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2020 Election Live Updates: What to Watch in Today’s Primaries 2020 Election Live Updates: Kris Kobach and Rashida Tlaib Are on the Primary Ballot
(32 minutes later)
There are, as a once promising Democrat memorably said, two Americas.There are, as a once promising Democrat memorably said, two Americas.
In one, President Trump is sagging in the polls, his ineffectual handling of the coronavirus and incendiary response to racial justice protests having alienated a large segment of the country.In one, President Trump is sagging in the polls, his ineffectual handling of the coronavirus and incendiary response to racial justice protests having alienated a large segment of the country.
Yet in the other America, the one where Republican primary voters will go to the polls this week in Kansas and Tennessee, Mr. Trump is not toxic at all. In fact, his endorsement amounts to a political seal of good housekeeping.Yet in the other America, the one where Republican primary voters will go to the polls this week in Kansas and Tennessee, Mr. Trump is not toxic at all. In fact, his endorsement amounts to a political seal of good housekeeping.
The Senate primaries in those states for seats held by two retiring Republicans have, like G.O.P. contests elsewhere, evolved into tests of who’s most supportive of Mr. Trump and critical of his intraparty opponents. Never mind that the president could be on his way out of office when the would-be senators are sworn in next year.The Senate primaries in those states for seats held by two retiring Republicans have, like G.O.P. contests elsewhere, evolved into tests of who’s most supportive of Mr. Trump and critical of his intraparty opponents. Never mind that the president could be on his way out of office when the would-be senators are sworn in next year.
In Tennessee, which holds its primary on Thursday, Bill Hagerty, a private equity executive who served as finance chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, is running on his endorsement from the president. Mr. Hagerty helped exorcise his ties to Mr. Romney by supporting Mr. Trump in the 2016 general election and serving as his ambassador to Japan.In Tennessee, which holds its primary on Thursday, Bill Hagerty, a private equity executive who served as finance chairman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign, is running on his endorsement from the president. Mr. Hagerty helped exorcise his ties to Mr. Romney by supporting Mr. Trump in the 2016 general election and serving as his ambassador to Japan.
His upstart challenger, Manny Sethi, an orthopedist who teaches at Vanderbilt University, is trying to upset Mr. Hagerty by pledging his loyalty to Mr. Trump and relentlessly highlighting Mr. Hagerty’s relationship with Mr. Romney, now a first-term Utah senator. Mr. Romney, the only Senate Republican who voted to remove Mr. Trump from office during impeachment, is now something of a dirty word in Republican primaries.His upstart challenger, Manny Sethi, an orthopedist who teaches at Vanderbilt University, is trying to upset Mr. Hagerty by pledging his loyalty to Mr. Trump and relentlessly highlighting Mr. Hagerty’s relationship with Mr. Romney, now a first-term Utah senator. Mr. Romney, the only Senate Republican who voted to remove Mr. Trump from office during impeachment, is now something of a dirty word in Republican primaries.
The president has not endorsed a candidate in Kansas, where establishment-aligned Republicans are petrified that the polarizing former secretary of state Kris Kobach may claim the nomination and imperil an otherwise safe Republican Senate seat.The president has not endorsed a candidate in Kansas, where establishment-aligned Republicans are petrified that the polarizing former secretary of state Kris Kobach may claim the nomination and imperil an otherwise safe Republican Senate seat.
But Mr. Kobach and two of his main rivals — Representative Roger Marshall and the plumbing executive Bob Hamilton — are all embracing Mr. Trump in their advertising and vowing to support his policies.But Mr. Kobach and two of his main rivals — Representative Roger Marshall and the plumbing executive Bob Hamilton — are all embracing Mr. Trump in their advertising and vowing to support his policies.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and a few other Republicans in Washington had urged Mr. Trump to throw his support to Mr. Marshall. But that was before Senator Ted Cruz used an Air Force One flight last week to remind the president that Mr. Marshall supported former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio in the 2016 presidential primary.Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and a few other Republicans in Washington had urged Mr. Trump to throw his support to Mr. Marshall. But that was before Senator Ted Cruz used an Air Force One flight last week to remind the president that Mr. Marshall supported former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio in the 2016 presidential primary.
