A new Morning Consult survey finds little basis for the theory that there are “shy” Trump voters who don’t tell pollsters the truth about who they will support.
NATIONAL–USC Dornsife–Biden 52–Trump 42
NATIONAL–Morning Consult–Biden 51–Trump 44
IOWA–Des Moines Register–Biden 47–Trump 47
MICHIGAN–MRG–Biden 46–Trump 41
GEORGIA–Atlanta Journal Constitution–Biden 47–Trump 47
TEXAS–Public Policy Polling–Biden 48–Trump 47
GEORGIA–SENATE–Atlanta Journal Constitution–Perdue 47–Ossoff 45
GEORGIA–SENATE–Morning Consult–Ossoff 44–Purdue 43
GEORGIA–SENATE SPECIAL–Atlanta Journal Constitution–Loeffler 24–Warnock 20–Collins 20
NORTH CAROLINA–Harper Polling–Cunningham 44–Tillis 38
COLORADO–Morning Consult–Hickenlooper 49–Gardner 42
ALABAMA–Morning Consult–Tuberville 52–Jones 34
New York Times: “From Alaska to Maine to North and South Carolina, Democratic strategists working on Senate campaigns described a spontaneous outpouring of donations the likes of which they had never seen, allowing Democrats the financial freedom to broaden the map of pickup opportunities, or press their financial advantage in top battlegrounds already saturated with advertising.”
“At least 13 Democratic candidates or senators raised more than $1.3 million each since Friday from a single fund-raising effort.”
Edward-Isaac Dovere: “Almost every Democratic operative I’ve spoken with in the past few weeks remains petrified that Biden is going to bungle the debates in a way that costs him the election—perhaps by looking old or confused, confirming the worst paranoia and conspiracy theories about him being unfit for the job. They see the debates as Biden’s best chance to blow an election that, based on the current polls, seems like his to lose…”
“Biden’s closest aides aren’t particularly nervous. They viewed the primary debates as necessary to attend but essentially irrelevant to the race, and they feel the same way now. If elections were won by following debate-club rules, Clinton would be the president and Elizabeth Warren would be the 2020 Democratic nominee. And since Biden wrapped up the nomination, as they have pointed out repeatedly, this has been a remarkably stable race. The team still thinks that the best way to beat Trump is to let him defeat himself with his own comments and pandemic mismanagement.”
A top secret CIA assessment finds Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top aides are “probably directing” a Russian foreign influence operation to interfere in the 2020 presidential election against Joe Biden, the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), facing a tight re-election race, said President Trump is expanding his recent offshore drilling ban to include the coast of his state, Axios reports.
“President Trump is slated to hold a Friday evening rally in Virginia — but the trip is really about the next state over. Advisers say the idea behind Trump’s event in Newport News at the end of the week is to woo voters in neighboring North Carolina, a key battleground where absentee balloting has begun,” Politico reports.
“Ranked choice voting will be used for the first time in a presidential race under a ruling Tuesday by the Maine Supreme Court, which concluded a GOP petition drive came up short,” the AP reports.
“The Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the Maine Republican Party failed to reach the threshold of signatures needed for a ‘People’s Veto’ referendum aimed at rejecting a state law that expands ranked choice voting to the presidential election.”
Zack Beauchamp: “The Republican Supreme Court power grab after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death should be shocking, given the naked hypocrisy involved. The only reason it isn’t is that we’ve come to expect this from Republicans — and not just under Trump.”
“Republicans shut down the government in the 1990s and impeached President Bill Clinton over far less than what Trump has done in office. Under Obama, they fanned the flames of birtherism, held the global economy hostage to force spending cuts, and elevated obstructionism to the level of governing principle.”
“At the state level, they have rewritten electoral rules to block Democrats from voting and seized power from Democratic governors after they have won elections. Just this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a bill that would effectively criminalize anti-police violence protests — and protect drivers who ran over protesters with their cars.”
“This kind of radicalism is not at all normal — at least, when compared to center-right parties in other advanced democracies.”
Politico: “According to a person familiar with the planning, the 90 minute debate will be divided into six, 15 minute discussion areas. They include: Trump’s and Biden’s records; the Supreme Court; the coronavirus pandemic; race and violence in cities; election integrity; and the economy.”
“With the vice presidential debate fast approaching, pro-Democrat Super PAC American Bridge 21st Century has released its entire opposition research book on Vice President Mike Pence for free online,” ABC Newsreports.
Billionaire Haim Saban told CNBC that he and his wife, Cheryl, plan to ramp up their campaign spending up and down the ballot to back Joe Biden and Democrats with just six weeks until Election Day.
The Sabans wouldn’t give a top line total of how much they’re looking to contribute down the campaign stretch. They gave over $16 million to Democrats running for federal office during the 2016 election.
A top Facebook executive told the Financial Times it will take aggressive and exceptional measures to “restrict the circulation of content” on its platform if November’s presidential election descends into chaos or violent civic unrest.
“Republicans plan to ask the Supreme Court to review a major Pennsylvania state court ruling that extended the due date for mail ballots in the key battleground state, teeing up the first test for the Supreme Court since the death of its liberal leader Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” The Hill reports.
“The GOP legal strategy, which was revealed in a pair of court documents filed overnight and Tuesday morning, has not been previously reported.”
“A federal judge ruled Monday that absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin can be counted up to six days after the Nov. 3 presidential election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day,” the AP reports.
“The highly anticipated ruling, unless overturned, means that the outcome of the presidential race in Wisconsin might not be known for days after polls close. Under current law, the deadline for returning an absentee ballot to have it counted is 8 p.m. on Election Day.”
Joe Biden’s campaign released a letter signed by 13 winners of the Nobel Prize in economics who say that while their views are different, they all think his policies “will result in economic growth that is faster, more robust, and more equitable.”
Gabriel Sherman: “As he barnstorms the country, Trump is putting little effort into readying himself for next week’s debate moderated by Chris Wallace. Sources said Trump is having occasional conversations with chief strategist Jason Miller and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.”
Said a former West Wing official: “Basically what happens is they sit around and throw questions at Trump. But Trump just kind of does his thing.”
Added another Republican source: “Trump is just not taking it seriously.”
“Despite earlier promises in Miami that he would not do business in Cuba until the island was ‘free,’ Donald Trump applied in 2008 to register his Trump trademark in the Caribbean nation for a variety of commercial activities, including investing in real estate, hotels, casinos and golf courses,” the Miami Herald reports.
“As is common in Cuba, where red tape is rampant, the trademark was not approved until much later, until March 2010. It expired in 2018, well into Trump’s presidency.”
“A company collecting signatures to strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) of her emergency powers coached paid petition circulators on giving voters false information, illegally collecting signatures without witnessing them, trespassing on private property, and even lying under oath, a secretly recorded videotape shows,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
“The profanity-peppered training session provides an inside look at the world of paid signature gatherers and could potentially pose problems for Unlock Michigan’s attempts to certify the close to 500,000 signatures the group hopes to collect.”
Said Eric Tisinger, on a secret recording: “This can be a real shady job. And when I say shady, I mean, people do all sorts of illegal shit all the time and never get caught. It’s really hard to get caught doing shit except for, like, forgeries.”
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