August 9, 2019: Andrew Yang became the ninth candidate to qualify for the third and fourth Democratic primary debates. Most of the 2020 Democratic field will be in Iowa this weekend at the state fair.

     Each Friday, we’ll highlight a presidential candidate’s key campaign staffer.

Mike Frosolone is a Democratic staffer with experience organizing in Midwestern states.

Previous campaign work:

• 2014 Staci Appel U.S. House campaign (IA-03), field director
• 2012 Michigan state legislative elections, House Democratic organizer
• 2010 Dan Muhlbauer Iowa House of Representatives campaign, campaign manager

Other experience:

• 2015-2019: Iowa House Democrats, caucus director
• 2008-2010: Service Employees International Union, organizer

What he says about Booker:

“Cory’s performance serves as a validation for the folks who have committed their early support to his campaign.”

Notable Quote of the Day

“The [Iowa] State Fair is like half time. We’ve had the first two quarters of the game. We have the 3rd and 4th quarters to play still. If you’re a fan of the NBA, nothing happens until the 4th quarter. I wouldn’t be satisfied being ahead at half time.”

– Jeff Link, Iowa Democratic political strategist

Democrats

• The Iowa State Fair continues and more Democrats are scheduled to speak at the Soapbox over the next few days. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Jay Inslee, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Ryan, Joe Sestak, and Elizabeth Warren will speak Saturday. Michael Bennet, Bill de Blasio, Bernie Sanders, and Tom Steyer are scheduled Sunday.
• Bennet campaigned in Ohio Thursday, speaking at the City Club of Cleveland and attending a fundraiser.
• Booker issued draft legislation of the Climate Stewardship Act Thursday. The bill would call for planting 4 billion trees by 2030 and 15 billion by 2050 to off-set domestic greenhouse gas emissions. The Department of Agriculture and other agencies would receive up to $25 billion annually to develop more voluntary programs for climate-friendly agricultural practices.
• Joe Biden will speak at the Wing Ding in Iowa Friday night.
• Steve Bullock will continue to campaign in Iowa on Friday and Saturday.
• Pete Buttigieg unveiled his plan for improving rural healthcare through a “Medicare for All Who Want It” system. He would also expand loan forgiveness programs for healthcare professionals and the Conrad 30 waiver program, which waives a reentry requirement for some foreign doctors committing to work in underserved or rural areas.
• In a Medium post, Klobuchar outlined her anti-domestic terrorism proposal. She called for prioritizing law enforcement tracking, investigation, and prosecution of hate crimes and white nationalist activity. Under her plan, people with violent misdemeanor hate crime convictions would be barred from purchasing or possessing firearms.
• Seth Moulton advocated abolishing the filibuster in a series of tweets on Thursday.
• Marianne Williamson will continue to campaign in Iowa Friday and Saturday.
• Andrew Yang qualified for the third and fourth Democratic presidential primary debates, reaching the polling threshold of 2 percent or more in a fourth eligible poll. Yang previously announced he had reached the grassroots fundraising bar and the polling threshold last week before the Democratic National Committee clarified its polling rules, leaving Yang one short.

Republicans

• Donald Trump departs for his New Jersey golf club Friday as part of his annual August holiday.
• Bill Weld, along with Booker, Buttigieg, and Sanders, participated in a presidential candidate’s forum at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Miami Thursday. Weld will also speak at the Iowa State Fair Sunday. 

Flashback: August 8, 2015

John Kasich said he supported a pathway to legal status for the 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal permission