Mr. Kasich is one of the most vocal Trump critics in the G.O.P. In fact, going further than Mr. Romney, he’s expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention and endorse Joseph R. Biden Jr. this month.Mr. Kasich is one of the most vocal Trump critics in the G.O.P. In fact, going further than Mr. Romney, he’s expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention and endorse Joseph R. Biden Jr. this month.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Representative Rashida Tlaib is facing a tough Democratic primary in Michigan, a bitter House battle in St. Louis is unfolding between a Justice Democrats-backed upstart and a longtime Democratic incumbent, and Joe Arpaio, the 88-year-old immigration hard-liner and former sheriff of Maricopa County, is asking Arizona voters to return him to that office.Elsewhere on Tuesday, Representative Rashida Tlaib is facing a tough Democratic primary in Michigan, a bitter House battle in St. Louis is unfolding between a Justice Democrats-backed upstart and a longtime Democratic incumbent, and Joe Arpaio, the 88-year-old immigration hard-liner and former sheriff of Maricopa County, is asking Arizona voters to return him to that office.
Mr. Trump played down the accomplishments of Representative John Lewis, the recently deceased civil rights icon, and criticized him for not attending the Trump inauguration in January 2017.Mr. Trump played down the accomplishments of Representative John Lewis, the recently deceased civil rights icon, and criticized him for not attending the Trump inauguration in January 2017.
The comments from Mr. Trump, in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that aired Monday night, were unsurprising, given his penchant for grievance. But they were nonetheless stunning for the degree to which Mr. Trump refused to view Mr. Lewis’s life and legacy in terms beyond how it related to Mr. Trump himself.The comments from Mr. Trump, in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that aired Monday night, were unsurprising, given his penchant for grievance. But they were nonetheless stunning for the degree to which Mr. Trump refused to view Mr. Lewis’s life and legacy in terms beyond how it related to Mr. Trump himself.
“I never met John Lewis, actually,” Mr. Trump said. “He didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union speeches, and that’s OK. That’s his right.”“I never met John Lewis, actually,” Mr. Trump said. “He didn’t come to my inauguration. He didn’t come to my State of the Union speeches, and that’s OK. That’s his right.”
Asked to reflect on Mr. Lewis’s contributions to the civil rights movement, Mr. Trump instead talked up his own record.Asked to reflect on Mr. Lewis’s contributions to the civil rights movement, Mr. Trump instead talked up his own record.
“Again, nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have,” he said. “He should have come. I think he made a big mistake.”“Again, nobody has done more for Black Americans than I have,” he said. “He should have come. I think he made a big mistake.”
Mr. Trump declined to say whether he found Mr. Lewis’s life story “impressive.” He seemed indifferent to renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., after the congressman. The bridge, named after a former Confederate general, Grand Dragon in the K.K.K. and senator, was the site of a turning point in the civil rights movement that became known as Bloody Sunday.Mr. Trump declined to say whether he found Mr. Lewis’s life story “impressive.” He seemed indifferent to renaming the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., after the congressman. The bridge, named after a former Confederate general, Grand Dragon in the K.K.K. and senator, was the site of a turning point in the civil rights movement that became known as Bloody Sunday.
On that day, March 7, 1965, Mr. Lewis suffered a cracked skull during a march across the bridge when a state trooper clubbed him and beat him to the ground. The moment was a defining one in his life and in the civil rights movement. Mr. Trump, in the Axios interview, suggested there “were many others also” whose work should be praised.On that day, March 7, 1965, Mr. Lewis suffered a cracked skull during a march across the bridge when a state trooper clubbed him and beat him to the ground. The moment was a defining one in his life and in the civil rights movement. Mr. Trump, in the Axios interview, suggested there “were many others also” whose work should be praised.
Election integrity experts told Congress on Tuesday that without an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funds to help administer November’s general election, many voters — particularly Black and other minority voters — could be disenfranchised.Election integrity experts told Congress on Tuesday that without an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funds to help administer November’s general election, many voters — particularly Black and other minority voters — could be disenfranchised.
