WASHINGTON — Due to the coronavirus pandemic, several states across the country pushed back their primaries and runoffs that had been previously scheduled for the spring and early summer.
So here’s a handy updated calendar of the upcoming intraparty downballot contests that we’re watching, including ones that take place as early as next week (with a special shout-out to NBC’s Ben Kamisar for helping us to put this together):
June 2
Iowa Senate Democratic primary: Who will take on GOP Sen. Joni Ernst in the fall? Theresa Greenfield is the favorite, but the Des Moines Register has endorsed rival Mike Franken, and there are three other candidates on the ballot, too. If Greenfield doesn’t get to 35 percent support, the nomination will be decided by a party convention later in June.
IA-4 GOP primary: Rival Republican Randy Feenstra hopes to topple controversial Rep. Steve King once and for all.
June 9
Georgia’s Senate Democratic primary: Former special House election candidate Jon Ossoff competes against former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, former Lt. Gov nominee Sarah Riggs Amico and others for the chance to take on GOP Sen. David Perdue. If no one gets 50 percent, there’s a runoff August 11.
June 23
Kentucky Senate Democratic primary: Well-funded Democrat Amy McGrath wants a strong showing in the primary as she prepares a general election run against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
NY-14 Democratic primary: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aims to bat down a primary challenge from former CNBC reporter Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and others.
NY-16 Democratic primary: Progressive challenger and high school principal Jamaal Bowman hopes to topple longtime incumbent Rep. Eliot Engel.
July 7
NJ-2 Democratic primary: After Jeff Van Drew switched parties to join the GOP, Democrats are eager for revenge. They just have to pick a candidate first.
July 14
Alabama Senate GOP runoff: Jeff Sessions wants his old Senate seat back, but Trump has endorsed former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. The winner takes on vulnerable Democratic Sen. Doug Jones.
Texas Democratic Senate runoff: M.J. Hegar looks to finish off rival Royce West before taking on Republican Sen. John Cornyn.
Aug. 4
Kansas GOP Senate primary: Republicans fear that if polarizing candidate Kris Kobach wins the Republican primary, they risk losing this open seat in November. The likely Democratic nominee is a state senator and former Republican, Barbara Bollier.
MI-13 Democratic primary: “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces a rematch against Brenda Jones, who briefly held this seat in 2018.
Aug. 11
MN-5 Democratic primary: Another “Squad” member, Rep. Ilhan Omar, faces a field that includes political newcomer Antone Melton-Meaux, who argues he’d offer more low-key representation for the district.
Sept. 1
Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary: Congressman Joe Kennedy III is challenging longtime Democratic Sen. Ed Markey.
Data Download: The numbers you need to know today
1,675,321: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials. (That’s 83,333 more than Friday morning.)
98,973: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far. (That’s 3,471 more than Friday morning).
14.60 million: The number of coronavirus TESTS that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project.
More than 10 weeks: The amount of time between Joe Biden’s public appearance at a Delaware Memorial Day event yesterday and his most recent public appearance before that, at the final Democratic debate in Washington DC on March 15.
More than 11,000: The number of coronavirus cases linked to three meatpacking companies in the United States.
140: The number of clients at a Missouri hair salon who may have been exposed to coronavirus after a second hairstylist there tested positive.
Tweet of the day
2020 Vision: Biden’s one gaffe vs. Trump’s 17 insults and attacks
Joe Biden started off the long Memorial Day weekend when, on Friday, he got roundly criticized for saying, "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black."
He apologized that Friday afternoon.
By comparison, we counted at least 17 insults and attacks that President Trump made on Twitter over the long weekend.
They included Trump calling the African-American executive editor of the New York Times dumb; incorrectly castigating the integrity of mail-in ballots; falsely accusing a cable TV host of murder; and hitting North Carolina’s Democratic governor over whether thousands of delegates will attend the GOP convention in Charlotte.
One gaffe and an apology versus 17 attacks and insults.
Mitch McConnell on his vulnerable members
Here’s what McConnell said late last week when asked about Maine’s Susan Collins, Arizona’s Martha McSally and Colorado’s Cory Gardner:
“This was always going to be a difficult cycle for the Senate majority – this is the, this is the class that took us to the majority in ‘14 so we have a lot of members up: 23 Republicans, only 12 Democrats. The races haven't changed that much – this was always going to be a challenging cycle. Senator Collins. Senator Gardner, a lot of others are going to be in hard fought contests all the way to the end. I don't think the politics of the pandemic has changed the condition of any of these races.”
The Lid: Positively toward negative
Don’t miss the pod from Friday, when we looked at how the American public has soured on President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.
ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world
The president is threatening to pull the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina if Gov. Roy Cooper can’t “guarantee” that the full event will be allowed to go forward in August.
Political leaders including Mitch McConnell are speaking out against protestors who hungKentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in effigy at the state capitol.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is defending a top advisor who broke lockdown rules, causing a furor in the United Kingdom.
The New York Times compares this crisis with the financial meltdown that rocked the 2008 presidential race.
Older voters in Florida may be souring on Trump, the Washington Post writes.
Some Democrats are bracing for pre-election economic numbers that could be helpful for the president.
Kevin McCarthy is pulling his endorsement of GOP House candidate Ted Howze.
