Rep. Frankel in the Palm Beach Post: “After all this, Americans see that Donald Trump still does not have a plan to beat this pandemic back.”

State Rep. Merski in the Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘When you get down to the ground level and you talk to people and folks in our community, this economy’s not working for them.”

State Rep Julia Ratti in the Reno Gazette-Journal: “In 2018, Nevadans voted to protect health care access. In 2020, we’ll do it again.”

While Donald Trump failed to defend his record on the debate stage, local leaders across the battlegrounds continued calling out his broken promises — highlighting Trump’s failed coronavirus response, cratering economy, and continued attacks on the Affordable Care Act, including protections for preexisting conditions like cancer, asthma, and COVID-19. See for yourself:

In Arizona:

KYMA: “The Arizona Democratic Party says Trump has delivered nothing but broken  promises to Arizona’s working families, while Joe Biden will protect health care, strengthen the economy, and lead with morals our country needs back in the White House.”

Tucson Weekly: Amanda Aguirre: Trump’s ACA Attacks Would Devastate Arizona’s Communities. “As someone who has worked in public health for 35 years, I know how important it is for working families across Arizona to have the peace of mind that comes with quality, affordable health care coverage. So when I see Donald Trump and the Republican Party try to rush through a Supreme Court appointment just to overturn the Affordable Care Act, especially in the middle of a pandemic, I am as confused as I am horrified. Why fight to undermine something that has benefitted so many people?”

Indian Country Today: Jamescita Peshlakai: Under Donald Trump, more broken promises to Indian Country. “Ahead of tonight’s final presidential debate, it’s more critical than ever that we remember the Trump administration’s many broken promises to Indian Country … Trump’s relentless attacks on the Affordable Care Act could put federal funding for tribal health care on the chopping block at a time when access to quality health care has never been more important.”

Arizona Democratic Party: Ahead of Final Debate, Former McCain Staffer Bettina Nava Calls Out Trump’s Attacks on the ACA and Broken Promises on Health Care. “Regarding the 60 Minutes tape that came out this morning — Trump has always tried to claim he is going to replace the Affordable Care Act. But the tapes that were released prove that the ACA is on the ballot in 2020. With such high unemployment and people under duress, we can expect that the President will try to circumvent on the debate stage what we know: that he wants to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act.”

In Colorado:

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: Dylan Roberts: Colorado’s rural communities deserve better than Donald Trump’s attacks on our health care. “If Trump has his way, his nominee for the Supreme Court will cast the deciding vote to overturn the ACA, threatening protections for the 2.4 million people in Colorado with pre-existing conditions and jeopardizing coverage for as many as 470,000 Coloradans. There are members of my family who will be impacted and I am sure there are members of yours, too.”

Aurora Sentinel: “Colorado Democratic Chairperson Morgan Carroll: ‘Tonight, we saw another disgraceful performance from Donald Trump filled with more lies and more empty rhetoric. Trump made it clear just this morning that his only plan for health care is to destroy the ACA, which would gut protections for 2.4 million Coloradans with pre-existing conditions, and tonight he doubled down.’”

In Florida:

Palm Beach Post: “Democrats stressed what they said are dual disasters, his mismanagement of the pandemic and his ongoing attack on the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel noted the state has lost more than 16,000 people to coronavirus, and yet Trump will hold large rallies in the state even as the coronavirus infection counts continue rising. ‘After all this, Americans see that Donald Trump still does not have a plan to beat this pandemic back,’ she said. And she criticized the Trump administration’s legal battle to overturn the ACA, which Democrats say Florida has more enrollees of than any other state and more than 8.4 million residents with preexisting conditions.”

In Georgia:

Democratic Party of Georgia: Ahead of Final Presidential Debate, Georgians Share Their Experiences With COVID-19, Why We Must Elect Joe Biden. “‘I am a COVID survivor, but right now I’m battling to keep my small business afloat. Even though small businesses drive the economy, we haven’t had any help from Trump’s failed administration,’ said Helio Bernal, small business owner. ‘I know that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris value small businesses and will make a difference for us.’”

In Indiana:

Indianapolis Star: “Earlier that morning, state Democrats held a news conference to discuss how Trump and Pence have failed to slow the spread of the coronavirus in their eyes. ‘The positivity rate for COVID has nearly doubled in the last month. Hospitals are filling up,’ Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said. ‘It’s getting worse, and the Trump-Pence administration aren’t doing what they should be doing.’”