“With less than three months until the November election, Congress must act now so states have enough time to make the necessary changes and plans, recruit and train workers, buy equipment, and do outreach to the public about new voting processes,” Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, said in written testimony to a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security.“With less than three months until the November election, Congress must act now so states have enough time to make the necessary changes and plans, recruit and train workers, buy equipment, and do outreach to the public about new voting processes,” Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, said in written testimony to a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Primary elections around the country this year — plagued with long lines, polling place closures and high rates of ballot rejection — have exposed “significant barriers to voting for certain individuals, especially Black and brown voters,” Ms. Albert said in her written testimony.Primary elections around the country this year — plagued with long lines, polling place closures and high rates of ballot rejection — have exposed “significant barriers to voting for certain individuals, especially Black and brown voters,” Ms. Albert said in her written testimony.
“Long-standing disparities, including long lines, the ballot rejection rates, particularly of Black and brown communities, are now exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said Tuesday. “The chasm of those with access is growing larger. Voters of color are on the losing end.” “Longstanding disparities, including long lines, the ballot rejection rates, particularly of Black and brown communities, are now exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said Tuesday. “The chasm of those with access is growing larger. Voters of color are on the losing end.”
Several states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania and Indiana, saw voting machine glitches and other failures that contributed to long waits.Several states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania and Indiana, saw voting machine glitches and other failures that contributed to long waits.
“Without proper funding, the problems seen in previous elections are going to be just the tip of the iceberg this November,” she testified.“Without proper funding, the problems seen in previous elections are going to be just the tip of the iceberg this November,” she testified.
David Levine, an elections integrity fellow with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told the panel that many states and counties lacked the resources needed to offer alternatives for safe and secure elections amid the pandemic, like “robust voting by mail, early voting, and Election Day options.”David Levine, an elections integrity fellow with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told the panel that many states and counties lacked the resources needed to offer alternatives for safe and secure elections amid the pandemic, like “robust voting by mail, early voting, and Election Day options.”
The stimulus law enacted in March provided $400 million to states for administering elections, but one study said the need was 10 times that. In May, the Democratic-controlled House passed another pandemic relief bill that would provide $3.6 billion in additional election funding, but that plan has run into a brick wall in the Senate, where there is little appetite among Republicans for such spending.The stimulus law enacted in March provided $400 million to states for administering elections, but one study said the need was 10 times that. In May, the Democratic-controlled House passed another pandemic relief bill that would provide $3.6 billion in additional election funding, but that plan has run into a brick wall in the Senate, where there is little appetite among Republicans for such spending.
The dispute is one of the issues fueling a stalemate between the White House and congressional Democrats on a sweeping economic recovery package. Mr. Trump has cast doubt on the idea of expanding mail-in voting to make it safer for Americans to cast ballots during the pandemic, saying that it would lead to widespread fraud. But there is no evidence that the practice leads to higher incidence of voter fraud.The dispute is one of the issues fueling a stalemate between the White House and congressional Democrats on a sweeping economic recovery package. Mr. Trump has cast doubt on the idea of expanding mail-in voting to make it safer for Americans to cast ballots during the pandemic, saying that it would lead to widespread fraud. But there is no evidence that the practice leads to higher incidence of voter fraud.
Abruptly reversing its stated schedule, the Census Bureau confirmed late Monday that it would end its count of the nation’s 330 million residents by Sept. 30, a month earlier than it had stated only this spring. A routine bill-signing turned into an embarrassing blooper for Mr. Trump on Tuesday.
The four-week acceleration sounds small, but census experts have said it would wreak havoc with efforts to reach the very hardest-to-count households — immigrants, minorities, young people and others — that have long been flagged as most likely to be missed in this year’s tally. At a signing of the Great American Outdoors Act, the president appeared not to recognize the word “Yosemite” in his prepared text, pronouncing it instead “Yo Semites.”
Critics of the sped-up schedule pounced on the announcement, casting it as an unvarnished attempt by the administration to twist the nation’s population count to exclude groups that, by and large, tended to support Democrats. The latest verbal miscue by Mr. Trump came as he and his campaign have repeatedly seized on verbal gaffes by his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., and sought to portray Mr. Biden as senile.
“This is a whole systemic attack on the census for political gain,” Julie Menin, the census director for New York City, said in an interview. “There’s an intentional attempt here to basically steal the census — to politicize this census to gain Republican seats across the country.” And Yosemite National Park in California, which Mr. Trump was trying to reference, is a federal treasure that presidents have often highlighted.
