DNC Battlegrond Brief

October 16, 2020

This is the DNC’s Battleground Brief — a weekly wrap-up of Trump’s broken promises and everything you need to know across the path to 270. 

PRESIDENT OBAMA HELPS VOTERS MAKE A PLAN. This week, the Democratic National Committee released a new series of state-specific voter education videos featuring former President Barack Obama, who encourages Americans to visit IWillVote.com and make a plan to vote.

…AND REMINDS THEM TO VOTE NOW! President Obama and the DNC also teamed up to release a new digital ad, “The 2020 Election Is Already Here,” reaching voters across 12 key battleground states.

YOU CAN’T MISS IT — DEMS LAUNCH OUTDOOR AD BLITZ. With 18 days left, Democrats are leaving nothing to chance. As McClatchy reported this week, the DNC is rolling out a range of innovative advertising tactics — from aerial banners and bus wrappings to chalk art and massive billboards — to reach voters where they are, highlight IWillVote.com and ensure Americans make their plan to vote.

  • McClatchy: Coming Soon To Gas Station TV Screens In Battleground States: Ads For Joe Biden. “Democrats are finding out that it’s good to have a lot of money. Flush with a recent surge of cash, the Democratic National Committee is launching a wave of unconventional ads this week encouraging people to vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, a new effort party officials hope will reach pockets of the electorate unlikely to see digital or TV ads.”

  • “The ads — which will run in the battleground states of Nevada, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin — will appear in a range of unusual locations, including aerial banners, gas station TVs, and messages chalked into city sidewalks.”

  • “Party officials said they hope the ads will be particularly effective for people spending more time outdoors during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For those commuting to work, Democrats are aiming to reach them with ads on the side of a bus or a mobile billboard. Other messages will be placed as print ads inside of barbershops and salons.”

“MY BILLS KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT.” Democrats, community leaders, and voters from across the battleground states kept up the pressure on Donald Trump this week, calling out his continued attacks on working families’ health care, especially the threat his Supreme Court nomination poses to coverage protections for millions of Americans with preexisting conditions like cancer, asthma, and COVID-19. See for yourself:

In New Hampshire:

Seacoast Online: “Stefany Shaheen, a Portsmouth police commissioner and daughter of Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, spoke of her family’s personal battle with health insurance. Her daughter, now college-age, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 8 and the family had to ‘pay thousands out of pocket every month’… If the ACA is repealed, those with asthma, diabetes and COVID-19, for example, could be denied coverage by insurance companies, she said.”

  • Manchester Ink Link: Democrats try to barter water for insulin with Republicans. “During the first presidential debate, President Donald Trump said his administration has been purchasing insulin so cheaply than it was like water. On Tuesday … representatives of the New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) delivered a case of water to the Trump Victory offices in Portsmouth, expecting insulin in exchange.”

In Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania Capital Star: ‘My bills keep me up at night’: Scranton woman says, as Dems keep healthcare front and center during Barrett hearings. “Wigley said she’d thought about getting supplemental coverage to help her with her bills. But she’s worried that a conservative U.S. Supreme Court will toss the Affordable Care Act, and with it, its protections for people like her, who live with preexisting conditions. Such a move might drive up her premiums, or end up depriving her of coverage entirely, she said. “My health and ability to put food on the table is at stake in this election,” she said.”

In Texas:

Dallas Morning News: “Democrats on Monday sought to turn the opening day of a contentious, four-day confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, into a fight over the sweeping health care law known as the Affordable Care Act … ‘Donald Trump, John Cornyn, and Ted Cruz want to rip away the health care of millions of Texans during the middle of a pandemic, and putting Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court is their way to do it,’ Texas Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said.”

In Virginia: 

  • WTKR: Concerns Over Virginians Covered Under ACA. “Scott shared his concern about Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination specifically for the future of the Affordable Care Act … ‘After years of trying to repeal the law in the legislature, they’ve resorted to the courts. The Trump Administration is supporting a case in the Supreme Court today that would overturn the entirety of the ACA, including protections for people with preexisting conditions. That case will be heard the week after the election.’”

  • WVEC : Scott, Health Care Workers Discuss ACA. “Today, Congressman Bobby Scott and health care workers from Hampton came together to discuss the possibility that a lot of Virginians could lose coverage.”

HITTING THE TRAIL! This week, DNC Chair Tom Perez made swings through Arizona, Florida, and Nevada, calling out Donald Trump’s broken promises and encouraging voters to make their voices heard.

