2020 Daily Trail Markers: DNC rejects climate change debate
FROM THE CANDIDATES
FORMER VP JOE BIDEN
The Biden campaign has hired a faith outreach director in South Carolina while announcing 39 new endorsements from pastors and faith community leaders across the state.
Michael Wear, who ran faith outreach for President Obama in 2012, tells CBS News Campaign Reporter LaCrai Mitchell that the number of supporters could speak to the infrastructure that the campaign has in place. Wear also noted that connecting with faith-based communities in South Carolina is vital. Pastor Joe Darby, the senior pastor at Nichols Chapel AME Church and a well-known faith leader in the state, agrees. Darby told CBS News last month that any 2020 hopeful that doesn't engage black churches isn't going very far in the state.
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG
South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg released two digital radio advertisements Thursday on the audio streaming platforms Spotify and Pandora, according to CBS News Campaign Reporter Jack Turman. The 30-second ads will run statewide across Iowa and New Hampshire and come a day after the campaign announced two radio ads running in Iowa.
In one ad, titled "Back to Normal," Buttigieg reiterated his call for generational change, a central talking point in his campaign speeches. "To win, we can't be the party of 'back to normal,'" Buttigieg said in the ad. "What we have now isn't working, and normal wasn't working either."
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS
Bernie Sanders' campaign manager Faiz Shakir says victory in New Hampshire is "absolutely critical" to the campaign's efforts to capture the Democratic nomination, telling CBS News Campaign Reporter Nicole Sganga the campaign will be ramping up its presence in the Granite State in the coming months.
The campaign has been late in building out a ground organization in the state, lagging behind Senator Elizabeth Warren's operation. But in a wide-ranging interview, Shakir said that has been by design, with the campaign planning "for the long haul." Shakir added,
"We could afford, over a period of time, to allow a lesser investment and then increase that investment over time ... So by the end of this, I promise you, if we aren't the candidate with the most staff, and most volunteers I will be stunned."
Sanders has spent eight days campaigning in New Hampshire, half as much time invested by Warren, who has spent 16 days in the state. But Shakir said Sanders is already familiar to primary voters in the Granite State, having won the 2016 primary over Hillary Clinton by more than 20 points. Other candidates have had to spend time introducing themselves, Shakir said.
A Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll in early August of likely Democratic voters in New Hampshire found Joe Biden in the lead at 21%, followed by Sanders with 17% and Warren at 14%. About 20% of respondents said they were undecided.
UP FOR DEBATE
CLIMATE CONVO
The resolutions committee of the Democratic National Committee voted 17-8 against a resolution that would've allowed a DNC-sanctioned debate on climate, according to CBS News Political Unit Associate Producer Ellee Watson. The resolution was authored by Washington state's Democratic Chair Tina Podlodowski. In the discussion about the resolution, several committee members expressed reservation with prioritizing climate over any single other issue like gun violence or health care. The committee did however pass a separate resolution which had an amendment encouraging candidates to participate in issue-specific multi-candidate forums that could focus on climate or other issues critical to Americans.
TARGET AUDIENCE
WOMEN IN THE GOP
Representative Tom Emmer, the Chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC), is the only male guest speaker listed for the Trump campaign's night of Women for Trump events throughout the country Thursday evening. The campaign is hosting 14 events in 13 states to celebrate Women's Equality Day and highlight the administration's work for women.
Emmer is a notable addition because as the chair of the NRCC, he is the face of the effort to recruit more women into the House which only has 13 female GOP members, according to Watson. He will speak in Anoka, Minnesota, tonight along with his wife Jackie and the state's GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan.
CONGRESSIONAL COVERAGE
IN THE SENATE
One week after dropping out of the 2020 presidential race, former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper launched his bid for the U.S. Senate, says CBS News Campaign Reporter Stephanie Ramirez. Hickenlooper, who previously said running for Senate was not his "calling," released a video Thursday morning saying, "I've always said Washington was a lousy place for a guy like me who wants to get things done, but this is no time to walk away from the table." He added, "I know changing Washington is hard, but I want to give it a shot. I'm not done fighting for the people of Colorado."
GOVERNOR'S MANSION
NEXT, PLEASE
Washington Governor Jay Inslee's decision to end his presidential campaign and launch his gubernatorial re-election has boosted the confidence of state Democrats. "I think it means that Governor Inslee will win his third term as governor," Washington State Democrats Chair Tina Podlodowski told CBS News Political Unit Broadcast Associate Aaron Navarro. "I'm pretty excited about 2020, the governor at the top of the ticket – and I think every Democrat is."
A typically blue state that has voted for Democrats in the last five presidential elections, Inslee won by single digits in 2012 and 2016. Republicans have responded to Inslee jumping in by pointing to his presidential run. "He's got some explaining to do to the Washington State voters who have taken a backseat to his national ambitions," said Republican Governors Association Communications Director Amelia Chassé.