The bureau has offered no explanation for the change posted on its website. But outside experts said the explanation was clearly rooted in politics — in particular, in a demand by Mr. Trump last month to exclude undocumented immigrants from the population totals that are used every 10 years to reallocate House seats among the states. Before he signed the act into law, Mr. Trump talked about young Americans looking at “the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon,” before moving on in his script.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform said on Tuesday that it wanted to question eight census officials about the change. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the committee’s chairwoman, called the development “alarming” in a letter to the census director and said it was a further attempt to “rush and politicize” the census. “When they gaze upon Yo Semites — Yo Seminites — towering sequoias, their love of country grows stronger,” Mr. Trump said.
Slammed by the pandemic, the Census Bureau had said earlier that it wanted to delay its final delivery of population totals to April 2021, rather than the statutory deadline of December 31. The speedup announced late Monday reverses that request and assures that the totals will be delivered to the White House by year’s end — before any new president or Congress might take office. The original sponsor of the bill was Representative John Lewis, the late civil rights icon from Georgia, of whom Mr. Trump was dismissive in an interview with “Axios on HBO.”
That gives the White House its best opportunity to act on Mr. Trump’s effort to remove undocumented immigrants from the reapportionment totals. Representative Rashida Tlaib marked her first day in Congress in January 2019 with an expletive-fueled call to impeach Mr. Trump. It made her an instant Democratic star as she became part of the four-member Squad, the group of progressive Democratic women who were elected to the House in 2018 and have come to embody the vanguard of the party’s liberal grass-roots energy.
The announcement on Monday by the Census Bureau speeds up the last counts of some 60 million households that have failed to respond to requests to turn in census forms. The pandemic-delayed schedule called for that count to be completed by October 31. The plan announced on Monday, which had been reported last week, will move that deadline up by one month, to September 30.
Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since the 1930s. But for months, Republicans in Washington and in the state have feared that if Mr. Kobach wins the party’s Senate primary, a traditionally safe seat will be endangered — and so will the Senate majority.
Mr. Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, is an incendiary figure in state politics, known for his hard-line views on immigration and voting rights, and his 2018 loss in the governor’s race to Laura Kelly, a Democrat.
Top Senate Republicans, long wary of Mr. Kobach and his 2018 performance, have pleaded with Mr. Trump to endorse Representative Roger Marshall, whom they see as the strongest general election candidate in a crowded field. But the president has remained on the sidelines, stoking tensions between Senate Republicans and the White House.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to face Barbara Bollier, a Democratic state senator who was until recently a Republican herself.
A statewide race remains a challenge in Kansas for any Democrat, regardless of the Republican nominee. But as Mr. Trump’s faltering approval ratings have endangered Republican candidates in down-ballot races across the country, there is a growing sense that the outcome even in deep-red Kansas is no sure bet.
The results on Tuesday may help determine just how competitive the state is come November.
Ms. Tlaib marked her first day in Congress in January 2019 with an expletive-fueled call to impeach Mr. Trump. It made her an instant Democratic star as she became part of the four-member Squad, the group of progressive Democratic women who were elected to the House in 2018 and have come to embody the vanguard of the party’s liberal grass-roots energy.
While popular with the Democratic base, Ms. Tlaib’s broadside didn’t win her many friends in the party’s House leadership, which held off impeachment proceedings for months before allowing them to begin last fall.While popular with the Democratic base, Ms. Tlaib’s broadside didn’t win her many friends in the party’s House leadership, which held off impeachment proceedings for months before allowing them to begin last fall.
It also fueled whispers back home in Detroit that Ms. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, was more eager to advance a national profile and fund-raising network than she was in representing her predominantly Black district.It also fueled whispers back home in Detroit that Ms. Tlaib, a Palestinian-American who was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, was more eager to advance a national profile and fund-raising network than she was in representing her predominantly Black district.