In Arizona:

In Florida:

WESH: Fight for Florida’s Latino vote continues. “Tom Perez, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, stopped by La Lechonera El Barrio in Orlando … ‘Latino voters, Puerto Ricans here in the Orlando-area, they know that Donald Trump has had a knife in their backs, and that Joe Biden will have their backs,’ Perez said.”

In Nevada:

  • KRNV: “‘People here in Nevada can handle the truth. But [Trump] didn’t give them the truth. And here we are suffering needlessly because of his failures. Two hundred thousand deaths across the country. Look at the unemployment rate here. We can’t fix the economy until we fix the coronavirus, and this president doesn’t understand this.”

  • Las Vegas Review-Journal: DNC chairman urges Nevada Democrats to vote early. “Tom Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, visited Las Vegas Tuesday to encourage voters across the valley to drop off their mail ballots and vote early. ‘Our focus is on getting the vote out, you got incredible energy out there in Nevada,’ Perez said Tuesday. ‘People often refer to Election Day as November 3rd, but Election Day is every day between now and November 3rd for people here in Nevada.’”\

¡VOY A VOTAR! This week, the DNC launched a new print and radio ad campaign reaching Latino voters across nine states, directing readers and listeners to VoyAVotar.com — the DNC’s comprehensive, Spanish-language voter participation hub. See for yourself:

DROP IT IN THE BOX! As we enter the final weeks of the campaign, key influencers are stepping up to help Democrats turn out as many voters as possible. Check out how we’re engaging voters far and wide to make sure they have a plan to cast their ballot:

  • Deadline: Snoop Dogg And Democratic National Committee Debut Ad To Instruct On Ballot Drop Boxes. “ Snoop Dogg has authorized his song Drop It Like It’s Hot for a new get-out-the-vote spot for the Democratic National Committee debuting on Monday. The spot will run on digital platforms and aimed at voters with heavy vote-by-mail participation in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  It directs voters to the Democrats’ IWillVote.com, and instructs voters how they can drop their ballot at a drop box location.”

  • (AZ) Blog for Arizona: Captain Scott Kelly wants You to Turn Out and Vote. “Captain and Astronaut Scott Kelly, the twin brother of the Arizona Senate Candidate, has released an ad through the Democratic National Committee called ‘Captain Scott Kelly wants you to vote early, Arizona!’ Telling viewers that he sent in his ballot in the 2010 elections when he was working on the Space Station in Earth’s orbit, Kelly strongly encouraged voters to make a plan, turn out, and vote, saying: ‘There’s no excuse for you this election. Arizonans have many easy and convenient options to vote early this year by mail or in person. So make sure to go to iwillvote.com/AZ to make your plan today.’”

  • (PA) Philadelphia Tribune: Souls to the Polls. “On Monday, actress and comedian Wanda Sykes and the Democratic National Committee launched a new ad in Pennsylvania encouraging voters to make a plan to vote in the manner they feel most comfortable with. A 60-second digital ad, narrated by Sykes as she fills out a mail-in ballot of her own, walks voters through the step-by-step process of making a plan to vote and filling out a mail-in ballot. It also shows Sykes sealing her ballot within the provided secrecy envelope, which is required for the vote to count.”

“BONKERS” TURNOUT: Millions of voters have already cast their ballots, and Democrats across the battlegrounds are continuing to build momentum in the final sprint to Election Day. See for yourself:

THE STATE OF PLAY, 18 DAYS OUT. As the clock keeps ticking toward Election Day, critical groups of voters are continuing to reject Trump’s nearly four years of broken promises. Here are some of the battleground trends defining the final stretch of the campaign:

  • CNN: How 2020 may reconfigure politics in the Southwest. “The GOP erosion in the Southwest suburbs is especially ominous for the party because they are among the country’s fastest-growing communities.”

  • (AZ) POLITICO: ‘Something is happening with the seniors’. “In Arizona as elsewhere, Trump’s handling of the pandemic — even prior to his diagnosis — is proving costly, leaving him struggling to match his 2016 performance among those over the age of 65.”

  • (NC) LA Times: Can Democrats turn North Carolina blue? Latinos may hold the answer. “As of this month, there are about 223,300 Latinos registered to vote in North Carolina — a more than 30% increase since 2016. ‘Donald Trump won North Carolina by 3.6% in 2016,’ Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said in a virtual ‘Todos con Biden Get Out the Vote’ rally. ‘Latinos alone can be the difference maker.’”

