Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe.
We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail.
LEADING THE DAY: PROGRESSIVES FACE TESTS IN NEW YORK AND KENTUCKY PRIMARIES
Progressives are hoping for big wins in New York and Kentucky this evening as voters across the two states head out to vote in a number of critical primaries.
In Kentucky, Democratic establishment favorite Amy McGrath will face off against progressive state Rep. Charles Booker (D) in the primary that will determine who will go up against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellTrump says he supports another round of stimulus checks NAACP Legal Defense Fund urges Senate to reject GOP police reform bill OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Internal watchdog probing Park Police actions toward Lafayette Square protesters | Democrats detail their .5T green infrastructure plan | Green groups challenge Trump water rules rollback MORE in November.
A survey conducted by the progressive firm Data for Progress showed Booker leading McGrath by eight points in Kentucky.
Meanwhile, in New York, former middle school principal Jamaal Bowman is looking to pull off a major progressive upset against 16-term Congressman Eliot Engel
Eliot Lance EngelHouse Democrats call for testimony from top State officials over watchdog firing Overnight Defense: Highlights from the House Armed Services subcommittees’ defense bill sections | Bill would ask troops if they’ve faced ‘racist, anti-Semitic or supremacist’ activity | Pompeo aide testifying next week on watchdog’s ouster The Hill’s Campaign Report: Progressives raise expectations ahead of big primary night MORE in the state’s 16th District.
Bowman’s campaign announced on Friday that he had raised $2 million during the campaign from more than 65,000 individual donors, touting the strength of his progressive base. Additionally, a Data for Progress survey showed Bowman up 10 points over Engel. The congressman’s campaign, on the other hand, said their internal polling showed Engel leading Bowman by eight points.
Regardless, Booker and Bowman are seen as the leaders of a progressive pack looking to make gains in tonight’s primaries.
Booker gave Bowman a shoutout on Twitter today, telling voters to imagine the two of them in in Washington, D.C., together.
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) June 23, 2020
Other key races to watch include Rep. Yvette Clarke
Yvette Diane ClarkeWins by young progressives start reshaping establishment De Blasio: Robert E Lee’s ‘name should be taken off everything in America, period’ The Hill’s Coronavirus Report: Rep. Val Demings calls for a new DOJ Office of Police Standards; Trump, GOP to pull convention from NC MORE’s (D-N.Y.) primary against progressive Adem Bunkeddeko, who nearly defeated her last cycle in 2018. Additionally, Rep. Grace Meng
Grace MengBlack lawmakers rally behind Engel in primary fight De Blasio, John Cho, Rep. Grace Meng unite for event to fight racism against Asian Americans NY Democrats call for mortgage forgiveness in next coronavirus relief bill MORE (D-N.Y.) is facing her first ever primary challenge.
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHillicon Valley: Patagonia latest company to pull ads from Facebook | Top EU officials call out China for hospital cyberattacks | Trump team pushes back on reports of TikTok, K-pop rally sabotage NYPD commissioner: Officers who drove into protesters did not violate use-of-force policy Trump: Ocasio-Cortez would beat Schumer MORE (D-N.Y.), who made waves in 2018 when she defeated longtime Rep. Joe Crowley
Joseph (Joe) CrowleyBiden beat Bernie but the battle between progressives and pragmatists still rages Trump: Ocasio-Cortez would beat Schumer Left eyes huge night in NY, Kentucky primaries MORE (D-N.Y.) in 2018, is facing a primary challenge from journalist Maria Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.
Rep. Jerry Nadler
Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerSunday shows – Bolton’s bombshell book reverberates Nadler says calls to impeach Barr ‘waste of time’ because of ‘corrupt’ GOP-controlled Senate Nadler: ‘We’re not interested in Bolton’s testimony’ MORE is facing challenges in the 10th district from progressives Lindsey Boylan, a former aide to Cuomo and Jonathan Herzog, a former staffer on tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang
Andrew YangHillicon Valley: Patagonia latest company to pull ads from Facebook | Top EU officials call out China for hospital cyberattacks | Trump team pushes back on reports of TikTok, K-pop rally sabotage George Floyd protests show corporations must support racial and economic equality Andrew Yang discusses his universal basic income pilot program MORE’s presidential campaign. His colleague, Rep. Carolyn Maloney
Carolyn Bosher MaloneyHouse Democrats call for testimony from top State officials over watchdog firing Democrats accuse SBA of stonewalling GAO’s attempts to oversee lending program Engel trails primary challenger by 10 points: poll MORE (D-N.Y.) is taking on Suraj Patel, Lauren Ashcraft and Peter Harrison in the state’s 12th district primary.
