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. 

THE HEADLINE (AND QUOTE FROM OUR CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER) SAYS IT ALL: ‘THIS YIELDS MORE VOTES’: DNC TOUTS SWEEPING CHANGE TO VOTER DATA HUB. Today, the Democratic National Committee is launching a new, proprietary national record linkage system that will be integrated into the DNC’s voter file — deduplicating millions of voter records, providing campaigns with a more comprehensive view of the electorate and increasing the effectiveness of Democratic organizers across the country.  Read all about the program in McClatchy.

BATTLEGROUNDS CONTINUE SLAMMING TRUMP & GOP’S CHAOTIC, FAILED CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE. Democrats continued to hold Trump and Republicans accountable for their chaotic response to the COVID pandemic and called out Trump’s failure to deliver on his administration’s promise to make 27 million tests available by the end of March. A few examples:

In FL: Florida Politics:  “‘We need a President and a Governor who put the health and safety of Americans and Floridians first,’ said Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo. ‘However, Trump has not taken the steps necessary to open the economy safely and still does not have a strategy to implement mass COVID-19 testing. Public health experts have been crystal clear: We need national mass testing before we can relax social distancing.’”

In MI: Michigan Democratic Party: “‘Donald Trump’s chaotic COVID-19 response has left Michigan without the tests it needs after repeated broken promises,’ said Michigan Democratic Party spokesman Christian Slater. ‘Donald Trump can desperately attempt to pass the buck, but the truth is he has nobody to blame but himself for his failures.’”

In NV: Nevada State Democratic Party: “One month ago today, the Trump Administration promised there would be 27 million coronavirus tests available by the end of March, but we’re still waiting and Nevada is suffering because of it. We need more tests if we plan to reopen our economy safely.”

In OH: Ohio Democratic Party: “‘From Lordstown to health care to student debt, Donald Trump has broken one promise after another to the people of Ohio, and the latest example is his administration’s failure to deliver on their pledge to expand coronavirus testing,’ said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. ‘Trump wasted months downplaying the coronavirus threat instead of ramping up our testing capacity, and now he’s falsely blaming governors for testing shortages. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to go on national television to beg the federal government for their help to expand testing access.’”

In PA: Pennsylvania Democratic Party: “‘President Trump failed to prepare our nation for this crisis, he failed to deliver on testing, and he continues to fail to provide the steady leadership we need during this pandemic,’ said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Spokesman Andres Anzola. ‘Pennsylvanians need a trusted leader in the White House who tells the truth, is guided by experts and science and makes decisions without regard to their personal politics.’”

In VA: Democratic Party of Virginia: “‘Trump’s chaotic, failed coronavirus response is putting Virginians in danger. No matter how much he tries to downplay this crisis or shift blame on others, he can’t spin this horrific reality. We need tests, we need equipment, and we need them now,’ said DPVA Press Secretary Carson Brown.” 

In WI: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat who represents Madison and the surrounding area, called the federal response to the pandemic ‘pathetic.’ ‘Where the hell is the federal government response for places like Wisconsin?,’ Pocan said. ‘If we can’t test, we can’t open up. Where the hell are the supplies for the state of Wisconsin and the people who live here?’” 

Lots more here.

WHAT BATTLEGROUND VOTERS ARE READING: GUEST COLUMNS FROM  DEMOCRATIC LEADERS ON TRUMP’S CORONAVIRUS FAILURES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDED VOTING: 

(NH) Senator Maggie Hassan in the Union Leader: “Amid this pandemic, private researchers and labs — as well as state and local officials — will continue to play important roles in expanding testing. However, comprehensive federal coordination — particularly in ensuring adequate supplies, but also in data collection and reporting — is essential for any nationwide testing plan to truly work. I will continue pushing the White House to use its existing powers to pursue an effective plan, and I will keep working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress on additional legislation as needed.”

(VA) – Virginia Democratic Party Executive Director in the Culpeper Star-Exponent: “[Trump] promised to deliver 27 million testing kits by the end of March and vowed that ventilator production would meet the growing need. That didn’t happen. Analysts estimate that fewer than 4 million Americans have been tested and more than 40,000 Americans have died so far.”