  • (PA) CNN: The Pennsylvania women Trump has lost. “These women voted for Donald Trump in 2016. They are part of the 50% of white women in Pennsylvania who exit polls showed helped Trump flip the state four years ago. They also now represent the uphill battle the President faces in the battleground state this year because they are the Trump supporters the President has lost. They’re disillusioned by behavior they describe as bullying, by the lack of empathy he has shown and most especially by his failures to prepare and level with the nation about coronavirus.”

HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. Wherever Trump, Pence, and their cronies go, Democrats are calling out their broken promises. See for yourself:

In Arizona:

Arizona Republic: “Yasser Sanchez, a member of the church and the organization ‘Arizona Republicans for Biden,’ said Trump’s ‘broken promises’ are causing seniors, religious voters and Republicans to relinquish their support for the president.”

In Florida:

  • NBC Nightly News: “On set, a socially distanced audience. And just off it, a Trump boat parade sharing the water with a floating billboard reading, ‘Trump Lied, 215,000 Died.’ The pandemic the backdrop to a campaign in its final stretch.”

  • Florida Politics: DNC to launch ‘Trump lied, 215,000+ died’ billboard ahead of President’s Miami town hall. “As President Donald Trump gets ready for a town hall in Miami Monday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will launch a mobile billboard targeting the President over his handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. That billboard will read ‘Trump lied, 215,000+ died.’ The message will also be displayed in Spanish and Haitian Creole. The DNC War Room will place the ‘floating billboard’ on local waterways that will allow it to pass by Pérez Art Museum, the venue for Thursday’s NBC town hall with Trump.”

  • WFTV: DNC launches new campaign targeting Trump, health care same day as president’s rally in Sanford. “The Democratic National Convention announced it is launching a new digital ad campaign highlighting President Donald Trump’s ‘attacks on Floridians’ health care and his efforts to gut coverage protections for people with pre-existing conditions, even in the middle of a pandemic.’ The campaign comes the same day as Trump’s campaign stop in Sanford. The ads will reach voters in the area through target Google display advertising and direct voters to the DNC’s ads.”

  • WINK: “‘My sister died because this president lied. He lied to her, he lied to us, he lied to this country,’ said Katrina Wilson, councilwoman for Miami Gardens. The Biden-Harris campaign is putting the coronavirus front and center, leading local officials from across the state to chime in about their experiences with COVID-19. ‘We need a president who’s not afraid to stand up and say ‘hey, it’s OK, and wear a mask. It’s the smart thing to do,’ said Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa Mckinlay.”

In Georgia:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ‘Failed us.’ Democrats prepare sharp greeting for Trump in Macon. “Georgia Democrats are preparing a thorny welcome for President Donald Trump’s visit to Macon on Friday. Hours before the Republican headlines a 7 p.m. rally at a Macon airport, Democrats will send a plane soaring above Macon with a message reading: ‘Trump Lied, 215,000 Died.’ Two billboards along Interstate 75 that starkly declare ‘This Administration Failed Us’ will greet motorists headed toward the rally. So will another that announces a ‘Superspreader event’ at the airport.”

  • Macon Telegraph: “The Biden campaign in Georgia is hosting a ‘Ridin’ with Biden’ car parade and press conference in downtown Macon Friday at 11:30 a.m. before Trump’s rally, according to a news release. Local leaders, such as State Rep. Miriam Paris and Macon-Bibb Commissioner-elect Seth Clark, will start the parade with a press conference before parading through Macon and making stops at the ballot drop box locations. Vehicles will start lining up at 11 a.m.”

In Iowa: 

Iowa Starting Line: DNC Warns Of Trump’s COVID Spreading In Ad For His Iowa Visit. “The Democratic National Committee has launched a new TV ad in Des Moines ahead of President Donald Trump’s rally tonight, lambasting him for holding indoor events during the pandemic and ‘turning the White House into a super-spreader.’ After contracting the coronavirus, the ad states, ‘he claims he’s learned about COVID. He hasn’t learned a thing, putting us and those sworn to protect him at risk. Meanwhile, America pays the price — 215,000 dead, no plan. And now another wave is coming.”

In Michigan: 

Detroit Metro Times: Michigan Democrats blast Trump for hosting ‘superspreader’ rally in Muskegon. “The Michigan Democratic Party lambasted President Donald Trump for hosting ‘superspreader events’ in Michigan and across the country at a time when the state is confirming more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Trump plans to hold a campaign rally in Muskegon on Saturday, just 17 days before the Nov. 3 election. Thousands of fans typically show up to his campaign rallies without masks or social distancing.”

