October 29, 2020: Joe Biden and Donald Trump are campaigning in Tampa on Thursday. The Supreme Court declined to intervene in two ballot deadline cases in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Notable Quote of the Day “But I would argue that Trump and his campaign will make the same mistake they made in 2018 if they focus on an issue that is of limited interest to voters outside the two parties’ bases. On the Friday before the midterm election two years ago, Republicans got a gift when the monthly jobs report announced that 250,000 jobs had been created, in what was then a 49-year low. Even a former economic adviser to Biden called it ‘pretty much everything you could want in a monthly jobs report.’ But rather than playing their strongest card — Trump’s historic record of job creation versus the Obama-Biden weak economic recovery — Republicans spent the weekend before the election talking about immigration and the caravans heading toward the border. Immigration is important, but in the big scheme of things, the economy and Trump’s record-setting progress were more important to more voters. But that’s not what they heard.” – David Winston, adviser to congressional Republicans Election Updates As of Thursday morning, 77.9 million early votes had been cast in the general election, according to the United States Election Project. The Center for Responsive Politics projected that spending in the presidential election will exceed $6.6 billion, more than doubling the $2.4 billion spent in the 2016 election. The Supreme Court declined to expedite consideration of a Republican challenge to a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order that extended the deadline for mail-in absentee ballots until November 6 for ballots postmarked by November 3. The Supreme Court also declined to intervene in a North Carolina case, leaving the deadline for ballots postmarked by Election Day to be received by November 13. Donald Trump is holding rallies in Tampa, Florida, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Thursday. Joe Biden is hosting two drive-in events across Florida in Broward and Tampa. Biden voted early in Delaware on Wednesday. What We’re Reading CNN: How Arizona complicates Trump’s re-election bid National Review: Another Pollster Sees a Trump Win The Week: The craziest ways the 2020 election might end Flashback: October 29, 2016 Donald Trump questioned mail-in voting in Colorado during a rally in the state. |