On April 2, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) ordered schools statewide to close through April 30. This made it the 50th and final state to issue a statewide school closure. Previously, Reynolds’ office had recommended schools close from March 15 to April 13 but left the decision to close up to individual school districts.
Through April 7, 15 states have closed schools through the remainder of the academic year: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Those states account for 34.4% of the 50.6 million public school students in the country.
Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America’s political and civic life. Our coverage includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and the effects those responses are having on campaigns and elections.
On April 7, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order requiring visitors from areas of the country with high rates of COVID-19 community spread to self-quarantine for 14 days unless engaged in essential activities.
The order identifies Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York as areas with substantial community spread, but says the restrictions are not limited to travelers from those states. Travelers working in critical industries, such as airlines and public health operations, are exempt from the order.
The order is set to go into effect on Thursday, April 8.
To date, 18 states have issued executive orders on interstate travel restrictions.
This week: Trump campaign COO objects to Jeff Sessions mailer, O’Brien withdraws from New Hampshire U.S. Senate primary and endorses Messner, Utah gubernatorial candidate Jeff Burningham names running mate
On the news
Where do Republican and conservative pundits and commentators disagree? Each week, we bring you excerpts that highlight differing views.
“Anyone who has used modeling for any reason — for statistical research, for business planning, etc. — knows that these models don’t exist in a vacuum. They take new information in and change. So, when multiple states join in the shelter-in-place trend, the models adjust accordingly. Because so many people are not going out and about like they used to, there is no reason to expect that the current numbers will be out there, spreading the virus.
The habits of millions of Americans have changed due to state orders, so, naturally, you have to adjust to account for this new data. When the original models predicted deaths in the millions, there was no great collective of states telling their citizens to stay at home and shutting down non-essential businesses. We were largely going about our lives, and the models were taking that into account. As more states order a shelter in place, many more millions of Americans were essentially put out of harm’s way.
This isn’t some grand conspiracy meant to keep Americans at home, but it’s a sign that keeping Americans at home is the right thing to do for the moment. How we keep Americans at home and for how long is another matter entirely — and one we must learn to balance with the overall safety of the population.”
“Historically, health officials have used quarantines to contain infectious diseases. Until now, a quarantine consisted of separating the sick from the general population and then doing everything possible to protect the especially vulnerable. In this case, that would include the elderly and immunosuppressed, among other groups. …
A year from now — and we should think about this — how will all of us feel about the decisions we’ve made in the face of this pandemic? Is there a single person who sincerely expects the coronavirus itself will hurt more people in the end than the damage we’re causing in our response to it? Probably not. …
Once again, coronavirus is not the only bad thing that’s happening in America right now, horrifying as it is. We should never minimize the danger of this pandemic or minimize our obligation to respond to it wisely. …
For most people, going to work cannot be more dangerous than buying produce at Safeway twice a week. And if it is more dangerous, tell us how it is more dangerous and be specific when you describe that. Otherwise, it’s time to start caring about the entire population. Healthy people are suffering badly, too.”
NC-11 runoff candidates on experience, hope amid COVID
Lynda Bennett released her first ad of the primary runoff for North Carolina’s 11th District. Entitled “Leaders,” the ad says the country needs “people with a lifetime of experience” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bennett has highlighted her background as a real estate broker and as vice chairwoman of the Haywood County Republican Party, along with the activism training she received from the Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups.
She faces Madison Cawthorn, a 24-year-old motivational speaker and owner of a real estate investment company. Cawthorn has said he wants to be part of a new generation of leaders combatting socialism and advancing a conservative agenda.
Cawthorn released a Facebook video April 3 discussing the sixth anniversary of a car accident that left him paralyzed and the challenges he overcame. He said, “I believe I have the heart of a fighter, and I believe most Americans do, which is why I take heart and I have hope for this country.”
Mark Meadows vacated the seat in March to become White House chief of staff. He announced in December he would not seek re-election. Meadows endorsed Bennett in the primary.