  • MLive: “State Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, also criticized the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response at a press event organized by the Michigan Democratic Party Wednesday morning. ‘We know that Donald Trump lied to us about this pandemic, and we know he has refused to take it seriously,’ Hood said. ‘The bottom line is the president has no real plan to fix this pandemic. He has proven himself incapable of taking the steps necessary to get COVID-19 under control.’”

In Nevada:

Las Vegas Review-Journal: “In response to Wednesday’s rally, Nevada State Democratic Party spokeswoman Madison Mundy said the state has ‘experienced four years’ worth of failures’ during the Trump administration. ‘Trump is looking out for big corporations and his billionaire friends who run them, while looking down on the working families who are still reeling from his failures to get this virus under control,’ Mundy said.”

  • Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The Nevada State Democratic Party accused [Ivanka] Trump of ‘painting a rosy picture far removed from reality’ as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country because of her father’s ‘ineffective pandemic response.’”

In North Carolina: 

The Daily Reflector: Opponents focus on voting rights, health care during Trump’s visit. “U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield and state House Rep. Kandie Smith rallied later in the morning at the ‘Believe in Greenville’ mural on Dickinson Avenue to advocate for health care … More than 3,000 people have died from COVID-19 in North Carolina, and more than 216,000 people have died from the virus across the country, he said.”

  • WNCT: “[Rep. G. K. Butterfield]: To say that Donald Trump has fallen down on the job is an understatement. In the last seven months, North Carolina has lost tens of thousands of small businesses, hundreds of thousands of jobs and more than 3,700 lives.”

  • Spectrum News: “State Democratic party chair Wayne Goodwin released a statement Sunday night about the president’s planned visit: ‘North Carolinians will hear all the usual refrains from Donald Trump. Hateful, divisive rhetoric with plenty of falsehoods mixed in. What we won’t hear is a plan to make sure people who get sick during this pandemic can afford to see a doctor or a plan to protect the nearly 5 million people in our state living with a pre-existing condition.’”

In Ohio:

  • WDTN: “Several doctors joined the Ohio Democratic Party ahead of the vice president’s rally to implore voters to save the Affordable Care Act, which has long been targeted by the Trump administration. [Dr. Anita Somani]: ‘If we overturn the ACA here in Ohio, health coverage would be impacted for 740,000 folks, with as many as 5 million Ohioans who have pre-existing conditions being affected.’”

  • Columbus Dispatch: “Protesters from the Ohio Democratic Party invited Dr. Daniel Skinner, an associate professor in health policy at Ohio University, to speak to passersby about false information, among other issues. Skinner said the stakes are extremely high, especially given the ideology of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who is on record opposing some aspects of the Affordable Care Act and has objected to the Roe v. Wade ruling making abortion legal.”

In Pennsylvania:

  • WHP: “The PA Dems responding to President Trump’s rally in Johnstown tonight. They kicked off their virtual ‘Health Care is on the Ballot’ tour this morning. Senator Bob Casey is calling on the president for answers. ‘I think it would be nice if the president, as a candidate, but maybe especially as a president, would explain to the people of Johnstown and Cambria County how he’s going to prevent them from losing coverage. He hasn’t explained that yet. He has no plan.’”

  • Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Your health care is at stake on Election Day. “If the ACA is dismantled, insurance companies will be able to deny coverage or charge huge rates to Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions, locking them out of affordable care. That would have an immediate, drastic impact on the over 5.3 million Pennsylvanians with pre-existing conditions who rely on the law for critical protections. Have asthma, or diabetes? Expect your rates to soar. Beat cancer? Next time you may have to beat it without being able to afford insurance.”

  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Before Mr. Trump’s rally, Pennsylvania Democrats sought to shift the conversation to health care, warning in a call with reporters that Mr. Trump and Republicans are trying to strike down the Affordable Care Act and take coverage away from hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians in the middle of a pandemic, as well as take away the protections for those with pre-existing conditions.”

FINALLY, YOUR WEEKEND READING. Roanoke Times: Trump doesn’t understand service and sacrifice. “Donald Trump is incapable of truly valuing our lives and service to this country. He does not even understand the notions of service and putting one’s life on the line for their country … I had been a Republican for most of my life until I voted against Trump in 2016. Four years later, the stakes are even higher, and Donald Trump is more of a threat than ever. But the priority is the same — we cannot allow him another term.”

Make sure to follow the DNC’s War Room (@DNCWarRoom) to get real-time updates on Trump’s abuses of power and broken promises.

Happy Friday!

The DNC Comms Team