Weekly Presidential News Briefing: July 24, 2020

By

Ballotpedia staff

Friday, July 24, 2020:

Every weekday, Ballotpedia tracks the news, events, and results of the 2020 presidential election. Here’s the latest from the campaign trail.

The Cook Political Report updated its race ratings on July 24, 2020:

Florida moved from Toss Up to Lean Democratic.

Notable Quotes of the Day

“Polls show a tight race for president in Georgia, forcing Trump to start airing ads in the state over the summer. And Republican-aligned groups are pouring more than $21 million into TV campaigns backing GOP candidates for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats on the ballot.

But Biden’s campaign still has little organizational footprint in Georgia, relying instead on the state Democratic Party and surrogates to promote his campaign and drive outreach efforts. The state party shifted its organizing apparatus to focus on vote-by-mail, resulting in more than 1.6 million voter contacts revolving around absentee ballots this year.”
– Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Most concerning are the deep fakes that could occur around the 2020 presidential campaign and election, particularly as voting patterns shift due to COVID restrictions. Messages about polling places, voting methods (mail-in, etc.) and whom to vote for are already ripe for disinformation campaigns from our adversaries looking to sew chaos. But imagine a deep fake campaign in which the voices Americans trust – governors, state officials, prominent community leaders, faith leaders, veteran journalists – are hijacked and swapped out for alternative messages. A campaign to trick voters into casting their ballots incorrectly – or at the wrong place or time – could disenfranchise large numbers of Americans.”

– Jeremy Bash, managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, and Michael Steed, founder of Paladin Capital Group

Week In Review

Jacksonville convention events canceled

Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention had been canceled in response to the coronavirus pandemic. “I looked at my team and I said the timing for this event is not right. It’s just not right,” Trump said.

The party will conduct official business on the first day in Charlotte. Trump is also still expected to formally accept the party’s nomination, although the timing and location of his speech is not yet known.

Spending in 2020 presidential election crosses $1 billion mark

Spending in the 2020 presidential election cycle has passed the $1 billion mark, with Donald Trump and his affiliated party committees spending over $900 million since 2017 and Joe Biden crossing $165 million since he entered the race.

New campaign ads this week target battleground states and Latino voters

The  Joe Biden campaign launched a $15 million advertising campaign across digital, radio, and print formats in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The campaign, which includes English- and Spanish-language ads, will run for a week.

Biden also released a video on Thursday featuring him and Barack Obama talking about the presidency, the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare, and other issues. The campaign titled the video “President Obama and Vice President Biden: A Socially Distanced Conversation.”

The Donald Trump campaign released a Spanish-language ad in the Miami media market focused on criticizing the Goya Foods boycott and comparing Biden to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Jo Jorgensen released a digital campaign ad, “War Is Over,” on foreign policy and national security. “We need to have a strong military defending our shores, but there’s no reason for us to be defending the rest of the world. It only makes things worse. We’ve got to come home,” Jorgensen says in the clip.

Caregiving economy

Joe Biden introduced the third plank of his “Build Back Better” program during a speech in New Castle, Delaware, on Tuesday. The proposal, which focuses on what Biden calls the caregiving economy, would offer a $5,000 tax credit to unpaid caregivers of family members and up to $16,000 in tax credits for families with two or more children in households that make up to $125,000 per year.

Kanye West rallies in South Carolina, files for Illinois ballot

During his first campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, Kanye West said expectant parents should receive up to $1 million in financial support. He also criticized Harriet Tubman, saying she “never actually freed the slaves. She just had the slaves go work for other white people.”

While he did not make the ballot in South Carolina, he filed to appear on the Illinois ballot as an independent presidential candidate on Monday.

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Poll Spotlight

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What we read this week

Flashback: July 20- 24, 2016

  • July 20, 2016: The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsed Hillary Clinton.
  • July 21, 2016: The Republican National Convention concluded with a speech from Donald Trump.
  • July 22, 2016: Hillary Clinton announced that she had chosen Sen. Tim Kaine as her vice presidential running mate.
  • July 23, 2016: The Democratic Rules Committee voted to establish a Unity Commission tasked with making recommendations on the primary process.
  • July 24, 2016: Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced she would resign after leaked emails suggested party officials favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders.