The Hill’s Campaign Report: Florida’s coronavirus surge raises questions about GOP convention

by Max Greenwood,Julia Manchester and Jonathan Easley - 07/09/20 5:06 PM ET

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe.

We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail.

LEADING THE DAY:

The surging coronavirus cases in Florida are throwing the future of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville in August up in the air.

Six Republican senators have signaled they will not attend the gathering in the Florida city next month when President Trump will officially accept the GOP’s nomination. Additionally, Republican strategists and operatives are saying plans for the convention are mired in a number of unknowns due to the pandemic.

“It all seems very much up in the air right now,” a Republican source told The Hill.

Meanwhile, another Republican said raising money for the event could be a challenge after donors poured money into the previously planned convention in Charlotte, N.C., before it was moved after Trump clashed with the state’s governor Roy Cooper (D) over how to hold the event.

Older donors who normally push for key roles at the convention are now also expressing hesitations about attending the convention, according to Republican strategist Dan Eberhart.

Florida reported nearly 9,000 coronavirus cases and 120 deaths today.

A group of Jacksonville attorneys filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block the gathering from taking place in the city, saying it would be a “a nuisance injurious to the health [and] welfare” of the community.

On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Republican officials are mulling moving the gathering to an outdoor stadium amid safety concerns surrounding the virus.

The VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena is the current venue for the convention, though officials are said to be considering 121 Financial Ballpark and the TIAA Bank Field.

Trump has indicated he would be willing to be flexible.

“Now, all of a sudden, it’s spiking up a little bit, and that’s going to go down. It really depends on the timing. Look, we’re very flexible, we could do a lot of things, but we’re very flexible,” Trump told Greta Van Susteren, host of “Full Court Press.”

–Julia Manchester

READ MORE:

Pandemic mars Trump’s GOP convention plans by Morgan Chalfant, Jonathan Easley, and Julia

FROM THE TRAIL:

The Supreme Court, in a split decision on Thursday, sided with New York state prosecutors seeking President Trump’s tax returns but shielded a trove of his financial records from Congress. The justices upheld a Manhattan district attorney subpoena for eight years of Trump’s financial documents, including his personal and corporate tax returns. But they declined to grant Congress access to records subpoenaed by a trio of Democratic-led House committees. John Kruzel reports.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden unveiled his $700 billion jobs plan on Thursday from Pennsylvania, where he offered a blistering rebuke of Trump’s economic agenda and vowed to crack down on Wall Street and the corporations he said have benefitted at the expense of average workers. Jonathan reports.

Niall Stanage reports on how the upended political landscape in 2020 has put Biden in the driver’s seat.

Two Super PACs run by aides to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) presidential campaign rolled out a pro-Biden ad targeting Hispanic voters in Arizona, Michigan and North Carolina on Thursday. The ad, which is part of a seven-figure TV and digital buy, hones in on Trump’s treatment of the Latino community and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. The Hill’s Tal Axelrod reports.

FROM CONGRESS AND THE STATES:

The campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Bold PAC is building political capital after a number its candidates, once considered long shots, won a number of recent races. The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports.

While the New Jersey primaries were held on Tuesday evening, the results from a number of districts are coming in from the majority mail-in primary. Rep. Josh Gottheimer won his primary in the state’s 5th District after facing a progressive challenge from neuroscientist Arati Kreibich. The incumbent congressman won by 70.9 percent to 29.1 percent.

In the state’s 9th District, Rep. Bill Pascrell prevailed in his primary, defeating progressive challengers Zinovia Spezakis and Alp Basaran. Pascrell won with 81 percent of the vote.

MONEY WATCH:

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s Democratic challenger Kim Mangone raised $360,000 in the second quarter of 2020. The haul is more in three months than all of McCarthy’s previous general election challengers combined. Max Greenwood reports.

Democratic Texas House candidate Sri Kulkarni raked in $950,000 in the second quarter of the year. The haul is the most money raised ever in the state’s 22nd District. Kulkarni is looking to replace GOP Rep. Pete Olson. Tal reports.

POLL WATCH:

PUBLIC POLICY POLLING:

NORTH CAROLINA PRESIDENTIAL

Biden: 50%

Trump: 46%

NORTH CAROLINA SENATE

Cunningham: 47%

Tillis: 39%

ALASKA PRESIDENTIAL

Trump: 48%

Biden: 45%

ALASKA SENATE