Court-ordered redistricting in 2019 affected the partisan composition of the 11th District, though the 2020 general election race rating remained Safe or Solid Republican. The Cook Political Report wrote that in the 2016 election President Donald Trump (R) won the former 11th District by 29 percentage points and the redistricted 11th by 17 percentage points.
Bennett received 22.7% of the primary vote to Cawthorn’s 20.4%. Kyle Perrotti of The Mountaineer reported that “much of the territory Cawthorn claimed was only brought into the district after a three-judge panel approved the new Congressional district in December of last year.”
O’Brien withdraws from Senate primary, endorses Messner in NH
Former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien withdrew from the U.S. Senate primary, endorsing Bryant “Corky” Messner.
O’Brien said, “Unfortunately, it has become apparent to me that my campaign is not going to be sufficiently financed” to face incumbent Jeanne Shaheen (D) in November. O’Brien said candidate Don Bolduc is “a good person, but in terms of understanding the issues and instinctively being in the mainstream of the Republican Party, Corky is the candidate that I can support.”
Messner has self-funded his campaign $3.2 million.
Both Messner and Bolduc are veterans. Messner was an Army Ranger and Bolduc, an Army brigadier general.
Republican consultant Jim Merrill said Messner “is going to be able to run as an outsider and as conservative running to the right of Gen. Bolduc. He’s got more funds and he’s going to be able to paint Bolduc as an establishment favorite who’s chronically underfunded and is not going to be able to prosecute the case against Sen. Shaheen.”
Bolduc said of O’Brien’s Messner endorsement, “We need experienced leaders in Washington who will focus on service and problem solving, not politics and money.”
Bolduc criticized Messner in March, saying, “I give him all the credit in the world for being a successful businessman in our country, but a rich Colorado attorney coming to New Hampshire and thinking he is going to use his own money to buy an election, I think the people of New Hampshire are smarter than that.”
Messner said, “When Granite Staters are rightfully worried about the well-being of their loved ones, their jobs, their homes, and their small businesses, it just isn’t appropriate to engage in this sort of divisive political gamesmanship.”
The primary is Sept. 8. Bolduc, Messner, and Andy Kim are running.
Shaheen won the 2014 election with 51.5% of the vote to Republican Scott Brown’s 48.2%.
Trump campaign COO objects to Jeff Sessions mailer
Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of the president’s re-election campaign, sent a cease and desist letter to Senate candidate Jeff Sessions criticizing a campaign mailer saying that President Trump supported Sessions.
Glassner wrote, “We only assume your campaign is doing this to confuse President Trump’s loyal supporters in Alabama into believing the President supports your candidacy in the upcoming primary run-off election. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Glassner said the mailer mentioned Trump 22 times.
The president endorsed Tommy Tuberville on March 10, a week following the primary. The Sessions campaign said the mailer went out several days before that endorsement. Sessions campaign representative John Rogers said, “The people of Alabama are going to decide this race, not Washington. Alabamians are an independent lot and they make their own decisions.”
Sessions and Tuberville have argued over who supports the president more. Sessions held the Senate seat for 20 years before Trump appointed him attorney general, a position from which Sessions resigned at Trump’s request.
Tuberville, a former college football coach, has criticized Sessions for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election. Session has criticized Tuberville, saying he supports amnesty for people in the country illegally and has criticized Trump on veterans’ issues. Sessions also says Tuberville is from Florida and is a tourist in Alabama.
The runoff is July 14. The winner will face incumbent Sen. Doug Jones (D), who Roll Callnamed the most vulnerable Senator up for re-election in 2020.
State executives
Cook Political Report downgrades Republican chances of winning Missouri governor race
The Cook Political Report updated its race ratings for this year’s 11 gubernatorial elections. Among the changes: Cook downgraded Republicans’ chances of winning Missouri’s gubernatorial election, shifting the race from Solid to Likely Republican. It did not adjust its ratings in the other 10 gubernatorial races.
Seven states with Republican governors and four with Democratic governors are holding elections this year. Cook rated six of the 11 contests as “safe”, meaning that one party is all but certain to win in November. Cook says Democrats are the likely winners in Delaware and Washington and Republicans in Indiana, North Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Missouri joins New Hampshire and Vermont as a state Cook projects will likely remain under Republican control.
Cook projects North Carolina’s race leans towards incumbent Roy Cooper (D) over challenger Dan Forest (R). The only state currently listed as a toss-up is Montana, where incumbent Steve Bullock (D) is term-limited. Although Democrats have held the state’s governorship since 2004, Montana has leaned towards Republicans on the national level. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Montana was Bill Clinton (D) in 1992, and the state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. House since 1994.
Cook believes the coronavirus pandemic and the relative strength of Democratic challenger Nicole Galloway (D-Mo.) are the two major factors behind their rating change. Cook said incumbent Mike Parson (R-Mo.) was one of four governors who had not taken public action in response to the coronavirus pandemic by March 17 and said that a perceived lack of action could harm his prospects in the general election. Parson faces three challengers in the Aug. 4 primary, while Galloway is among five Democrats in the running.
Utah gubernatorial candidate Jeff Burningham names Dan McCay as running mate
Entrepreneur Jeff Burningham named state Sen. Dan McCay as his running mate in his bid for governor of Utah. Burningham is the sixth of the eight Republicans in the running to name a running mate. Only businessman Jason Christensen and former state House Speaker Greg Hughes have yet to do so.
Gov. Gary Herbert (R) appointed McCay to fill a vacancy in the state House in 2012 and served until he was elected to the state senate in 2018. He is currently the chairman of the Senate’s Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee.
McCay is the fifth elected official to be selected as a running mate for governor of Utah. U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R) is Thomas Wright’s running mate, while state Sen. Deidre Henderson (R) is running alongside Spencer Cox, state Auditor John Dougall (R) is running alongside Aimee Winder-Newton, and Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi is running alongside Jon Huntsman.
A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll released Wednesday found Cox and Huntsman about even, finding 26% support for Huntsman and 24% for Cox. Burningham and Hughes received 7% support each, while the remaining candidates each had 2% support or lower. The poll had a margin of error of 5.4 percentage points.
This is the group’s first poll this year showing Huntsman and Cox about even. Huntsman led Cox 32% to 20% in the group’s February poll and 35% to 25% in January. The 32% of voters who said they were undecided was the most so far this year, up from 30% in February and 25% in January.
The June 30 primary will be open to registered Republicans only. The winner of the primary is likely to also win the general election—no Democrat has won election as governor of Utah since 1980.
Legislatures
TN state Rep. accused of sexual misconduct reverses decision, will seek re-election
State Rep. David Byrd (R-71) filed for re-election in November after previously indicating he would not. He said this reversal was due to concerns about the coronavirus, saying, “For District 71 to have a freshman Representative during this crucial time could definitely result in our rural counties being overlooked.”
In 2018, three women accused Byrd of sexual misconduct during his time as a high school basketball coach in the 1980s. In 2019, former Speaker Glen Casada (R), removed Byrd from his position as chairman of the House Education Administration Subcommittee. Last fall, Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-25) announced the chamber would not pursue an effort to expel Byrd. Byrd was never criminally charged regarding the allegations.
Byrd was first elected in 2014 after defeating incumbent state Rep. Vance Dennis (R) in the primary. He won re-election in 2016 and 2018. Two other Republicans—former Savannah, Tenn., city manager, Garry Welch, and Lewis County commissioner, Austin Carroll—are also filed to run for the District 71 seat, setting up an August primary.
Christi Rice (D), one of Byrd’s accusers, is the only Democrat filed to run for the seat. However, Rice has indicated she plans to withdraw in order to care for her son who was in an accident last fall. The deadline to withdraw is April 9.