Now the most endangered member of the group, Ms. Tlaib faces a rematch with Brenda Jones, the Detroit City Council president she defeated in the 2018 primary. (In a separate contest held the same day, Ms. Jones eked out a two-point victory over Ms. Tlaib in a special primary election to serve out the remainder of the long-serving Representative John Conyers’s term after his abrupt resignation.)Now the most endangered member of the group, Ms. Tlaib faces a rematch with Brenda Jones, the Detroit City Council president she defeated in the 2018 primary. (In a separate contest held the same day, Ms. Jones eked out a two-point victory over Ms. Tlaib in a special primary election to serve out the remainder of the long-serving Representative John Conyers’s term after his abrupt resignation.)
Ms. Jones has now regrouped to challenge Ms. Tlaib, arguing that she has become too preoccupied with national issues.Ms. Jones has now regrouped to challenge Ms. Tlaib, arguing that she has become too preoccupied with national issues.
Ms. Tlaib has raised far more money, $3 million, than Ms. Jones, who posted just $165,000 in her latest Federal Election Commission report.Ms. Tlaib has raised far more money, $3 million, than Ms. Jones, who posted just $165,000 in her latest Federal Election Commission report.
And while she has emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most muscular disrupters, Ms. Tlaib retained the endorsement last week of its most significant establishment figure: Speaker Nancy Pelosi.And while she has emerged as one of the Democratic Party’s most muscular disrupters, Ms. Tlaib retained the endorsement last week of its most significant establishment figure: Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
More than 1.4 million Michigan voters already cast absentee ballots and fewer people were expected to vote in person at polling places. Election officials were expecting a late night and perhaps delayed results because of the surge in those ballots, and the fact that local clerks could not begin processing or tabulating them until the polls opened this morning.
Although Michigan sent 35 extra elections workers to Detroit on Tuesday, a few polling places opened late after election workers did not show up for shifts.
“This is in direct relation to the pandemic and in direct relation to the high number of absentee ballots,” said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “And we’ve got fewer election workers able to serve because traditionally so many election workers are older and more susceptible to the virus.”
Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since the 1930s. But for months, Republicans in Washington and in the state have feared that if Mr. Kobach wins the party’s Senate primary, a traditionally safe seat will be endangered — and so will the Senate majority.
Mr. Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state, is an incendiary figure in state politics, known for his hard-line views on immigration and voting rights, and his 2018 loss in the governor’s race to Laura Kelly, a Democrat.
Top Senate Republicans, long wary of Mr. Kobach and his 2018 performance, have pleaded with Mr. Trump to endorse Representative Roger Marshall, whom they see as the strongest general election candidate in a crowded field. But the president has remained on the sidelines, stoking tensions between Senate Republicans and the White House.
The winner of Tuesday’s primary is expected to face Barbara Bollier, a Democratic state senator who was until recently a Republican herself.
A statewide race remains a challenge in Kansas for any Democrat, regardless of the Republican nominee. But as Mr. Trump’s faltering approval ratings have endangered Republican candidates in down-ballot races across the country, there is a growing sense that the outcome even in deep-red Kansas is no sure bet.
The results on Tuesday may help determine just how competitive the state is come November.
An increasingly bitter Democratic primary in St. Louis between the activist Cori Bush and Representative William Lacy Clay, a 20-year incumbent with the party establishment’s full backing, will be one of the most significant tests this summer of the power of the resurgent progressive wing of the party.An increasingly bitter Democratic primary in St. Louis between the activist Cori Bush and Representative William Lacy Clay, a 20-year incumbent with the party establishment’s full backing, will be one of the most significant tests this summer of the power of the resurgent progressive wing of the party.
Mr. Clay and his father, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, have held the seat in Congress for more than 50 years, and the congressman had routinely sailed to re-election until Ms. Bush challenged him in 2018.Mr. Clay and his father, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus, have held the seat in Congress for more than 50 years, and the congressman had routinely sailed to re-election until Ms. Bush challenged him in 2018.
He prevailed then by about 20 points, and this time around, Mr. Clay wants to make a show of blunting the progressive movement against primary incumbents like himself.He prevailed then by about 20 points, and this time around, Mr. Clay wants to make a show of blunting the progressive movement against primary incumbents like himself.
