The Hill’s Campaign Report: US officials say Russia, China are looking to sow discord in election

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: Russia Redux

Some breaking news from The Hill’s Olivia Beavers…

The top U.S. counterintelligence official on Friday said Russia, China and Iran are seeking to sow discord in the U.S. elections in an effort to “undermine the American people’s confidence in our democratic process.”

Here’s how William Evanina, the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, views the threats:

• Russia is using a range of measures to “denigrate” presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
• China does not want President Trump reelected because it views him as “unpredictable” and has grown tired of his actions toward Hong Kong, the video app TikTok, 5G cellular networks and the legal battle over the South China Sea.
• Iran is looking to undermine Trump and damage U.S. institutions through disinformation campaigns.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a joint statement saying they, “encourage political leaders on all sides to refrain from weaponizing intelligence matters for political gain.” 

If this all sounds too familiar, you will recall that the intelligence community concluded that Russia sought to interfere in the last presidential election through cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns aimed at damaging Democrat Hillary Clinton.

That led to Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation, one of the most polarizing and divisive episodes in modern political history.

VEEPSTAKES UPDATE:

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has officially blown past his own self-imposed deadline to announce a running mate.

The former vice president said the pick was coming this week, but it’s close to 5 p.m. Friday and the veepstakes still appears to be in a flux.

That’s not necessarily anything for Democrats to be alarmed about. Running mate announcements have come much later in the cycle and the hold-up appears to be driven by the nominee’s desire to be deliberate and to get it right.

Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon told us this week on a phone call about the campaign’s paid media strategy that “the process is underway and Joe Biden will have an announcement on his running mate when he’s ready to make one.”

We can tell you from reporting done by our own Amie Parnes that there is a top tier of contenders: 

• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who clashed bitterly with Biden during the primaries. Biden says that he doesn’t hold grudges and that won’t impact his decision. It’s possible Harris’s career in law enforcement could work against her in a year filled with anger at the police.
• Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice has decades of experience in the executive branch but has never run for political office. A presidential campaign would be a heck of a first contest.
• Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. She’s charged up the charts lately with support from Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). But Bass has also attracted unwanted attention for her past praise of Cuba and Fidel Castro, a potential liability in Florida.

Several others are still very much in contention, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).

We know it’s definitely going to be a woman. It will likely be a woman of color. Maybe we’ll find out next week?

A CLOUDY ECONOMIC FORECAST FOR THE HOME STRETCH:

On the jobs front, the economy added 1.8 million jobs in July, sending the unemployment rate falling to 10.2 percent. But last month’s gains were slowed due to the recent surges in coronavirus cases. This does not bode well for Trump, who has been pushing for the economy to reopen amid the pandemic. The recent surges in positive cases are happening in states that opened early like Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has taken numerous cues from the White House on reopening.  

YEEZY:

What exactly is Kanye West up to? 

That’s what Democrats want to know, as they grow uneasy about the rapper’s quixotic presidential bid.

In some cases, West’s effort has been aided by political operatives with apparent ties to GOP politics, leading some to conclude that he’s trying to draw Black voters away from Biden to help Trump get reelected. 

House Majority Whip James Clybrun (D-S.C.) has noticed. He told Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC:

“I don’t think there’s any question about that. We saw what was going on in Wisconsin where he was getting help getting on the ballot. But African Americans, most especially, know what this campaign is all about.” 

DEBATES ABOUT DEBATES:

Safety concerns over the upcoming presidential debates are emerging as planning takes place for the first forum at Case Western University in Cleveland. Health experts are recommending a number of precautions, including mandating masks, shorter debate times, and even virtual components to the forums. But the Trump campaign is chomping at the bit to get to the president to the debate stage, raising questions as to what format and style the campaigns will agree to with precautions put in place. The Hill’s Julia Manchester has more.

MAKING NICE:

Remember all that tension and strife between progressives and mainstream Democrats during the primary? 

Max Greenwood reports on a super PAC run by former aides to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is preparing to launch its first TV spot aimed at boosting Biden among progressives who remain reluctant to support him. 

IS NUNES IN TROUBLE?

In California, Rep. Devin Nunes’s opponent, Phil Arballo, is setting his hopes on shifting demographics in the state’s 22nd congressional district, a factor that has played a role in the ousting of a number of other Republican lawmakers, The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

We’re 10 days away from the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, 17 days from the beginning of the Republican National Convention, 53 days from the first presidential debate and 88 days out from Election Day.