2020 Daily Trail Markers: Biden challenged to pick black woman as running mate
As Joe Biden settles into the role of the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, CBS News campaign reporters Tim Perry and LaCrai Mitchell report that some are calling on the former vice president to choose a woman of color as his running mate, while others are specifically hoping a black woman will fill the position. Conversations with more than a dozen black women in Congress and black women political leaders and activists in battleground states revealed this sentiment: it's past time for women of color and particularly black women to be seriously considered for top positions like the role of vice president.
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Ohio said that at some point the Democratic Party must "reward and recognize its loyal soldiers," namely, black women. Fudge also warned that if the party doesn't mobilize black women, Democrats can't win in November. "The mistake I believe we have made in the last couple of races we've run is we neglect to bring out our base," Fudge said. "The base of the Democratic Party clearly is black and brown, but more black than brown."
Many leaders said that race shouldn't be the top or only factor in choosing the right running mate. And all of the black women political leaders that CBS News spoke with said the eventual vice-presidential pick must have a strong grasp on the problems facing the black community and particularly black women. Perry and Mitchell reported on CBSN that while prominent black women like former Georgia State House Leader Stacey Abrams and Senator Kamala Harris of California were mentioned as viable prospects, activists in battleground states like Wisconsin believe that Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is the candidate who can deliver on issues that are important to black women. "[Warren] works with people and listens to people and will continue to push the work of making racial justice a priority, advocating for black women's leadership across the country [and] lifting up especially in those down ballot races where there are so many powerful black women running in their communities," said Priscilla Bort, who is an organizer for the Wisconsin Working Families Party.
Still most of the women reiterated that the ultimate goal for black women has been the same since the beginning of the primary: defeating President Trump. "Regardless of who Vice President Biden chooses as his running mate, I'm going to be out there making sure that we get out the vote," said Georgia Democratic Party Chair Nikema Williams, who is also a Georgia state senator. "But I think at some point we want to see ourselves reflected in the leadership that we're voting for."
FROM THE CANDIDATES
JOE BIDEN
"He will be an extraordinary President," is how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began her endorsement video of Joe Biden on Monday, CBS News campaign reporter Bo Erickson reports. The speaker, who remained neutral during the Democratic primary, riddled off Biden's accomplishments as vice president, crediting him with helping to pass Obamacare and steering the rollout of the Recovery Act after the 2008 economic depression. On the trail, Biden spoke often about President Obama sending him to Capitol Hill to help bring together the priorities of the executive branch and Congress, a possible sign that Biden, when looking for a running mate, may want his own bridge between the Biden White House and the speaker's office. On Monday, Biden's public schedule was bare but he's planning to attend another virtual private fundraiser Monday evening. His campaign also released a lengthy statement on Monday retooling previous criticisms of the Trump administration's COVID-19 response, labeling problems related to testing the "original sin" of the effort.
PRESIDENT TRUMP
On Saturday, Trump 2020 Campaign Manager Brad Parscale announced the Trump campaign is approaching 35-40 million direct voter contacts. "The average campaign, a successful one, barely gets over 10 million direct contacts," Parscale said on this weekend's Trump campaign virtual live stream. "We're now getting close to 35 to 40 million direct contact. By Election Day, we might close it off at 50 million. That will nearly be over to two-thirds of all the people that actually vote for the president." CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga notes that Parscale, a longtime Trump family ally, conceded that the Mr. Trump's support lives largely within GOP party lines. "The President really has one number that people just, you know, they don't give enough respect to," Parscale said. "That is that 'mid 90s' Republicans approve of the President's job. No president has ever had the demo support from any party. Now, he does have record low support from Democrats. He is a Republican."
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump said Monday he would not consider delaying the 2020 general election, CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga reports. "I haven't thought of changing the date of the election. Why would I do that? November 3rd. It's a good number," Trump told reporters gathered in the Rose Garden for the coronavirus briefing. Mr. Trump called suggestions that he might try to move Election Day "made-up propaganda" by people surrounding the presumptive Democratic nominee. "Let him know I'm not thinking about it at all," Trump added. Last week, Biden said during a virtual fundraiser, "Mark my words, "I think he is gonna try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can't be held."