If Mr. Clay loses, he would be the first Black congressman to fall to a challenger backed by the Justice Democrats, a progressive national group that helped fuel the rise of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. So far, the long-serving House members, like Eliot L. Engel and Joseph Crowley in New York, who Justice Democrats-backed candidates have succeeded in upsetting have all been white, in many cases representing racially diverse districts.If Mr. Clay loses, he would be the first Black congressman to fall to a challenger backed by the Justice Democrats, a progressive national group that helped fuel the rise of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. So far, the long-serving House members, like Eliot L. Engel and Joseph Crowley in New York, who Justice Democrats-backed candidates have succeeded in upsetting have all been white, in many cases representing racially diverse districts.
Ms. Bush, an activist who jumped into the political arena after the police shooting of Michael Brown six years ago, responded in a recent interview with The Times to Mr. Clay calling her a “prop” for the Justice Democrats.Ms. Bush, an activist who jumped into the political arena after the police shooting of Michael Brown six years ago, responded in a recent interview with The Times to Mr. Clay calling her a “prop” for the Justice Democrats.
“I had no title, no name, came out of the Ferguson uprising and people know who I am across the world,” Ms. Bush said. “Not because I took money from some group — none of that. It is because I stayed true to a message of change for real people.”“I had no title, no name, came out of the Ferguson uprising and people know who I am across the world,” Ms. Bush said. “Not because I took money from some group — none of that. It is because I stayed true to a message of change for real people.”
Four years and two electoral defeats since he last held office, Joe Arpaio is asking Republicans in Maricopa County, Ariz., to return him to his former role as sheriff of the state’s largest jurisdiction.Four years and two electoral defeats since he last held office, Joe Arpaio is asking Republicans in Maricopa County, Ariz., to return him to his former role as sheriff of the state’s largest jurisdiction.
But Mr. Arpaio, 88, is no longer the towering local figure who had forced inmates to wear pink underwear, castigated illegal immigration and who, well after former President Barack Obama left office, continued insisting the 44th president wasn’t born in Hawaii.But Mr. Arpaio, 88, is no longer the towering local figure who had forced inmates to wear pink underwear, castigated illegal immigration and who, well after former President Barack Obama left office, continued insisting the 44th president wasn’t born in Hawaii.
Mr. Arpaio lost a 2016 re-election bid to Paul Penzone, a Democrat, then finished a distant third in the state’s 2018 Senate primary, winning just one of the state’s 15 counties. His comeback bid, like his Senate race, is fueled more by his name recognition and repeated attempts to tie himself to Mr. Trump than it is by any sense of how he would run the sheriff’s office.Mr. Arpaio lost a 2016 re-election bid to Paul Penzone, a Democrat, then finished a distant third in the state’s 2018 Senate primary, winning just one of the state’s 15 counties. His comeback bid, like his Senate race, is fueled more by his name recognition and repeated attempts to tie himself to Mr. Trump than it is by any sense of how he would run the sheriff’s office.
Now, Mr. Arpaio is involved in a three-way race that includes Jerry Sheridan, his former chief deputy. But it is Mr. Penzone, the Democrat, who has the support of the state’s Republican establishment figures, who find Mr. Arpaio’s antics generally embarrassing and hurtful to Arizona’s business climate.Now, Mr. Arpaio is involved in a three-way race that includes Jerry Sheridan, his former chief deputy. But it is Mr. Penzone, the Democrat, who has the support of the state’s Republican establishment figures, who find Mr. Arpaio’s antics generally embarrassing and hurtful to Arizona’s business climate.
What Republican voters in Phoenix and its suburbs will decide Tuesday is whether the best way to help Mr. Trump carry a key battleground state is by putting one of his most enthusiastic supporters on the ballot — or if the party’s fortunes can be improved without Mr. Arpaio, a candidate guaranteed to mobilize the state’s ascendant Latino population.What Republican voters in Phoenix and its suburbs will decide Tuesday is whether the best way to help Mr. Trump carry a key battleground state is by putting one of his most enthusiastic supporters on the ballot — or if the party’s fortunes can be improved without Mr. Arpaio, a candidate guaranteed to mobilize the state’s ascendant Latino population.
A federal judge in Manhattan ruled late Monday that more than a thousand disputed ballots in a closely watched congressional primary should be counted, upending a six-week-old race that has drawn the attention of Mr. Trump and embarrassed the New York City Board of Elections. Abruptly reversing its stated schedule, the Census Bureau confirmed late Monday that it would end its count of the nation’s 330 million residents by Sept. 30, a month earlier than it had stated only this spring.
