2020 Elections

Politico reports: Democrats lead Republicans by 3 points on a generic congressional matchup, according to a new poll of registered voters. The Politico-Morning Consult survey released Wednesday found that 42 percent of respondents said they would vote for a Democratic candidate for Congress, whereas 39 percent said they would vote Republican. Meanwhile, only 39 percent of respondents said they would …

The Hill reports: President Trump said Wednesday that he would welcome the opportunity to run against Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, his first direct comment on the South Bend, Ind. mayor. In an interview with David Webb on SiriusXM, Trump speculated that he may end up campaigning for the presidency in 2020 against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Vice President …

The Washington Post reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday kicked off his 2020 reelection bid with a video highlighting his successful effort to block President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland — a move that helped reshape the court and over which Democrats are still fuming. The video also includes footage of President Trump hailing McConnell as …

Axios reports: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who is running a climate-focused (and longshot) 2020 campaign, last night asked the Democratic National Committee to set up a debate focused solely on climate change. “This can’t be a one-off question where candidates get to give a soundbite and move on,” Inslee, who launched a petition, said in a statement. “Climate change is …

Via press release: Today, HRC announced that Pete Buttigieg, a trailblazer who made history in launching his presidential campaign, will speak at the HRC Las Vegas Dinner on Saturday, May 11. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Mayor Pete Buttigieg is changing hearts and minds across America in …

Axios reports: The Trump campaign is spending nearly half (44%) of its Facebook ad budget to target users who are over 65 years old, as opposed to Democratic candidates who are only spending 27% of their budget on that demographic, according to data given to Axios exclusively from Bully Pulpit Interactive. Other data points pulled from the Facebook ad archive …

Politico reports: In the run-up to his expected presidential campaign announcement, former Vice President Joe Biden’s supporters cut a Spanish-language ad in South Florida over the weekend emphasizing healthcare, education and his biography. The Saturday film shoot was a hushed affair — paid local actors signed non-disclosure agreements promising not to discuss the job. But some posted images on social …

Alabama Politics reports: Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore leads the field of potential Republicans vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Doug Jones (D), a year and a half after Moore lost what was supposed to be an easy election in a deep red state. A new poll shows Moore leading a still-evolving field of Alabama Republicans vying …

Axios reports: Democratic 2020 frontrunner Bernie Sanders defended being a millionaire, called for immigration reform, criticized President Trump and won applause for his “Medicare for All” plan at a Fox News town hall Monday. Moderator Bret Baier asked the Vermont senator if the 180 million people on private insurance would lose it under Sanders’ proposal. Sanders said millions of Americans …

The Washington Examiner reports: MSNBC host Rachel Maddow pressed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Monday about the personal journey he took to come out as an openly gay public figure in conservative Indiana. Maddow, 46, prefaced the conversation by warning the mayor of South Bend, Ind., that she had “an awkward question” for him, before explaining how she …

Via press release from the Sanders campaign: Sen. Bernie Sanders today released 10 years of tax returns including his 2018 return. The release, nine months before the first votes are cast, recognizes the changing expectations that all candidates, not just nominees, should release their taxes. The Sanders’ tax returns, which are straightforward and uncomplicated with few additional forms or deductions, …

ABC News reports: Two months after former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld launched an exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of challenging President Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, he is now an officially declared candidate. Weld made the announcement Monday evening in a more than three-minute video, which can be viewed below. In the video, a narrator recounts Weld’s …

Mediaite reports: James Murdoch, the son of media mogul and Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, made the maximum possible donation to Democrat Pete Buttigeig‘s 2020 presidential campaign. According to newly filed reports, the Murdoch son donated $2,800 to the South Bend, Indiana mayor’s campaign, which is the maximum possible donation to a primary candidate. Despite his last name, James Murdoch …

The Texas Tribune reports: Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro raised $1.1 million in the first three months of the year, according to his campaign. The haul puts Castro in the back of the pack among 2020 contenders who have chosen to reveal their first-quarter fundraising figures ahead of a Monday deadline to report them to the Federal Election Commission. But …

Politico reports: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has raised $3 million since launching her presidential bid, her campaign said Sunday, a sum that puts the New York Democrat near the bottom of Democrats’ fundraising leaderboard after the year’s first quarter. But Gillibrand still has a hefty sum in her campaign account — over $10 million, more than a number of her opponents …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is set to report that it raised more than $30 million in the first quarter of 2019, edging out his top two Democratic rivals combined, according to figures it provided to The Associated Press. The haul brings the campaign’s cash on hand to $40.8 million, an unprecedented war chest for an …

The New York Times reports: Pete Buttigieg, the young Midwestern mayor whose presidential bid has been an unlikely early focus of attention from Democratic voters and donors, was set to officially kick off his campaign on Sunday afternoon in his hometown. Mr. Buttigieg, a 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, would represent a series of historic …

Politico reports: Sen. Kamala Harris and her husband reported a total income of about $2 million in their 2018 federal tax return, according to a large release of filings on Sunday by the California Democrat that her presidential campaign is billing as the “most transparent” of the sprawling 2020 field. Harris released 15 years of tax returns in all — …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump loves to recount how his 2016 campaign defied expectations to pierce the vaunted Democratic “blue wall.” For 2020, he’s looking to do one better. As his re-election campaign kicks into high gear, it’s exploring opportunities to contest states he lost in 2016, aiming to keep divided Democrats on the defensive. Trump on Monday …

Politico reports: Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack announced today that he will retire from the House at the end of his term, potentially setting up a competitive race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in 2020. Loebsack’s district, which he will have represented for 14 years by the time he exits Congress, went for President Donald Trump by 4 percentage points in …