DNC Battleground Brief

April 3, 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. 

 TRUMP’S CHAOTIC, ERRATIC RESPONSE TO COVID-19 IS PUTTING AMERICAN LIVES AT RISK. Across the battlegrounds this week, Democrats joined doctors, nurses, and health care workers to hold Trump accountable for his failure to lead the nation, his chaotic, ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic and his broken health care promises — all of which have put lives at risk and exacerbated the damage to our economy. Take a look:

IN FLORIDA:

  • Florida Politics: Florida Democrats slam ‘chaotic’ coronavirus response from Donald Trump. “Florida Democrats, including the party chair and a Congresswoman, convened telephonically Thursday to pan Pres. Donald Trump for his ‘chaotic’ coronavirus response in Florida. Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, was joined by two representatives from hard-hit South Florida: U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala and State Rep. Nicholas Duran. The group painted a grim picture of the President’s performance thus far. Rizzo described a ‘delayed and chaotic’ response from the President, who failed to ‘scale up testing’ at critical moments last month.”

IN OHIO:

Ohio Democratic Party Chair David Pepper penned an op-ed calling out Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic in Ohio:

  • CLERMONT SUN: David Pepper: Don’t listen to Trump: Saving lives will save the economy.  “Another thing that has been made crystal clear during the coronavirus pandemic is that Donald Trump doesn’t care about working people, only how their sacrifices can boost the stock market and prop up his re-election prospects. […] If we somehow manage to get out of this crisis, we can rebuild our economy — but not if Trump gets four more years in the White House.”

IN NEW HAMPSHIRE:

New Hampshire state Rep. Gaby Grossman wrote an op-ed slamming Trump for continuing to spread dangerous disinformation:

  • CONCORD MONITOR: The coronavirus pandemic made worse by Trump’s ‘infodemic’. “As we fight the spread of COVID-19, we also need to fight the spread of disinformation that comes with it. […] It’s past time for Chris Sununu, Donald Bolduc and Matt Mowers to call out Trump’s negligent inaction and divisive disinformation about coronavirus – and to stop spreading dangerous disinformation themselves. Granite Staters not only deserve better, but we need better. Our lives depend on it.”

IN MAINE:

Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra wrote a piece for the Bangor Daily News laying out the consequences of Trump’s failures for the country’s oldest state:

IN VIRGINIA:

Rep. Abigail Spanberger wrote an op-ed calling on the administration to provide health care workers with critically needed protective equipment:

IN PENNSYLVANIA:  

IN MICHIGAN 

  • THE DETROIT NEWS: Lavora Barnes: Virus puts health care front and center for November. “As we go through a once-in-a-generation global pandemic that is devastating our country, infecting tens of thousands and threatening the lives of Michigan residents, now more than ever Michigan working families are recognizing the importance of affordable health care. When we turn our eyes to November, it’s clear health care will be a defining issue in the upcoming election. And it’s clear President Donald Trump and the Republican Party don’t have the answers Michigan is looking for.”

MORE HERE.

DEMOCRATS RAMP-UP DIGITAL ORGANIZING. The tactics are changing, but our organizing work stops for nothing. This week NBC joined the DNC for a look inside one of our expanded digital organizing trainings — we’ve had over 6,000 individuals sign up in the past few weeks alone. And multiple Florida outlets covered the launch of the DNC and Florida Democratic Party’s new texting campaign to encourage voting by mail. 

NBC: Campaigning during coronavirus: DNC takes organizing on line.

  • “Brittany Arp, 21, is back at her parent’s house, unexpectedly home from college because of the coronavirus, and recruiting her friends to get on Zoom…to learn how to organize for Democrats. ‘I’ve been trying to reach out to all of my friends, like, ‘I know you’re sitting at home not doing anything, so why don’t you join me?’”
  • “Arp is one of more than 4,000 people who have signed up for training sessions hosted by organizers from the Democratic National Committee, chaired by Tom Perez, as they try to keep voters engaged with the 2020 election.”
  • “Democratic party officials in battleground states like Florida and Wisconsin announced a shift in recent days to digital-only organizing in light of COVID-19.”
  • “Meanwhile, the DNC’s online training sessions, hosted on Zoom, are for anyone who wants to learn more about organizing best practices, with courses offered at the beginner and more advanced levels. NBC News got an exclusive look inside one of these trainings on Sunday, where several hundred people logged in for tips on organizing around certain events or days of action, building communities on social media and creating events — for now, virtually, but eventually in person.”
  • “Arp, the college junior, is already trying to think of ways to put her skills to the test, repeating the desire that so many Democratic voters have said this primary cycle: they just want to beat President Donald Trump.”
  • “‘I am fully ready to go and organize and show up for (the Democratic nominee) where ever and whenever they need me,’ she said — even if that means spending the next few months getting out the vote, virtually.’” 