The ruling, by Judge Analisa Torres of Federal District Court in Manhattan, may not affect the outcome in the June 23 primary: Representative Carolyn B. Maloney is leading her Democratic challenger, Suraj Patel, by some 3,700 votes, and the judge’s decision was narrowly drawn to force the counting of only a portion of the 12,500 disputed absentee ballots. The four-week acceleration sounds small, but census experts have said it would wreak havoc with efforts to reach the very hardest-to-count households — immigrants, minorities, young people and others — that have long been flagged as most likely to be missed in this year’s tally.
Still, the judge’s decision is just the latest twist in a race that has been used by the president to cast doubts on the efficacy of vote-by-mail systems nationwide, even as he trails in polls leading up to his bid for re-election in November. Critics of the sped-up schedule pounced on the announcement, casting it as an unvarnished attempt by the administration to twist the nation’s population count to exclude groups that, by and large, tended to support Democrats.
On Monday, Mr. Trump said that Ms. Maloney’s race was “a mess” and “a total disaster,” and suggested that it should be “rerun.” “This is a whole systemic attack on the census for political gain,” Julie Menin, the census director for New York City, said in an interview. “There’s an intentional attempt here to basically steal the census — to politicize this census to gain Republican seats across the country.”
Under Judge Torres’s decision, ballots received the day after Election Day — June 24 — will be counted “without regard to whether such ballots are postmarked by June 23.” Mr. Patel estimates that this is about 1,200 ballots, not enough to overtake Ms. Maloney. The bureau has offered no explanation for the change posted on its website. But outside experts said the explanation was clearly rooted in politics — in particular, in a demand by Mr. Trump last month to exclude undocumented immigrants from the population totals that are used every 10 years to reallocate House seats among the states.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform said on Tuesday that it wanted to question eight census officials about the change. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the committee’s chairwoman, called the development “alarming” in a letter to the census director and said it was a further attempt to “rush and politicize” the census.
Slammed by the pandemic, the Census Bureau had said earlier that it wanted to delay its final delivery of population totals to April 2021, rather than the statutory deadline of December 31. The speedup announced late Monday reverses that request and assures that the totals will be delivered to the White House by year’s end — before any new president or Congress might take office.
That gives the White House its best opportunity to act on Mr. Trump’s effort to remove undocumented immigrants from the reapportionment totals.
The announcement on Monday by the Census Bureau speeds up the last counts of some 60 million households that have failed to respond to requests to turn in census forms. The pandemic-delayed schedule called for that count to be completed by October 31. The plan announced on Monday, which had been reported last week, will move that deadline up by one month, to September 30.
Representative Karen Bass spent years as a community organizer before rising through California state politics and now, as a 66-year-old congresswoman and head of the Congressional Black Caucus, emerging as a top contender to be Mr. Biden’s running mate.Representative Karen Bass spent years as a community organizer before rising through California state politics and now, as a 66-year-old congresswoman and head of the Congressional Black Caucus, emerging as a top contender to be Mr. Biden’s running mate.
But in some ways she is still an outsider, making her way in an overwhelmingly male political culture epitomized today by the enduring power circles in Washington and years ago by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the shoot-’em-up action movie star and former California governor with whom she formed an unlikely alliance to navigate the state’s 2008 financial crisis.But in some ways she is still an outsider, making her way in an overwhelmingly male political culture epitomized today by the enduring power circles in Washington and years ago by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the shoot-’em-up action movie star and former California governor with whom she formed an unlikely alliance to navigate the state’s 2008 financial crisis.
She is barely known to many Americans, even to many leading Democrats, who are now trying to figure out what to make of her.She is barely known to many Americans, even to many leading Democrats, who are now trying to figure out what to make of her.
And of all the contenders under consideration, none offer quite the contrast with Mr. Biden — in the story of her life and the story of her politics — as the Democratic congresswoman from California.And of all the contenders under consideration, none offer quite the contrast with Mr. Biden — in the story of her life and the story of her politics — as the Democratic congresswoman from California.
