

Suburban anxiety drives GOP on guns

The Hill logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and members of his caucus are tiptoeing toward legislation addressing gun violence amid deep anxiety over eroding GOP support in suburbs across the country.

Expanded background checks and other modest proposals to address gun violence have strong support among swing voters in the suburbs, whom McConnell sees as crucial to keeping control of Republican-held swing Senate seats.

Republican sources close to McConnell say he sees a political benefit to moving a bipartisan measure in response to a spate of mass shootings this year, and that he acknowledges the politics surrounding expanded background checks have shifted in recent months.

View the complete September 10 article by Alex Bolton on The Hill website here.

Six in 10 Americans expect a recession and higher prices as Trump’s approval rating slips, Washington Post-ABC News poll finds

Washington Post logoPresident Trump is ending a tumultuous summer with his approval rating slipping back from a July high as Americans express widespread concern about the trade war with China and a majority of voters now expect a recession within the next year, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey highlights how one of Trump’s central arguments for reelection — the strong U.S. economy — is beginning to show signs of potential turmoil as voters express fears that the escalating trade dispute with China will end up raising the price of goods for U.S. consumers.

The poll also shows a schism between Americans’ continued positive ratings of the economy and fears of a downturn, with far more saying Trump’s policies have increased chances of a recession than decreased it.

View the complete September 10 article by TOluse Olorunnipa and Scott Clement on The Washington Post website here.

Primary challenges show potential cracks in Trump’s GOP

The Hill logoPresident Trump’s campaign is moving to block three Republicans challenging him in next year’s primary election, cognizant of the potential threat those challengers represent to Trump’s hold on his vaunted Republican base.

The Trump campaign has worked for months to limit a challenger’s ability to test Trump’s hold on his Republican base.

They have installed pro-Trump party officials in key states, sometimes ousting incumbents to do so. Over the weekend, several states voted to end primaries or caucuses that would have given those challengers an opportunity to attract votes. In one state, South Carolina, party officials canceled their primary in apparent violation of their own rules.

View the complete September 9 article by Reid Wilson on The Hill website here.

Democratic Resilience

Center for American Progress logoA Comparative Review of Russian Interference in Democratic Elections and Lessons Learned for Securing Future Elections

Introduction and summary

The upcoming U.S. presidential election will be the first since Russia’s extensive and systematic attack on the 2016 cycle. Unfortunately, the interference campaign did not end on November 8, 2016. Multiple law enforcement filings, intelligence warnings, private sector alarms, and watchdog group reports prove that Russia’s attacks continued throughout the 2018 midterm elections—and continue to this day. Continue reading “Democratic Resilience”

Slowing job growth raises 2020 stakes for Trump

The Hill logoAn underwhelming August jobs report is adding to fears of an economic slowdown, raising the stakes for President Trump‘s reelection bid.

The U.S. added roughly 130,000 jobs in August, according to federal data released Friday, undershooting economists’ expectations as the labor market continues to slow.

The resilient job market has been one of Trump’s top selling points as he attempts to win re-election on the strength of the U.S. economy. But the disappointing August jobs report threatens to undercut Trump’s message ahead of a critical stretch for the economy.

View the complete September 6 article by Sylvan Lane on The Hill website here.

Republicans fear drubbing in next round of redistricting

Democrats were caught napping in the 2010 election ahead of the last round of redistricting — and it cost them control of Congress for nearly a decade.

Now Republicans are warning the same thing could happen to them.

View the complete September 5 article by Alex Isenstadt on the Politico website here.