First-term Kansas representative set to challenge incumbent in state Senate primary
State Rep. Kellie Warren (R-28) announced she will leave the state House and run for Kansas’ 11th Senate District, setting up a primary against incumbent state Sen. John Skubal (R-11), who is running for re-election. Skubal was first elected to the 11th District in 2016.
This will be Warren’s second contested primary against an incumbent Republican. She was first elected to the state House in 2018 after defeating the incumbent, former state Rep. Joy Koesten, in the Republican primary 58-42%. After her primary defeat, but before leaving office, Koesten changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat.
The winner of the August primary will likely face Koesten in the general election. Koesten filed to run as a Democrat for the 11th District seat in January and, currently, is the only candidate running in the Democratic primary.
Colorado House candidate removed from the Republican primary ballot for being an unaffiliated voter
The Arapahoe County GOP voted and removed Steve Monahan (U) from the Republican primary ballot in Colorado’s 3rd House District after learning that Monahan was an unaffiliated voter rather than a registered Republican. Under Colorado law, a candidate may run for state legislative office with a party only if they are a member of that party.
Monahan’s removal leaves Bill Klocek (R) as the only Republican on the primary ballot. The 3rd House District is currently represented by Rep. Meg Froelich (D). Froelich was appointed to the position in 2019 after her predecessor, Rep. Jeff Bridges (D), was appointed to fill a state Senate vacancy.
Power players
“The mission of The Heritage Foundation is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” – The Heritage Foundation website
Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a conservative 501(c)(3) nonprofit think tank that describes its work as “performing timely, accurate research on key policy issues and effectively marketing these findings to our primary audiences: members of Congress, key congressional staff members, policymakers in the executive branch, the nation’s news media, and the academic and policy communities.”
On April 6, The Heritage Foundation announced the launch of a National Coronavirus Recovery Commission that would be led by the organization’s president, Kay C. James. The announcement said that the commission would include “top experts and thinkers from government, public health, disaster response and relief, academia and education, business, and the faith community” and “carefully examine decisions that policymakers are making that significantly impact the scope of this crisis and the duration of social restrictions, economic hardship, recovery, and the potential permanent effects.”
The Heritage Foundation is affiliated with Heritage Action for America, a 501(c)(4) organization. Founded in 2010, Heritage Action for America says it “takes the conservative policy visions outlined by our sister organization, The Heritage Foundation, and works to make them a reality.” Heritage Action also produces a scorecard that it says “measures votes and co-sponsorships to show how conservative Members of Congress are.”
This week: Kennedy outraises Markey in latest quarter, MT Democratic Party objects to GOP-funded Green Party ballot qualification, and Rep. Denny Heck to run for lieutenant governor of Washington
On the news
Where do Democratic and progressive pundits and commentators disagree? Each week, we bring you excerpts that highlight differing views.
“In the space of the last week, Democrats have delayed their national convention to August and then watched as their near-certain presidential nominee has suggested an in-person convention might not happen at all.
‘We may have to do a virtual convention,’ Biden said Sunday morning on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘I think we should be thinking about that right now.
The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary. We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place.’
He’s right. Even if the spread of the coronavirus is largely limited by mid-summer, does anyone think it’s a good idea to gather tens of thousands of people in close quarters anytime soon?
It’s hard to imagine the Democratic National Committee will have much choice in the matter if the de facto nominee is on the record suggesting that an in-person convention is problematic.”
“While Republicans have little to debate at their convention, Democrats are bracing for fights. Allies of Senator Bernie Sanders, who remains in the race despite Mr. Biden’s commanding advantage, are encouraging him to keep going to accumulate more delegates. That would enable him to influence the platform and rules discussions, debates that animated the 2016 Democratic convention. …
And while Republican convention delegates will be a who’s who of Trump supporters without meaningful opposition, a virtual Democratic convention would leave would-be Sanders delegates without much prospect of pushing the party to the left.