MIAMI HERALD: “The Democratic National Committee is launching a text message campaign in Florida asking voters to switch to vote-by-mail ballots, as voter registration organizations continue to shift methods and goals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In partnership with the Florida Democratic Party, the national party said it was planning to text over a million people in Florida to push for an increase in mail ballot turnout.”

POLITICO: “Juan Penalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, said in statement that ‘we need to modernize our voting systems to protect voters, and our partnership with the DNC to enroll Floridians in vote-by-mail does just that.’”

TAMPA BAY TIMES: “The state party will tap into the massive database of cell phones the Democratic National Committee purchased in January to help increase voter contact in 2020.”

SUN SENTINEL: “The state Democrats, along with the Democratic National Committee, plan to announce Monday that they’re launching a “massive texting campaign” to urge registered Democrats to sign up to vote by mail. Recipients will get a link to sign up to receive a mail ballot.”

MORE NEWS ON HOW DEMOCRATS ARE ORGANIZING ONLINE ACROSS THE BATTLEGROUNDS:

Los Angeles Times: “The Democratic National Committee has seen a sixfold increase in requests for its digital-organizing training program. In Florida, Democrats are sending texts to more than a million voters to urge them to register to vote by mail… In Wisconsin, a key swing state that holds a primary on Tuesday, Democrats say they have found that the loss of door-knockers’ powerful face-to-face conversations is mitigated by an unprecedented eagerness of voters to chat with volunteers cold-calling or pinging them online.”

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Democrats go digital in organizing with social distancing reality. “The Nevada State Democratic Party laid out a blueprint Monday for how it plans to campaign in an era of social distancing, as its staff and volunteers transition into a digital-only organizing strategy. Staff members are working from home. Volunteers are being corralled for the party’s first all-digital day of action, which will include calling and texting voters. Traditionally in-person training sessions and gatherings are being transitioned to Zoom and Google Hangouts.”

MORE FLORIDA — POLITICO: “IT’S A SH– SANDWICH: REPUBLICANS RAGE AS FLORIDA BECOMES A NIGHTMARE FOR TRUMP.”  POLITICO takes a look at how Trump and Florida Republicans’ erratic, failed response to the coronavirus has injected “an added dose of fear into a jittery GOP” that’s already concerned about Trump’s chances in the state. Worth a read here. 

Columbus Dispatch: Candidates try new ways to fundraise, connect during Ohio’s coronavirus shutdown. “Voter registration is also on the minds of state Democrats. It’s too late to register for Ohio’s primary, but presidential elections are a great time to attract new voters — especially those younger than 20 who are eligible for the first time. The problem is that those efforts usually take place in person at fairs, festivals, parades, concerts and on-campus events.”

“‘The best way to get someone registered to vote is for someone they know and trust to ask them,’ Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a statement. ‘Much of this can be done online, and the progressive tech infrastructure is innovating all the time to make it easier for volunteers to connect with their own networks and encourage them to register to vote.’”

BIG WIN FOR WISCONSINITES! The DNC and Wisconsin Democrats won their case against four Wisconsin laws that would have severely burdened Wisconsin voters’ right to vote in the upcoming April 7, 2020 primary election.

MAYORS TAKE ON TRUMP TO PROTECT THEIR CITIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC. Across the country, mayors are working to protect their cities while Trump and Republicans in many states are pushing through erratic and ineffective plans to combat the pandemic. As Business Insider reports, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is holding Republicans in her state accountable and standing up for Arizonans. Take a look:

  • “Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, who signed the letter demanding a statewide stay-at-home order, told Insider that Ducey had dramatically undermined her ability to respond to the pandemic as it hit her community. She added that she’s attempting to send ‘the strongest possible message’ that her constituents should stay home.”
  • “‘I have tried to strongly urge the governor to put in place a better framework for a ‘safer at home’ ordinance,’ Gallego told Insider in an interview last Friday. ‘To me, this is a very serious global pandemic. This is something we have never seen before as a country. This is the first national disaster where we expect people to die in all 50 states. I worry that what looks like an early precaution now will end up looking like it was insufficient in two to three weeks.’”
  • “‘Right now I’m very much focused on getting more power back,’ she said. ‘I do believe the governor is not taking this sufficiently seriously.’”
  • “The state is also far behind in testing. Arizona is last in the nation when it comes to the number of coronavirus tests it’s conducted, despite being the 14th-most-populous state with a large percentage of elderly residents, according to a New York Times analysis on Thursday.”

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