Biden/Harris campaign
Kamala Harris made history in her acceptance of the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nomination. Still, it was former President Barack Obama who stole the spotlight on Wednesday with his grim speech about a divided nation and a historically sharp rebuke of Trump.
Harris, the California senator and the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, leaned into her personal story as a jumping-off point for laying out values that she argued President Trump lacks. She recognized her history-making nomination, listing women trailblazers who came before her.
And she artfully delivered some memorable one-liners. “I know a predator when I see one,” she said while talking about taking down a for-profit college in her prosecutorial career, purposely pausing to transform the line into a not-so-subtle dig at the president.
“There is no vaccine for racism. We’ve got to do the work,” Harris said later.
The result was a speech checking the boxes, introducing Harris to the nation and making a case for her on the ticket. Some commentators mentioned that the address softened Harris, who long had a hard-as-nails political persona.
But cable news panels that started immediately after her speech turned their focus to Obama’s dark warnings about democracy. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said Obama’s speech “slayed” her. “This may have been the most powerful address he ever gave,” said CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
The lack of a live audience may have harmed Harris by making her speech feel less celebratory while helping Obama in making his more intimate and solemn.
Obama was initially scheduled to be the last speaker of the night, but he reportedly suggested that he switch places with Harris to “pass the torch, give her her moment and spotlight,” according to one person close to him who spoke to CNN.
Despite that intention, he was the star of the night. – by Emily Larsen
Trump/Pence campaign: Previewing the GOP convention
In an unusual year, going second brings a considerable advantage.
Republicans have been watching the Democratic convention and working out how they can do a better job of connecting with voters when social distancing and virtual appearances risk a dull, overproduced event.
According to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, that might mean President Trump’s convention speech on the south lawn will be delivered in front of the sort of audience from which he famously draws energy.
“I would hope that there would be some individuals there for there to be that interaction back and forth,” he said aboard Air Force One, returning from a presidential trip to Iowa and Arizona.
Republicans have been quick to criticize the stilted, artificial nature of some contributions to the Democratic convention.
Gone is the convention setting with its noisy audience and balloon drops. Instead, Michelle Obama recorded her speech in her sitting room, and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris spoke live in a conference hall, empty but for a couple dozen journalists.
Trump, ever the reality TV producer, said it was “not the best television I’ve ever watched” and promised to deliver his speech live.
Meadows said everyone was grappling with how best to connect with the public. “I think that it’s really hard in a virtual setting to see perhaps interactions that give you hopefully a feel for America,” he said. – by Rob Crilly
House races: Chip Roy squares off against Wendy Davis
Rep. Chip Roy is betting that the Texas electorate hasn’t changed that much.
Democrats contend that shifting demographics in the Lone Star State and a favorable political environment nationally can help them beat up to seven House Republicans in Texas. That’s including Roy, 48, who was first elected in 2018 to a district running from north of San Antonio to the state capital of Austin.
Roy faces former state Sen. Wendy Davis, a one-time doyenne of the Left in Texas whose political stock dropped considerably after losing the 2014 governor’s race in a landslide. Davis is seeking a political comeback against Roy, as the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is running competitively in Texas and GOP Sen. John Cornyn faces a tougher-than-expected race against Afghanistan War veteran M.J. Hegar.
Roy is fighting for reelection in the mold of his former boss, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, the runner-up to President Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries. Like Cruz, for whom Roy was chief of staff and then backed in the presidential race through an outside group, Roy is unafraid to offend colleagues on either side of the aisle in pursuing principles of fiscal discipline and other conservative goals.
In 2013, Cruz forced a partial government shutdown by filibustering a Senate bill to fund Obamacare, and in May 2019, Roy was the only House member to raise procedural objections delaying passage of a request for unanimous consent for a $19.1 billion disaster aid package for damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. That stalled the bill’s consideration for 11 days before it passed 354-58, with Roy voting against it. – by David Mark
Senate races: David Perdue is in a dogfight
Perhaps the Georgia Republican is a victim of President Trump’s struggles against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, or perhaps Perdue is feeling the weight of incumbency amid the coronavirus and a pandemic-induced recession, or maybe the senator is simply threatened by a transforming Georgia electorate that is shedding its rock-ribbed Republicanism and embracing Democratic candidates. Maybe it’s a combination of all three factors.
Whatever the case, a Georgia Senate race that was an afterthought at the outset of the 2020 election cycle is now considered a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report and “tilt-Republican” by Inside Elections, two of Washington’s premier congressional campaign prognosticators. That assessment is supported by a fresh poll conducted for Perdue’s Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff.
The internal survey, conducted in mid-August, showed Ossoff leading Perdue 48% to 46%, although with a 4% margin of error that amounts to a statistical tie. For Ossoff, a high turnout among black voters is critical. According to the Democrat’s own poll, his competitiveness is predicated on a voting universe that is 30% black and 62% white. The good news for Ossoff? Black turnout in 2016 was 30%, with white people comprising 60% of the vote.
Meanwhile, Perdue still holds key advantages. The Republican, although a wealthy businessman before coming to Congress, grew up in rural Georgia and is poised to maximize his vote in this important GOP stronghold. Simultaneously, the senator’s genteel demeanor and business background are appealing in the suburbs, a one-time conservative bastion that has become a trouble spot for Republicans in the Trump era, including in the Peach State.
Perdue supporters are hoping that this race is a replay of his first campaign. In 2014, polls showed the first-time candidate in a toss-up race against Democrat Michelle Nunn, daughter of Sam Nunn, a former senator, all the way up until Election Day. Perdue won, crushing Nunn by more than 7 points. – by David M. Drucker