Separately, a company working with Mr. Trump's re-election campaign is defending a nearly $3 million loan it received from the federal coronavirus relief fund for small businesses, responding to criticism and a lawsuit accusing it of receiving preferential treatment. According to CBS News senior reporter Stephen Gandel and CBS News investigative reporter Graham Kates, Phunware was eligible for the low-interest loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, which is aimed at businesses with 500 or fewer workers. The digital data company said in a news release Monday that on March 27 it furloughed 34 full-time employees and three interns, leaving it with 54 full-time employees and one intern. Phunware's $2.85 million loan was nearly 14 times the current PPP average of $206,000.
VEEPSTAKES
ELIZABETH WARREN
Warren on Monday called on Americans to contact their representatives and demand that an essential workers bill of rights be included in the next coronavirus relief package. Warren, who with Representative Ro Khanna released two weeks ago a set of criteria to add protections and benefits for essential workers, also asked essential workers to make a short video to share what their job has been like, according to CBS news campaign reporter Zak Hudak. Warren's website now includes a page with a script for calling your representative to ask for front line worker protections, and the site will automatically dial the representative if you put your address in. On a livestream calling for action, Warren and Khanna were joined by Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Deb Haaland, both of whom were co-chairs for Warren's presidential campaign. "We've got plenty of ways to get you in the fight because the essential workers Bill of Rights is one very tangible way that we can help level the playing field just a little," said Warren.
WATCH LIST
MICHELLE OBAMA
Netflix plans to release a documentary following former First Lady Michelle Obama through a 34-city tour for her 2018 book, "Becoming." CBS News campaign reporter Zak Hudak says the film by the same name is set to debut on the streaming platform May 6. In a clip from the documentary released Monday, Obama signaled she is planning for work ahead. "It's not getting back on track, but it's creating my next track," she said, asked about transitioning back to her "normal life." Obama praised the film's director, Nadia Hallgren in a statement. "She's a rare talent, someone whose intelligence and compassion for others comes through in every frame she shoots," she said. "Most importantly, she understands the meaning of community, the power of community, and her work is magically able to depict it." The film's release comes as millions of Americans are under stay at home orders and using streaming services. "During this difficult time, I hope you'll find some inspiration and joy in this film," Obama tweeted.
LIFE AFTER 2020
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
Today a spokesperson for the presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed to CBS News campaign reporter Tim Perry that the campaign will cover the cost of COBRA through November 2020 for both national and state staffers. In an email obtained by CBS News campaign reporter Adam Brewster, the Bloomberg campaign tells its staffers to sign up by April 29 for COBRA coverage to begin May 1. "We all aim to keep ourselves, our families and communities safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic," said the email to staff. "The campaign has covered health insurance for former employees since Mike dropped out," a campaign spokesperson tells CBS News. "Today's announcement makes it official that given the challenges associated with the pandemic, the campaign will continue to cover health care through November 2020 for former employees who haven't secured other coverage."
BY THE NUMBERS
VOTE BY MAIL
As the coronavirus changes the way people think about conducting elections, CBS News campaign reporter Adam Brewster says there continues to be more polling suggesting growing support for mail voting. But there are some divisions along partisan lines, as Democrats are more likely to embrace it than Republicans, according to a new Associated Press/NORC poll. Overall, 39% of American adults said they support their state conducting elections only by mail without in-person voting, compared to 40% who oppose the measure. Democrats (47%) are more likely to favor that than Republicans (29%). In 2018, the AP/NORC poll found that only 19% of American adults supported conducting voting entirely by mail. While Americans remain divided on that issue, a majority (56%) say they support letting people vote by mail without an excuse, while 26% oppose letting people vote that way.