‘How do you have a floor debate when the floor is a virtual Zoom room?’ said Valdez Bravo, a 2016 Sanders delegate from Lake Oswego, Ore., who is running to become a 2020 delegate.”
Joseph Kennedy III raised $2 million in the first quarter of 2020 to Sen. Ed Markey’s (D-Mass.) $1.2 million, according to figures released by the campaigns. Kennedy began the second quarter with $6.2 million in cash on hand to Markey’s $4.4 million.
In the final quarter of 2019, Kennedy raised $2.4 million to Markey’s $1.4 million.
Kennedy had $4.3 million on hand when he entered the primary in September.
Markey has been in the Senate since 2013 and served in the U.S. House from 1976 to 2013. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts’ 4th District in the House since 2013.
The state Democratic Party voted to cancel its May 30 convention due to COVID-19 and to request that the secretary of the commonwealth place both candidates on the September ballot.
Both campaigns supported the decision, agreeing that Markey would have won the party’s endorsement at the convention and that Kennedy would have surpassed the 15% delegate support threshold to make the ballot.
Candidates also need to gather 10,000 signatures to make the ballot.
The ballot for New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary is now set with six candidates, two of whom have received county party endorsements: political science professor Brigid Callahan Harrison and former public school teacher Amy Kennedy.
county party endorsements are typically very important in New Jersey primaries on both sides of the aisle. That’s because, in many counties, endorsed candidates appear in a separate column on the ballot along with other party endorsees, a big deal in a state where party machines are still powerful. (This designation is known colloquially as the ‘organization line.’)
Six county parties endorsed Harrison, and she has the organization line in five of them (Salem County doesn’t have an organization line).
Kennedy has the organization line in Atlantic County. Daily Kos reported it’s the largest county in the district, making up 41% of the vote.
The district’s eighth county, Ocean County, is not endorsing in the race.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) endorsed Harrison. Democratic parties of Atlantic and Ocean counties endorsed Booker, but he is rejecting their organization lines and running in a column on the ballot with Harrison.
Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew joined the Republican Party in December following his vote against impeaching President Donald Trump, leaving the June 2 Democratic primary open.
MT Democratic Party objects to GOP-funded Green Party ballot qualification
Montana’s Green Party has qualified for a place on the 2020 ballot — without doing any work.
According to the Independent Record, the Greens earned their ballot slot thanks to Montana’s Republican Party, which funded the signature gathering effort that successfully qualified the third party.
Two Green Party candidates filed for the June 2 U.S. Senate primary: Dennis Daneke and Wendie Fredrickson.
MTN News reported, “Daneke, a retired professor of sustainable construction technology who lives in Lolo, says he was essentially recruited by Democrats to defeat Frederickson in the Green Party primary – and, then, once on the general election ballot, he might withdraw from the race.”
Montana Democratic Party Executive Director Sandi Luckey said, “The Republican Party contracted people to masquerade as Green Party members, and lied to Montanans in an effort to tamper with our elections.” She also called on the secretary of state to disqualify the Green Party from the ballot.
The state Democratic Party had filed a complaint March 16 asking the state commissioner of political practice to investigate who funded the signature-gathering effort, saying that the effort’s backer did not register appropriately with the commissioner’s office.
The Independent Record reported that the committee funding the effort “was unable to register as a minor party qualification committee because that wasn’t set up as an option in a drop-down window on the Commissioner of Political Practices office’s website [according to Chuck Denowh, who helped set up the committee].
Instead, Montanans for Conservation registered as an independent committee and noted in a section of the form asking which candidates or issues it supported in the 2020 election that it would ‘Support conservation-minded candidates (and) serve as the minor party qualification committee to qualify the Green Party to hold primary elections in Montana.'”
Incumbent Sen. Steve Daines (R) and Governor and former presidential candidate Steve Bullock (D) are running in their respective parties’ primaries.
Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Susan Good-Geise is the Libertarian candidate in the general election. She became the party’s replacement candidate after Eric Fulton, who Libertarians say was planted by the Republican Party, withdrew just before the filing deadline.
Three election forecasters rate the Senate race Lean Republican. Daines was first elected in 2014 with 57.8% of the vote to state Rep. Amanda Curtis’ (D) 40.1% and Roger Roots’ (L) 2.1%.
State executives
Cook Political Report downgrades Republican chances of winning Missouri governor race
The Cook Political Report updated its race ratings for this year’s 11 gubernatorial elections. Among the changes: Cook downgraded Republicans’ chances of winning Missouri’s gubernatorial election, shifting the race from Solid to Likely Republican. It did not adjust its ratings in the other 10 gubernatorial races.
Seven states with Republican governors and four with Democratic governors are holding elections this year. Cook rated six of the 11 contests as “safe”, meaning that one party is all but certain to win in November. Cook says Democrats are the likely winners in Delaware and Washington and Republicans in Indiana, North Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. Missouri joins New Hampshire and Vermont as a state Cook projects will likely remain under Republican control.
Cook projects North Carolina’s race leans towards incumbent Roy Cooper (D) over challenger Dan Forest (R). The only state currently listed as a toss-up is Montana, where incumbent Steve Bullock (D) is term-limited. Although Democrats have held the state’s governorship since 2004, Montana has leaned towards Republicans on the national level. The last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Montana was Bill Clinton (D) in 1992, and the state has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. House since 1994.
Cook believes the coronavirus pandemic and the relative strength of Democratic challenger Nicole Galloway (D-Mo.) are the two major factors behind their rating change. Cook said incumbent Mike Parson (R-Mo.) was one of four governors who had not taken public action in response to the coronavirus pandemic by March 17 and said that a perceived lack of action could harm his prospects in the general election. Parson faces three challengers in the Aug. 4 primary, while Galloway is among five Democrats in the running.
Rep. Denny Heck to run for lieutenant governor of Washington
U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, who had announced last year he would not seek re-election, filed to run for lieutenant governor of Washington Friday. Incumbent Cyrus Habib (D) announced last month he would join the Jesuit Order rather than seeking re-election.
Heck was first elected to the U.S. House in 2012 and sits on the Financial Services and Intelligence committees. He served 10 years as a member of the state House between 1976 and 1986, including as majority leader.
Four other candidates have so far declared for the office, including state Sens. Steve Hobbs (D) and Marko Liias (D) as well as Heck’s general election opponent for U.S. House in 2018, Joseph Brumbles (R).
Under Washington’s top-two primary system, every candidate in the running will appear on the same ballot in the Aug. 4 primary. The top two finishers, regardless of partisan affiliation, will advance to the general election.
The Bend Bulletin endorses Shemia Fagan for secretary of state
The Bend Bulletin endorsed state Sen. Shemia Fagan for Oregon secretary of state Saturday. The Bulletin is the daily newspaper of Bend, Oregon, the state’s seventh-largest city.
Fagan, 2018 congressional candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner, and state Sen. Mark Hass are the three candidates in the running for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state. McLeod-Skinner’s other endorsers include the Victory Fund and former Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins, while Hass’ include former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury and three of his colleagues in the state Senate.
The May 19 primary is open to registered Democrats only.
Legislatures
Newcomer cites generational divide in challenge to veteran SC state rep.
State Rep. Jimmy Bales (D-80) will face a June primary challenge from Jermaine Johnson (D) for House District 80. Bales, 84, was first elected to District 80 in 1998 and has won re-election ten times. Johnson, 34, was the chair of former presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s (D) campaign in South Carolina. He has not held office.
