2020 Daily Trail Markers: Campaigns staff up as post-debate polls roll in
FROM THE CANDIDATES
REP. JOHN DELANEY: Today marks Rep. John Delaney's 100th event in New Hampshire since his campaign launched in 2017. Today, the campaign rolled out its four-part plan to combat the opioid epidemic. Among other measures, CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga says the policy proposal requires physicians prescribing opioids for longer than three days to have patients sign a disclosure, covers medication-assisted treatment and behavioral health counseling under federal, state and private payers and creates a block grant for states implementing a 2-cent tax on morphine. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, New Hampshire ranks fourth nationwide for the highest rate opioid-involved overdose deaths following West Virginia, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS: A new poll from Quinnipiac University shows former Vice President Joe Biden and Harris virtually tied. The updated numbers follow the first presidential debate in Miami last week. CBS News campaign reporter Stephanie Ramirez says Harris also picked up eight new endorsements in the early state of Nevada. The campaign says this brings her to 19 total endorsements in the state.
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER: Ramirez says at least six Hickenlooper staffers have left the former Colorado governor's campaign as they pushed towards their second quarter fundraising deadline.
BETO O'ROURKE: CBS News campaign reporter Tim Perry says Beto O'Rourke's campaign has made several key new hires in the last 24 hours. On Monday night Politico reported that Hickenlooper's finance director was switching to O'Rourke. On Tuesday the O'Rourke campaign announced Abe Rakov as the early states director. Rakov was a former longtime aide to former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander.
"We're thrilled to have Abe and Dan join our team to bring more supporters into this campaign and ensure Beto's message of building a new kind of politics where no American is left behind can reach voters across the country," O'Rourke campaign manager Jennifer O'Malley Dillon said in a statement to CBS News. The campaign also announced Robyn Kanner as director of creative and product.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: The Sanders' campaign announced it raised a combined $24 million in the second quarter of 2019, exceeding their total from the first quarter and ending June with nearly $30 million cash on hand. CBS News campaign reporter Cara Korte says the funds come from $18 million in donations and $6 million transferred from previous accounts, such as Sanders' 2016 campaign cache. Some perspective to remember: Sanders' individual contributions in Q1 totaled $18.2 million, and Sanders announced in mid-February. In a way it's impressive that his Q2 numbers kept pace with Q1, but he also had a full quarter to fundraise versus half that last quarter.
STATELY COVERAGE
DOWN SOUTH: Greensboro, North Carolina, resident Mark Robinson announced a bid to become North Carolina's lieutenant governor Tuesday afternoon, reports CBS News Political Unit associate producer Ellee Watson. North Carolina's current Lt. Gov. Dan Forest has reached his term limit and will likely run against incumbent Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper in 2020.
Robinson went viral last year with an assist from Representative Mark Meadow's Twitter account after he gave a speech to the Greensboro City Council about gun ownership. Since then, he has given speeches around the country and now sits on the National Rifle Association's outreach board. If elected, Robinson would be the first black lieutenant governor in the state.
MONEY MATTERS
ON THE $$$: EMILY's List announced Tuesday it would be investing $20 million into flipping state legislative chambers in 2020 amid concerns from the pro-choice Democratic group over the census and redistricting in 2021. "There's rightly a lot of focus on presidential race, but failing to crack the gerrymanders that Republicans installed after the 2010 midterm elections would be just as devastating to our democracy as the re-election of Donald Trump," EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock said in a call with reporters. Ewall-Wice reports the organization said it was targeting 500 state legislative races and is committed to flipping at least one chamber in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. Other states they're focused on include Minnesota and Texas.
GOP $$$: On Tuesday, the CEO of the Texas-based fundraising and donor management company Anedot unveiled a separate new web service to help Republicans with grassroots fundraising across the U.S. Ewall-Wice says Give.GOP provides potential donors with a direct pathway to find and fund Republican political committees and candidates up and down the ballot. The website has no connection to the online fundraising tool WinRed, which was launched last week to compete with Democrats' ActBlue and has the backing of President Trump. According to Give.GOP's founder Paul Dietzel, the new website should not be seen as a rival to WinRed but as a complementary tool focused on simplifying grassroots donors' experience. Additionally, unlike WinRed or ActBlue, donations made on Give.GOP are not subject to processing fees, meaning banking fees aside, 100% of the donations go directly to the campaigns or committees and that money could quickly add up. The service is funded exclusively through donors who join its insiders group.