If there is a coronavirus outbreak in November, a little less than half of Americans (46%) support allowing people to vote in person. Republicans (58%) are more likely to favor that than Democrats (38%). If there's an outbreak in November, 48% of Americans say they would support conducting the election only by mail. A majority of Democrats, 60%, favor that, compared to 37% of Republicans. There is much more support for no-excuse absentee voting by mail, however. A majority, 60%, of Americans say they would favor that if there's a coronavirus outbreak in November. Almost three-fourths of Democrats (73%) approve of letting people vote by mail without a giving a reason, compared to a little less than half of Republicans (46%). Five states conduct their elections by mailing every eligible voter a ballot and another 29 states plus Washington D.C. off no excuse absentee voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
BIDEN V. TRUMP
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University survey out Monday shows Biden leading Mr. Trump by 6 percentage points nationwide, 44% to 38%. That is a considerable shift from Trump's 3-point lead in the December poll, during House impeachment proceedings and a crowded Democratic primary, reports CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga. The poll comes six months ahead of the 2020 Presidential election, as the Trump administration tackles questions surrounding ongoing testing capacity and economic reopening. States face record-breaking unemployment numbers with millions of new claims are anticipated in the weeks to come. Thus far, the pandemic has cost more than 55,000 lives in the United States alone.
STATE-BY-STATE
NEW YORK
The New York Board of Elections has voted to remove candidates who have suspended their campaigns from the primary ballot on June 23, meaning Biden will win all of the 274 pledged delegates, reports CBS News political unit associate producer Eleanor Watson. The obscure provision allowing the board of elections to do this was entered into the state budget signed by Andrew Cuomo at the beginning of the month. Thousands of Sanders supporters signed a petition to keep Bernie Sanders on so he could amass delegates to influence decisions at the national convention, but that failed to sway the board. The co-chair of the board of elections Doug Kellner said, "I think that it's time for us to recognize that the presidential contest is over." Kellner was asked if this means there's no primary, and he said, "That's right. Joe Biden is the only candidate and therefore, he has effectively won the New York primary." In a statement, Democratic National Committee spokesman David Bergstein said "Any substantive change to a state's first determining step in allocating delegates like this one will need to be reviewed by the DNC's Rules and By-Laws Committee. Once the state party submits an updated delegate selection plan, the committee will review that plan and make a determination." Bernie 2020 senior adviser Jeff Weaver also issued a statement, saying "today's decision by the State of New York Board of Elections is an outrage, a blow to American democracy, and must be overturned by the DNC. Just last week Vice President Biden warned the American people that President Trump could use the current crisis as an excuse to postpone the November election. Well, he now has a precedent thanks to New York state."
NORTH CAROLINA
CBS News campaign reporter LaCrai Mitchell reports that the North Carolina Democratic Party announced in a press release Monday that it hosted virtual county conventions in 90 of the state's 100 counties over the weekend. According to the state party, more than 9,600 participants attended. In Wake and Mecklenburg Counties alone — which include the cities of Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively — the party saw its highest voter turnout numbers, which totaled more than 1,500 attendees combined. "In recent weeks, our staff has worked tirelessly to assist county parties in adapting these events into a virtual platform," said NCDP Chairman Wayne Goodwin in an emailed statement. "On Saturday, fired up Democrats across North Carolina participated in record numbers. Our members are energized, united and ready to take on President Trump and Republicans down the ballot in November."
OHIO
After the primary was postponed in March, Ohio's mail-in primary ends Tuesday, providing a preview of what could come in November's general election if the coronavirus pandemic continues at a high rate. CBS News campaign reporter Jack Turman reports that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose sent a letter on Thursday to Ohio's congressional delegation indicating that some Ohioans may not get their ballot in time due to post office delays. In the letter, LaRose stated that they are hearing reports that first class mail delivery, which is 1-3 days, is taking up to 7-9 days. "As you can imagine, these delays mean it is very possible that many Ohioans who have requested a ballot may not receive it in time," LaRose wrote. On Friday, LaRose announced the postal office set up hand-to-hand delivery on Saturday for election mail as it went through processing. Post offices will track election mail to the Ohio Board of Elections starting Monday through May 8. As of Monday, there have been 1,975,806 vote-by-mail ballots requested and 1,458,936 ballots cast.