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “In a media conference call ahead of Pence’s visit, several Democratic Party leaders and officials criticized Pence and Trump for their response to the pandemic and their efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act. Former U.S. senator Joe Donnelly said more than 8.3 million Americans have been infected by the virus and more than 220,000 have died ‘because of incredibly tragic, failed leadership.’”

In Maine: 

Bangor Daily News: Lee Webb: Trump’s trade war left Maine’s economy in crisis. “From lobster to blueberries to dairy to potatoes to manufacturing, Trump’s trade war has checked all the boxes of an economic disaster for Maine. As long as our nation maintains a directionless trade agenda where the president imposes tariffs on a whim, our economy will remain vulnerable to market uncertainty that will cost us jobs. Maine workers and business owners deserve better, which is why we need to elect Joe Biden in November. He helped bring the U.S. economy back from the brink once, and he can do it again.”

In Michigan:

Macomb Daily: “The Michigan Democratic Party also hosted an event in Pontiac, hours before Pence’s arrival minutes down the road. U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, Pontiac Mayor Dierdre Waterman, and Lori Goldman, founder of Fems for Dems, highlighted the Trump Administration’s ‘failed leadership on COVID-19’ as cases and deaths continue to surge across Michigan.”

Detroit Free Press: “The Democratic National Committee sent a mobile billboard to Michigan ahead of Pence’s Thursday speech, criticizing the administration’s response to the pandemic.”

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes: “This election is a health care election and Trump can’t escape that fact no matter how hard he tries. Already, we are seeing unprecedented early turnout in Michigan as voters stand up to this president’s attacks on their health care. Michigan Democrats will be working relentlessly over the next 12 days to hold this ineffective president accountable. With the grassroots movement we’ve built in all 83 counties in our state, we are going to elect Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Gary Peters, and Democrats up and down the ticket.”

In Minnesota: 

Minnesota DFL Chair Ken Martin: “Last night’s debate once again made clear that Trump is determined to attack Minnesotans’ health care and eliminate the Affordable Care Act and critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Trump said ‘Obamacare is no good’ and doubled down on his interest in terminating the law– threatening the coverage of as many as 20 million Americans. He once again failed to provide any details about what he would do to tackle the coronavirus, and said we are ‘learning to live with it’ even as cases spike across the country and over 223,000 Americans have died from the pandemic.”

In Nevada:

Reno Gazette-Journal: Julia Ratti: In 2018, Nevadans voted to protect health care access. In 2020, we’ll do it again. “A week after the election, the Supreme Court will begin hearings on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, a law that expands health care coverage to millions of Americans and ensures no American faces discrimination because of pre-existing condition. It is also a law Donald Trump has been hellbent on dismantling since he entered office. With the tragic passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Affordable Care Act has never been in greater jeopardy than it is right now.”

Reno City Councilman Oscar Delgado on KTVN: “Tonight, Donald Trump tried to distract Nevadans with more antics and lies, but for the next 12 days, Nevadans are remaining laser-focused on participating in this election and making sure Nevada is never at the mercy of this administration ever again. Just today we learned Trump said he hopes the Supreme Court will end the Affordable Care Act — that’s why he and Republicans are rushing to confirm their Supreme Court nominee … even as coronavirus cases are again surging in Nevada and across the country because of his incompetence during the coronavirus response.”

Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II: “Despite having months to get a handle on this crisis, Trump lied to the American public at every turn, failed to implement a national strategy of containment, and is still trying to rip away health care from working families in the middle of a pandemic. That’s why Nevada voters are rejecting Trump’s failed record by voting early and making their voices heard at the ballot box in record numbers.”

In New Hampshire:

Union Leader: “The New Hampshire Democratic Party held a press call prior to the Pence event on Wednesday at which Swanzey resident Gene Faltus spoke about what it is like to live with cardiac issues and prostate cancer. ‘The Affordable Care Act was a godsend for me. But this administration is obsessed — completely obsessed — with destroying that law in particular,’ Faltus said.”

WMUR: “Former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter led the charge in responding to the Pence visit. During a Democratic Party press conference, Shea-Porter said the Trump administration has put New Hampshire senior citizens in grave danger. ‘Trump and Pence still have no plans to combat this disease to protect our citizens, especially the older ones with medical conditions, and because of their incompetence, it has caused dozens of Granite State businesses to shutter permanently because of the damage to the economy,’ Shea-Porter said.”

