Cleveland Cavaliers in discussions with city about Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse being November polling

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in discussions with the city of Cleveland and Board of Elections about using Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as a polling place for the November election.

The downtown arena, which hosted the Republican National Convention in 2016 and was remodeled recently, would provide an enormous space, allowing voters in the precinct to observe social distancing guidelines in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The facility is owned by the county and managed by the Cavaliers in connection with Gateway. It has not been used for public events since the NBA paused its season on March 11.

“This is not a partisan issue. We want to drive everyone to vote. We realize that we have an opportunity to leverage our brand strength across the Browns, Indians and Cavs with our personalities and facilities to encourage the community to vote,” said Kevin Clayton, Vice President Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “But it’s not just the voting location, it’s leading up to it. We have voter education, registration and early voting. The County Board of Elections has done a great job of educating all three teams on what we need to do and how we can have impact. We think it’s our civic responsibility to take a lead in this area.”




https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/07/cleveland-cavaliers-in-discussions-with-city-for-rocket-mortgage-fieldhouse-to-be-november-polling-location.html

AZ-06: Rep. David Schweikert made a fake loan and misused campaign funds.

“Some of the most serious allegations had nothing to do with the chief of staff or the compliance firm and were instead the result of direct conduct by Representative Schweikert and his spouse,” the report said.

By far, the most damaging part of the report involves a $100,000 loan reported by Schweikert to his 2012 re-election campaign.

Bottom line: It was phony. Schweikert never actually made the loan. He just reported it, making his campaign appear financially healthier than it was. Then he reported five fictional payments totaling $100,000 to his campaign adviser in order to balance the books.




https://www.azcentral.com/

MI-03: Amash Retirement Opens Michigan Seat Democrats Plan to Target

Rep. Justin Amash’s decision not to run as a third-party candidate for his seat in November may have provided an opening for Democrats, as an increasingly negative Republican primary fight comes to a close.

Democrats say Amash’s July 17 announcement that the Republican-turned-Libertarian won’t seek re-election makes the race a clearer contrast for voters and, along with the district’s shifting suburban vote, will help the party pick up a seat in the Grand Rapids area for the first time since 1976.

Some Democrats said they hoped a three-way race would have splintered the GOP vote, but others said Amash, who voted for Trump’s impeachment, would have pulled votes away from both major party candidates. With Amash out of the picture, private Democratic polling shows their nominee, immigration attorney Hillary Scholten, in a close race with either of the Republican front-runners, Army veteran Peter Meijer and state Rep. Lynn Afendoulis.

Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said not having to run against Amash makes a “huge difference” for Scholten.

“It was already a race we were watching, because we believe there’s been so much change in that part of the state,” Barnes said. “Even more so, now that Amash is not in the race, it becomes a district we care about and we’ll watch.”...

“The Democrat has gotten a really lucky draw. Their opponents were all out and done by February,” Meijer spokesman Noah Sadlier said. “We are focused right now on winning the Republican primary.”



https://about.bgov.com/news/amash-retirement-opens-michigan-seat-democrats-plan-to-target/

DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos:"Texas still remains ground zero" for the fall."

Abby Livingston
@TexasTribAbby
DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos in a news conference: “Texas still remains ground zero” for the fall.
7:32 AM · Jul 31, 2020·Twitter Web App

GOP Hopes for TX-23 Dim as Tony Gonzales Screams 'I Won' into the Void

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Congressman Will Hurd’s shock retirement and ahead of tonight’s Allen West-led Texas GOP canvass of TX-23 ballots, there is still no end in sight for the disastrous Republican primary in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District.

While NRCC-favored Tony Gonzales has attempted to claim victory not one, not two, but three times, his runoff foe Raul Reyes has yet to concede and is vowing to request a recount, saying the race is “not anywhere near over yet.” Meanwhile, Gina Ortiz Jones is running laps around both men as she builds grassroots support, increases her $3 million war chest, and continues to run for Congress virtually unopposed.