Ms. Bass grew up in a Black middle-class neighborhood in central Los Angeles; Mr. Biden spent his first years in predominantly white, middle-class Scranton, Pa. Mr. Biden was elected to his first public office in 1970, when he was 27. Ms. Bass was 51 when she was first elected to the Assembly.Ms. Bass grew up in a Black middle-class neighborhood in central Los Angeles; Mr. Biden spent his first years in predominantly white, middle-class Scranton, Pa. Mr. Biden was elected to his first public office in 1970, when he was 27. Ms. Bass was 51 when she was first elected to the Assembly.
Ms. Bass was liberal in a state known as one of the most liberal in the nation. Mr. Biden is the face of the moderate wing of the Democratic Party.Ms. Bass was liberal in a state known as one of the most liberal in the nation. Mr. Biden is the face of the moderate wing of the Democratic Party.
At every step in her political career, Ms. Bass had to be coaxed to run for a higher office. Mr. Biden has been running for president for nearly half a century.At every step in her political career, Ms. Bass had to be coaxed to run for a higher office. Mr. Biden has been running for president for nearly half a century.
After the mass shooting in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 people dead in Parkland, Fla., the massacre’s young survivors converted their outrage into political organizing. They and other student leaders from across the country they brought hundreds of thousands of people to Washington for the March for Our Lives, pressed the case for tougher gun laws in the Florida legislature and at the U.S. Senate, registered 50,000 new voters nationally, and helped drive a surge in turnout by young people in that year’s midterm elections. Despite their efforts, Congress ultimately did not act.After the mass shooting in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 people dead in Parkland, Fla., the massacre’s young survivors converted their outrage into political organizing. They and other student leaders from across the country they brought hundreds of thousands of people to Washington for the March for Our Lives, pressed the case for tougher gun laws in the Florida legislature and at the U.S. Senate, registered 50,000 new voters nationally, and helped drive a surge in turnout by young people in that year’s midterm elections. Despite their efforts, Congress ultimately did not act.
But now, with the country swept up in protests over racial justice driven largely by young people, the youthful voices that propelled a movement just two years ago find themselves less squarely focused on issues around gun violence. Polls show that racial justice, the coronavirus and the economic downturn far outpace guns as top issues of concern for young people. When asked about gun control measures, it is in fact the oldest Americans who now most often express support, according to some polls.But now, with the country swept up in protests over racial justice driven largely by young people, the youthful voices that propelled a movement just two years ago find themselves less squarely focused on issues around gun violence. Polls show that racial justice, the coronavirus and the economic downturn far outpace guns as top issues of concern for young people. When asked about gun control measures, it is in fact the oldest Americans who now most often express support, according to some polls.
The activists who organized after the Parkland shooting say they have built up their organizing capacity since then, and they remain committed to making at least as significant a difference in 2020 as they did in 2018. But this year, they say, a big part of that will mean building solidarity with organizers confronting racial injustice.The activists who organized after the Parkland shooting say they have built up their organizing capacity since then, and they remain committed to making at least as significant a difference in 2020 as they did in 2018. But this year, they say, a big part of that will mean building solidarity with organizers confronting racial injustice.
“For us, we recognize how gun violence is such an intersectional issue,” said Kelly Choi, 20, a member of the executive board at March for Our Lives, the national nonprofit that grew out of the Parkland students’ organizing. “Gun violence is the symptom of other things, like poverty, racism, housing insecurity, domestic violence.”“For us, we recognize how gun violence is such an intersectional issue,” said Kelly Choi, 20, a member of the executive board at March for Our Lives, the national nonprofit that grew out of the Parkland students’ organizing. “Gun violence is the symptom of other things, like poverty, racism, housing insecurity, domestic violence.”
Reporting was contributed by Luke Broadwater, Reid J. Epstein, Nicholas Fandos, Katie Glueck, Maggie Haberman, Annie Karni, Jonathan Martin, Jesse McKinley, Giovanni Russonello, Neil Vigdor and Michael Wines. Reporting was contributed by Luke Broadwater, Reid J. Epstein, Nicholas Fandos, Katie Glueck, Kathleen Gray, Maggie Haberman, Annie Karni, Jonathan Martin, Jesse McKinley, Giovanni Russonello, Neil Vigdor and Michael Wines.