Drawing attention to the age difference between himself and Bales, Johnson said, “It’s time to move forward … the current representative doesn’t represent what my community looks like now.” Bales discussed seniority in state government, saying, “You have to be up there awhile before you can do much to help your district and get money appropriated for projects … Things don’t just happen quick.” The winner of the primary will likely face Vincent Wilson (R), the only Republican filed to run in District 80.
14 of the 61 incumbent Democrats seeking re-election to the South Carolina state Legislature will have primaries.
First-term Missouri representative will not seek re-election
First-term state Rep. Matt Sain (D-14) announced he would not seek re-election to his Kansas City-area seat. Sain first won election to House District 14 in 2018 after defeating incumbent Rep. Kevin Corlew (R) 50.2-49.8%, a margin of 85 votes.
Sain’s decision leaves the House seat open. It also leaves Ashley Aune (D) as the only Democrat in the race. She will likely face Eric Holmes (R), the only Republican filed to run for the seat prior to the March 31 filing deadline.
Former Wyoming House minority whip announces run for Senate seat setting up primary against school district trustee
James Byrd (D) announced he will run for Wyoming’s Senate District 8. Byrd previously represented House District 44, much of which is located in Senate District 8, from 2008 to 2018 and served as minority whip from 2013 to 2015.
Byrd’s entry into the race sets up a Democratic primary against Nate Breen (D), who filed to run for the District 8 seat in February. Breen currently serves as an at-large representative on the Laramie County School District 1 board of trustees. He was first elected in 2016.
The winner of the primary will face Sen. Affie Ellis (R-08), who was first elected to District 8 in 2016 after defeating incumbent Sen. Floyd Esquibel (D) 61-29%.
Power players
“Progressive Turnout Project is the largest grassroots-funded field program in the country. Our mission: Get Democrats to vote. We design, test, and execute specialized voter turnout programs targeting inconsistent Democratic voters in the most competitive states and districts in the country.” – Progressive Turnout Project website
Founded in 2015, Progressive Turnout Project is a political action committee that describes itself as a “grassroots-funded organization dedicated to connecting with voters one-on-one and getting Democrats to the polls.”
On April 2, The Hill reported that the organization planned to spend $2.9 million on a phonebanking campaign targeting an estimated 12 million swing-state voters. The group’s executive director stated, “With COVID-19, activists are looking for ways to engage with voters while practicing safe distancing and Turnout 2020 helps with that.”
In December 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, the organization announced a $45 million plan to increase Democratic turnout by training 1,100 field staff with a goal of knocking on 7 million doors in 16 battleground states. The group subsequently increased that goal to 10.1 million doors in 17 states.
Progressive Turnout Project endorses candidates it deems “voting rights champions who will support the fundamental right to vote that’s central to our work as an organization.” To view a list of endorsed candidates, click here.
On April 7, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an extension to the statewide disaster emergency originally declared at the beginning of March in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The executive order, titled “Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” maintains the disaster emergency, and all subsequent executive orders issued to combat the coronavirus outbreak, until May 7, 2020. The order also requires that medical equipment—such as ventilators and respirators—held by any entity in the state be reported to the New York Department of Health. The Department of Health is authorized to distribute the medical equipment to where it is most urgently needed.
So far, 43 states have issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders to residents. Seven of those orders are set to last until modified or rescinded by the governor, while the other 36 announced end dates.
Although the names of the orders—shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, stay home, stay safe—vary from state to state, they include at least two common elements: the closure of nonessential businesses and requesting all residents to stay home except for essential trips.
On Monday afternoon, governors in three states—Arkansas, South Dakota, and Washington—ordered schools to close through the remainder of the academic year. Each states’ schools were already closed by a previous order of the governor.
So far, 15 states have closed schools through the remainder of the academic year: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Those states account for 34.4% of the 50.6 million public school students in the country.
Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America’s political and civic life. Our coverage includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and the effects those responses are having on campaigns and elections.