LaRose previously indicated his support to extend the vote by mail primary to June 2 in a letter on March 21 sent to Ohio's General Assembly, but Ohio's state legislature voted to extend the primary date to April 28. Voting rights groups said that Ohio's Board of Elections was not fully prepared for the transition to a vote-by-mail primary due to the lack of time it was given. Voting rights groups said the timeline did not provide voters enough time to learn about the vote-by-mail process and did not give adequate time for Ohio's Board of Elections to print more envelopes, ballots and applications. "The boards of elections and the Secretary of State have been scrambling to make this work," said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a nonpartisan advocacy group on protecting voting rights. "Clearly more time would have made this work better for voters and certainly for the people administering our elections."
There is limited in-person voting in the state Tuesday as well. If voters are disabled or do not have a mailing address, they can vote in-person at the board of elections. In addition, if voters did not receive their absentee ballots, they can cast an in-person provisional ballot at their county board of elections. Precautions are being implemented to maintain safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Cuyahoga County, which is home to Cleveland, officials are planning to take voters' temperatures and hoping to maintain social distancing, according to the Cuyahoga County board of elections. In Franklin County, which encompasses Columbus, election board members will have masks and partitions will be in place between election staff and voters.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced loosened restrictions on nonessential businesses in the state to allow for curbside drop-off of goods and animals. CBS News campaign reporter Adam Brewster says that would allow businesses such as dog groomers and small engine repair shops to reopen. Those businesses need to ensure staffing can be limited to one person in a room or confined space at a time and services need to be paid for ahead of time online or over the phone. The order also allows people to rent recreational outdoor equipment such as boats, kayaks and canoes. The same staffing and payment restrictions are in place and rented equipment must be cleaned after each use. Automatic and self-service car washes are also able to open. The new order takes effect on Wednesday and builds upon an order last week that allowed nonessential businesses to offer curbside pick-up. "This order means that every business across our state can do things like deliveries, mailings, curbside pick-up and drop-off, and it's an important step in making sure that while folks are staying safer at home, they can also continue to support small businesses across our state," Evers said in a statement.
CONGRESSIONAL COVERAGE
IN THE HOUSE
The special election in Maryland's 7th district, formerly held by late Congressman Elijah Cummings, is one of the first upcoming test balloons for an all-mail ballot election. While three in-person polls will be open in the three counties of the Baltimore-area district, more than 513,000 mail ballots were sent out to registered voters across the district. St. Mary's College of Maryland political science associate professor Todd Eberly told CBS News political unit broadcast associate Aaron Navarro the special election is a perfectly-sized test case not only for the November presidential election, but for the state's June primaries. "For us to get a feel for how smoothly does it go, where there are glitches, things that we have to work out – it gives us a chance to do all of that before the June primary comes, when we're talking about somewhere in the neighborhood of about 4 million ballots in the mail expected," he said. In addition to testing the logistics of an all-mail ballot, Eberly said it'll serve as a good step to educate all voters about how it works. "Time with multiple elections absolutely gives us the benefit of by the time we get to a general election, you've got that real opportunity for people to know it, for the state to know what kind of communications they have to do." The ballots have to be postmarked by Tuesday, April 28. While local election boards have been scanning incoming ballots the past couple of weeks, the full count of votes will come after May 8, the deadline for mail ballots to come in. Democratic candidate Kweisi Mfume, who previously held the seat from 1987 to 1996, is expected to win the historically Democratic district against Republican Kimberly Klacik. As of Friday morning, 56,019 Democratic ballots have been returned, compared to 19,097 Republican ballots.