In North Carolina:

Charlotte Observer: “Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign released a new ad in the Charlotte market Wednesday. Against pictures of the president at rallies, a narrator says, ‘He swore an oath to protect us. But now he’s on a reckless campaign tour, infecting us . . . Holding potential super-spreader events in state after state.’ The campaign also sent a mobile billboard around Gaston County with the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths in North Carolina.”

In Ohio:

WDTN: “Democrats say the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act will put the health care of five million Ohioans at risk. Amber Daniels, a Lithopolis Councilwoman, says, ‘If the ACA should be struck down, my children’s lives are literally at risk.’”

WVXU: “Prior to Pence’s visit, the party held a virtual roundtable with moms from across the state, focusing on the Affordable Care Act. ‘If I were to lose that employer-provided coverage, that would be devastating to us,’ said Bree O’Day of Warren County. ‘And I mean, we would go into financial ruin to protect our son and to get him the care that he needed, but to think that the Affordable Care Act could potentially go away is terrifying to us.’”

In Pennsylvania: 

Pennsylvania Democratic Party: Pennsylvania Families Deserve Answers On Trump Failures At Tonight’s Debate. “President Trump’s ineffective leadership and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has led to the worst economic and public health crisis in generations.”

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Erie County Democratic leaders said the president failed to deliver the economic rebound he promised, even before the pandemic … ‘We have areas of high need, high poverty that are being ignored and the people there are being ignored,’ said State Rep. Bob Merski, who represents the county. ‘When you get down to the ground level and you talk to people and folks in our community, this economy’s not working for them.’ Just last week Wabtec, one of the county’s largest employers, announced another 150 layoffs at the locomotive-building facility there. The company blamed the economic effects of the pandemic.”

Erie Reader: Mobile Billboard in Erie Holding Trump Accountable. “DNC War Room senior spokesperson and advisor Lily Adams said, ‘Americans across the country have had to make sacrifices because of the coronavirus. 219,000 Americans have lost their lives, including more than 8,500 Pennsylvanians, and countless families cannot see their loved ones. But Trump — who lied to the American people about the threat of the virus — has tried to pretend the pandemic doesn’t exist, refused to make a plan, and continues to jeopardize the safety of the American people.’”

In Tennessee:

The Tennessean: Welcome to Nashville’s debate, Mr. Trump. Tennesseans are disappointed in you. “After sheltering at home for the better part of a year — after constantly worrying for our health and losing friends and family to a preventable tragedy — Tennesseans know Donald Trump is scrambling to spin the devastating, undeniable reality that at every stage of this pandemic, his incompetence and selfishness have made it exponentially worse. Nine months after Trump assured us that everything was ‘going to be just fine’ and the coronavirus was ‘totally under control,’ nearly 3,000 Tennesseans have lost their lives to COVID-19, and more than 230,000 have contracted the virus.”

In Texas:

Univision Houston: “‘Donald Trump mintió sobre los casos de COVID-19 en Texas; están subiendo. Ha separado a niños de sus padres y los ha puesto en jaulas. Ese es el resumen del debate,’ dijo el líder de los Demócratas Texanos, Gilberto Hinojosa.”

In Virginia: 

Pittsfield Progress-Index: McEachin to Trump pre-debate: ‘We’re sick and tired of the distractions, we need answers.’ “Ahead of Thursday’s final presidential debate, Virginia Rep. A. Donald McEachin called on President Donald Trump to turn down the theatrics and provide proof behind his claim that he has done more for African Americans than any other president except Abraham Lincoln … McEachin concluded his message by encouraging everyone to cast ballots in the election, either through in-person absentee voting, by-mail absentee voting or actually going to the polls on Election Day.”

In Wisconsin: 

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin: “Last night confirmed what we already knew: Donald Trump has no plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging every corner of our state right now due to his failed leadership. On the debate stage, he said we’re ‘learning to live with’ coronavirus, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Wisconsinites are suffering more than ever as the economy continues to lag and face the brutal reality that Trump is trying to take protections away from the 2.4 million people in the Badger state who have pre-existing conditions, which he admitted to trying to ‘terminate’ through his attacks on the Affordable Care Act. Last night proved that the only way we will get through this crisis and build our country back better is by electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House.”