On April 6, 2020, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court voted 4-2 to enjoin an executive order issued earlier in the day by Governor Tony Evers (D) postponing in-person voting in the spring election, scheduled for April 7, 2020, to June 9, 2020. As a result, in-person voting is expected to take place as scheduled on April 7, 2020. Republican lawmakers filed the lawsuit seeking the injunction.
On April 3, Evers had issued an executive order calling on the legislature to convene in a special session to consider postponing the spring election. The legislature convened on April 4 and adjourned without taking action on the governor’s proposal.
Last week, a federal judge issued an order deadline to return an absentee ballot to 4:00 p.m. Central on April 13, and the deadline to request an absentee ballot to April 3. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed these extensions, a decision which Republicans appealed to the United States Supreme Court for an emergency stay. As of 5:30 p.m. Central, the Supreme Court had yet to rule on the matter.
As of April 6, governors and state agencies in at least 15 states have placed restrictions on out-of-state travelers through executive orders or public health mandates to reduce the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Though each state uses slightly different language to describe restrictions on interstate travelers, all 15 states require some out-of-state travelers to quarantine for two weeks, unless the travel was undertaken for essential purposes or to support critical industries.
Some states have requested that all out-of-state travelers quarantine for two weeks, while others have placed restrictions on travelers from specific areas in the United States.
States have also differed in their approach to enforcement. For example, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) instructed West Virginia State Police to monitor the roadways for travelers from areas with widespread COVID-19 cases. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) directed the Montana National Guard to conduct temperature checks and exposure inquiries at airports and rail stations in the state. Not all of the states that have issued travel restrictions, however, have specific enforcement procedures.
Governors from at least three states have recommended limits on travelers but have not implemented them via executive order. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker (R) have asked out-of-state travelers to self-quarantine or delay their trips. These requests are not enforceable by law. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) has asked residents who traveled to a country or a state with a widespread COVID-19 outbreak to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Ballotpedia tracks political incumbents, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with COVID-19, in quarantine or isolation to avoid possible transmission of COVID-19, or confirmed to have been tested and found not to carry COVID-19.
Through April 3, 2020, Ballotpedia had identified 36 federal and state politicians with a positive diagnosis. Here is the full list:
Federal
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL)
Sen. Rand Paul (KY)
Rep. Mike Kelly (PA)
Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC)
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On April 6, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) issued an executive order postponing in-person voting in the spring election, originally scheduled for April 7, to June 9. The order also extended the receipt deadline for absentee ballots to June 9. Evers called on the legislature to convene in a special session at 2:00 p.m. Central on April 7 “to consider and act upon legislation to set a new in-person voting date for the 2020 spring election.”
House Speaker Robin Vos (R) and (R) Senate Majority leader Scott Fitzgerald announced they are challenging Evers’ executive order in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
On April 3, Evers had issued an executive order calling on the legislature to convene in a special session to consider postponing the spring election. The legislature convened on April 4 and adjourned without taking action on the governor’s proposal.
Last week, a federal judge issued an order extending the absentee ballot request deadline to 5:00 p.m. Central April 3. The ballot return deadline was extended to 4:00 p.m. Central April 13. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed these extensions, a decision which Republicans appealed to the United States Supreme Court of the United States for an emergency stay. As of 1:20 p.m. Central, the high court had yet to rule on the matter.
On April 6, 2020, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court voted 4-2 to enjoin an executive order issued earlier in the day by Governor Tony Evers (D) postponing in-person voting in the spring election, scheduled for April 7, 2020, to June 9, 2020. As a result, in-person voting is expected to take place as scheduled on April 7, 2020. Republican lawmakers filed the lawsuit seeking the injunction.
As of April 6, governors and state agencies in at least 15 states have placed restrictions on out-of-state travelers through executive orders or public health mandates to reduce the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
Ballotpedia tracks political incumbents, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with COVID-19, in quarantine or isolation to avoid possible transmission of COVID-19, or confirmed to have been tested and found not to carry COVID-19.