(FL) Florida Democratic Party Chair, Terrie Rizzo in the Palm Beach Post: “Actions — and inactions — have consequences, and Americans deserve to know how Trump’s negligence worsened this crisis. This president could and should have taken decisive action months ago to slow the spread of this virus, but instead of preparing Americans for a deadly health crisis, he chose to ignore the experts, downplay its threat to the public, and delay crucial decisions to mitigate the spread. We are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis and Donald Trump’s erratic and delayed leadership has tragically made it worse.”

(TX) Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “Our Democratic leaders remain committed to ensuring even more coverage and safeguarding the health of the American people. Trump Republicans across the country, though, remain fixated on stripping 20 million people, including 1.1 million Texans, of critical healthcare.”

(WI) Senator Tammy Baldwin in The Cap Times: “The facts speak for themselves. President Trump dismantled and diminished our country’s preparedness by closing the White House pandemic office. When health experts and our intelligence agencies were sounding the alarm about the coronavirus pandemic, Trump dragged his feet and instead chose to trust China — and even praised China’s authoritarian government for their ‘transparency.’”

(MI) Michigan Democratic Party Chair, Lavora Barnes in The Bridge: 

“Nobody should be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote. Republicans forced that choice on Wisconsin voters, and now they’re going after the rest of the country. Voting by mail is safe, secure and accessible. It allows more voters to participate in our democracy, and it’s a commonsense way to run an election, especially during a public health crisis.”

(MN) Minnesota Democratic Party Chair, Ken Martin in The Minnesota Post: “No person should be forced to choose between their health and their vote, so we proposed mailing every registered voter in Minnesota a ballot and mailing every unregistered Minnesotan who is eligible to vote a registration form, both with prepaid postage for return included. Unfortunately, these common-sense steps to defend our democracy have run into resistance from Minnesota Republicans, who’ve marshaled a remarkably feeble array of arguments against vote by mail.”

(WA) Washington State Wire: DNC Chair Tom Perez applauds Washington State’s vote-by-mail system. “On a joint call with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Democratic state party chairs from Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, Perez framed the topic of voting during the COVID-19 pandemic as a tale of two Ws: Washington and Wisconsin.”

(VA) Virginia Democrats in the Washington Post: Virginia’s new voting rights laws are an example for the country. “Republicans have made it painfully clear that their concern is neither protecting Americans’ fundamental right to vote nor looking out for our health and safety. Instead they’d rather limit the amount of people who vote.”

(OR) Oregon Governor Kate Brown in Newsweek: We’ve Had Vote-by-mail In Oregon For Decades. It’s Obviously The Best Way To Hold Elections Now. “Governors do not have easy decisions during this period of crisis and confusion. However, we do know our elections must continue, and there should be no question that vote-by-mail programs are the best way to hold them when social distancing is required to save lives.”

WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, OHIO AND PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS CALL OUT TRUMP FOR GETTING ROLLED BY CHINA AFTER BLOCKBUSTER POLITICO STORY REVEALS TRUMP OWES TENS OF MILLIONS TO BANK OF CHINA. Democrats called out Donald Trump for rolling over for China — again, and continuing to put his self-interests ahead of the health and wellbeing of Americans.

WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Why Trump is China’s Favorite Lap Dog. “Today, a new report shows Trump has continuously rolled over for China, in part, because he owes their national bank $211 million dollars in the coming months. Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, Trump has continuously praised Chinese President Xi and his government, taking their word over that of the US Intelligence community. Trump went so far as to send China 18 tons of PPE in February — equipment that is now desperately needed by frontline workers in Wisconsin and across America.”

MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS: “The Michigan Democratic Party released the following statement on behalf of Chair Lavora Barnes on the tens of millions of dollars Donald Trump owes China: ‘Time and again Donald Trump has gone easy on China, flattering President Xi, giving in on trade deals, and praising their government’s mismanaged COVID-19 response. Now we know why: this president is owned by China to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, and soon the bill is due.’”

OHIO DEMOCRATS: “‘Donald Trump spent the critical first weeks of the coronavirus outbreak downplaying the threat and echoing the propaganda being pushed by the Chinese government that everything was under control,’ said Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper. ‘Trump refused to criticize the Chinese leaders, instead offering praise for the authoritarian regime no fewer than 15 times. It’s reasonable to wonder if the fact that Trump has a loan with the state-owned Bank of China is influencing his decisions. It’s a massive conflict of interest, and it’s one with deadly implications, as our country’s coronavirus death toll continues to climb.’”

PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS: “‘Instead of preparing us for the coronavirus pandemic, Trump wasted two valuable months heaping praise onto the Chinese government — who it just so happens he personally owes tens of millions of dollars,’ said Pennsylvania Democratic Party Executive Director Sinceré Harris. ‘Pennsylvania families need a leader they can trust in the White House who puts their interests before his own. President Trump has failed that test and Pennsylvanians deserve better.’”

DEMOCRATS CONTINUE DIGITAL ORGANIZING PUSH. The DNC and state parties across the battlegrounds are continuing to ramp up their digital organizing and texting efforts to reach voters where they’re at — online at home. Some highlights:

DNC, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Launch Text Campaign to Contact Over 400,000 Voters To Boost Vote-By-Mail Efforts. “The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Pennsylvania Democratic Party (PA Dems) are partnering to launch a texting campaign aimed at over 400,000 voters to encourage them to fill out and return an application to vote by mail.”

NV Dems Launch Volunteer Organizer Bootcamp, Online Training Library. “The Nevada State Democratic Party launched an online volunteer organizer bootcamp to begin training volunteers in preparation for the general election. Trainings will be conducted using Zoom and aimed at providing volunteers of all experience levels the tools they need to host their own virtual events, register voters, recruit their own volunteers and become leaders in their communities.” 

KRWG New Mexico: DPNM Launches Absentee Voting Phone Bank. “Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Marg Elliston has kicked off a volunteer effort to contact voters around New Mexico and encourage them to vote absentee in New Mexico’s June primary.”

WHEN TRUMP AND HIS CRONIES HIT THE ROAD TO WISCONSIN — DEMOCRATS HELD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. In response to Mike Pence traveling to Madison this week, Congressman Mark Pocan and leaders from the state called out the administration for their failure to properly respond to the pandemic. More WI coverage here.

• Wisconsin Public Radio: “On a Tuesday morning call with reporters, Pocan said the administration has failed to supply Wisconsin with requested tools to fight the disease, including components of testing kits like chemical reagents and swabs. ‘I’m pretty outraged today,’ Pocan said. ‘(Pence is) here to tout our preparedness and our production capacities and while it’s great we have a local company stepping up and doing ventilators … the bottom line is the federal government response has been pathetic.’” 

ON EARTH DAY, DEMOCRATS SEND IMPORTANT REMINDER THAT DONALD TRUMP “IS A THREAT TO OUR HEALTH AND OUR ENVIRONMENT.”Democrats didn’t hold back on Earth Day, hosting events and calling out Trump for his failed leadership on a long list of issues including environmental issues. Some highlights:

Michigan Advance: Trump is ‘playing games with our lives,’ activists say on Earth Day. “Since taking office in 2017, Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ has pulled out of the Paris Agreement. His administration has moved to weaken a host of environmental regulations, including fuel-economy standards, clean air rules and protections for endangered species. During the COVID-19 crisis, the Trump administration has been quietly pushing more cuts to environmental rules, as the Advance previously reported.”

Florida Democratic Party: On Earth Day, Trump is Continuing Attacks on Clean Air Amid Pandemic. “Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo: ‘Donald Trump is a threat to our health and our environment. His reckless leadership continues to worsen the coronavirus pandemic and his administration’s latest attacks on clean air are quite literally putting more lives at risk. We truly cannot afford another four years of these destructive policies.’”

Aaron Ford in the Reno Gazette Journal: I’ll fight to protect health care, pocketbooks against clean car rollbacks. “This is the worst possible time to weaken public health protections. Tailpipe pollution is directly tied to asthma and other lung diseases — ailments that put people at higher risk of dying from COVID-19 and many other health conditions.”

WYOMING SAW “RECORD TURNOUT” IN THEIR VOTE-BY-MAIL PRIMARY. Continuing the trend of record turnout for Democrats during this presidential cycle, Wyoming News Now reported that turnout had doubled since 2016 on election night: “Though the party won’t release results until Sunday, the turnout more than doubled the 2016 caucus according to Wyoming Democratic Party Communications Director Nina Hebert. She said, as of Wednesday, the party had already received more than 15,000 returned ballots. Just over 7,000 people caucused four years prior.”

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