“At this point, it’s unclear which number will be bigger: the amount of times Tony Gonzales insists he’s won this election or the final margin of victory in this disastrous nominating contest,” DCCC spokesman Avery Jaffe said. “The only clear thing that has emerged from this election is Tony Gonzales and Raul Reyes’ shared commitment to a dangerous health care agenda that would raise costs on hardworking Texans and strip away protections for pre-existing conditions.”




https://dccc.org/gop-hopes-tx-23-dim-tony-gonzales-screams-won-void/

NY-24: Katko: Both parties to blame as $600 jobless benefit is set to expire

U.S. Rep. John Katko said Friday that Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the expiration of a $600 weekly benefit that was available to millions of unemployed Americans.

The additional jobless aid was included in a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package approved in late March. The $600 payments, which are on top of the weekly unemployment benefits, were set to end July 31 — unless Congress acted.

The payments have provided much-needed assistance to unemployed Americans. In Katko's district, the unemployment rate in Onondaga County is 12.1% and 10.6% in Cayuga County.

In May, the House passed the Democrats' $3 trillion proposal that included an extension of the $600 payments through January 2021. Katko, R-Camillus, voted against the bill because he said it contained "poison pills," such as the release of incarcerated individuals who are age 50 or older, within a year of being released from prison or have chronic health conditions that increase their risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19.

Katko argued that it would be unfair to the inmates who are left in prison.

Despite Katko's opposition, it was still a starting point for negotiations. However, Senate Republicans opted to wait until July to act on another COVID-19 relief. And it wasn't until this week that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the GOP's proposal.



https://auburnpub.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/rep-john-katko-both-parties-to-blame-as-600-jobless-benefit-is-set-to-expire/article_4a9c2ddb-818a-5b6a-ba23-ac4be84d54d6.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1

McConnell: 15-20 GOP senators will not vote for any coronavirus deal

enate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday that more than a third of Republican senators will not vote for any coronavirus relief package, underscoring division with his caucus.

"I think there are 15-20 of my guys that are not going to vote for anything. ... It's a statement of the obvious that we will not have everybody on our side," McConnell told WHAS, a Kentucky radio station.

McConnell's estimate comes as congressional Democrats and the administration are struggling to reach an agreement after days of talks about a potential fifth coronavirus package as cases climb across the country and an economy bludgeoned by the pandemic.

McConnell, during the radio interview, said the two sides were "light-years apart," the latest sign that Congress and the White House are not close to a quick deal.

"This negotiation is going to be tough," he added. "At the moment there's not much movement."

But GOP divisions have also been in the spotlight after several senators trashed their own party's package, which was unveiled Monday. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) called the bill a "mess," while Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) argued that the negotiations were being carried out by "two big government Democrats."



https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/510094-mcconnell-15-20-gop-senators-will-not-vote-for-any-coronavirus-deal?__twitter_impression=true

I attended Joe Biden's fundraiser this evening and he left with one message about this election.

Expect a hard road ahead.

U.S. Envoy Told Brazil It Could Help Re-elect Trump

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday they were “extremely alarmed” by assertions that the American ambassador in Brazil had signaled to Brazilian officials they could help get President Trump re-elected by changing their trade policies.


https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/31/u-s-envoy-told-brazil-it-could-help-re-elect-trump/

McConnell signal to Republican Senate candidates: Distance from Trump if necessary

Washington (CNN)Sen. Mitch McConnell is allowing Republican Senate candidates to do whatever it takes to salvage their campaigns ahead of what Republicans increasingly fear could be a devastating election for their party.

In recent weeks, the Senate majority leader has become so concerned over Republicans losing control of the Senate that he has signaled to vulnerable GOP senators in tough races that they could distance themselves from the President if they feel it is necessary, according to multiple senior Republicans including a source close to McConnell.

That could mean breaking with Trump on the administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic and the continued efforts by the President to paint an optimistic picture despite rising cases and deaths across parts of the country, especially in many Republican states in the South and Midwest.

While this may give some senators the flexibility to draw a distinction between themselves and the President, it also forces them to walk a tightrope. Trump remains enormously popular with the Republican base, and any attempts to undercut him risks alienating those voters.



https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/31/politics/senate-mcconnell-trump-firewall/index.html