—Julia Manchester
READ MORE:
New York Democrats brace for a night of potential stunners, by Jonathan Easley and Julia.
Five things to watch for in Tuesday’s primaries, by Jonathan and Max Greenwood.
Kentucky and New York brace for days-long vote count, by Max.
FROM THE TRAIL:
The Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Tuesday that it will move an Oct. 15 debate between President Trump
Donald John TrumpSouth Korea slams Bolton book as ‘distorting the reality’ of nuclear talks Democrats face tough questions with Bolton Protesters try to bring down statue of Andrew Jackson near White House MORE and former Vice President Joe Biden
Joe BidenTrump seeks to rally base with immigration full-court press Trump says Obama may have committed treason Poll: Biden leads Trump by more than 20 points on race and policing MORE from Michigan to Florida after the University of Michigan backed out of the event due to concerns about the coronavirus. The debate will now be held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. The Hill’s Marty Johnson reports.
The Trump campaign has tapped Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley to take over as its top spokesperson. That job was previously held by Kayleigh McEnany, who was named White House press secretary in April. The Hill’s Brett Samuels reports.
Dozens of former national security officials are banding together to back Biden in the presidential election, Reuters’ Tim Reid reports. The group includes more than two dozen officials who served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George Bush, per Reuters’ reporting, and is set to endorse Biden publicly in the coming weeks.
PERSPECTIVES:
Alan Abramowitz: If Georgia primary was an attempt at voter suppression, it failed badly.
Ileana Lehtinen & Trey Grayson: Why expanded voting options are critical for this election.
MONEY WATCH:
Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernie SandersCelebrities and politicians speak out over 90 percent cut in polling sites ahead of Kentucky primary Biden beat Bernie but the battle between progressives and pragmatists still rages Trump: Ocasio-Cortez would beat Schumer MORE’s political team announced that the former presidential candidate had raised more than $750,000 and activated his vaunted volunteer network on behalf of a dozen down-ballot candidates running in primaries on Tuesday. Misty Rebik, the executive director of Friends of Bernie Sanders, said the effort was part of the senator’s goal of “building a movement.” “He’s using the power he’s built to lift up candidates who are running on the bold agenda working families in our country so desperately need,” Rebik said in a statement.
House Majority PAC (HMP), the super PAC aligned with House Democratic leaders, is pumping an additional $3.5 million into television ad reservations in Texas and Arizona ahead of the November general elections, bringing its total spending on ad reservations for the cycle to $72.5 million, the group announced Tuesday. The latest reservations include $550,000 in the Phoenix media market and another $2.9 million in Houston.
POLL WATCH:
Biden: 56% (+3)
Trump: 44% (-3)
AXIOS/COLLEGE REACTION – VP PICK (AMONG COLLEGE VOTERS)
Warren: 28%
Harris: 19%
Abrams: 13%
Whitmer: 11%
Klobuchar: 8%
Rice: 7%
Bottoms: 6%
Duckworth: 4%
Grisham: 2%
Demings: 1%
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
June 23:
Kentucky primaries
New York primaries
Virginia primaries
Mississippi primary runoffs
North Carolina primary runoffs
South Carolina primary runoffs
June 30:
Colorado primaries
Oklahoma primaries
Utah primaries
July 7:
New Jersey primaries
Delaware primaries
July 11:
Louisiana primaries
July 14:
Alabama primary runoffs
Texas primary runoffs
Maine primaries
Aug. 4:
Arizona primaries
Kansas primaries
Michigan primaries
Missouri primaries
Washington primaries
Aug. 11:
Connecticut primaries
Minnesota primaries
Vermont primaries
Wisconsin primaries
Georgia primary runoffs
Aug. 18:
Alaska primaries
Florida primaries
Wyoming primaries
Aug. 17-20:
Democratic National Convention
Aug. 24-27:
Republican National Convention
Sept. 1:
Massachusetts primaries
Sept. 8:
New Hampshire primaries
Rhode Island primaries
Sept. 15:
Delaware primaries
Sept. 29:
First presidential debate
Oct. 7:
Vice presidential debate
Oct. 15:
Second presidential debate
Oct. 22:
Third presidential debate
