Before we dive into today’s news, we want to present you with an opportunity to help the Ballotpedia community this Friday, August 7 for our next Day of Service!

We’re getting together (virtually) to research contact information for local candidates that will be on November’s ballot. Why? Ballotpedia is covering thousands of local elections, and we’d like as many candidates as we can get to fill out our Candidate Connection survey in order to bring you even more information before casting a ballot.

Are you in? You can sign up for shifts at this link.

Hope to see you there!        

Notable Quote of the Day

“How the new VP candidate is rolled out is also an important test. Even if you believe my theory that the VP pick only matters for a few days, those few days are very important. Developing a showcase announcement tour that highlights the strengths of the candidate and how they both complement and reinforce each other is both a messaging challenge and a cultural test of how well the running mates and their respective staff members can work together. McCain and his staff had significant problems dealing with Palin and her staff. On the flip side, the bus tour out of the Democratic convention in 1992 cemented the generational change both Clinton and Gore were aiming to convey.”

– Joe Lockhart, CNN

Election Updates

• Joe Biden hired his first staffers in Texas for the general election, including Rebecca Acuña as state director and Jennifer Longoria as deputy state director. Longoria previously worked on Elizabeth Warren’s presidential primary campaign in the state.
• Biden spoke virtually at the Ohio Democratic Party’s state convention on Saturday.
• Portions of the Republican National Convention could be closed to the press. A spokesman said on Saturday, “Given the health restrictions and limitations in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed press Friday, August 21 – Monday, August 24.” On Sunday, RNC communications director Michael Ahrens said that no final decision had been made regarding press coverage.
• Donald Trump will resume airing ads on Monday with a focus on early voting states. The campaign did not specify which states, but likely targets based on the election calendar are Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. Trump also tweeted, “We are doing a new ad campaign on Sleepy Joe Biden that will be out on Monday. He has been brought even further LEFT than Crazy Bernie Sanders ever thought possible.”

What We’re Reading

• NBC News: Trump turns attention to suburbs despite demographic shifts
• The Washington Post: Biden’s delay in choosing a running mate intensifies jockeying between potential picks
• USA Today: Riots. Radicalism. Corruption. Trump and Biden supporters turn to apocalyptic themes in campaign ad wars.

Flashback: August 3, 2016

Hillary Clinton placed campaign chair John Podesta and senior adviser Minyon Moore in charge of her White House transition operation.