1. Biden outraised Trump by $8 million in June
2. Previewing the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Kansas
3. Local roundup

Biden outraises Trump by $8 million in June

We are now 96 days away from the November presidential election. Although campaigning and party conventions look much different this year, fundraising has continued at historical highs. Here’s an update from the June campaign finance reports for Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The numbers below are based on reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on July 20.

• Biden outraised Trump by $8 million for the month of June 
• The Biden campaign raised $63.4 million in June, a percentage difference of 13.8% from the Trump campaign's $55.2 million. 
• Trump's campaign spent $50.3 million compared to Biden's $36.9 million. 
• As of June, the Biden and Trump campaigns were nearly matched in cash on hand with $108.9 million and $113 million, respectively. 
  • Heading into the month, Biden’s cash on hand was $57.1 million to Trump’s $107.7 million.
• Trump leads Biden in overall fundraising since the beginning of 2017, $342.7 million to $278.8 million).
• Biden and Trump’s combined $621.6 million in fundraising is the second-highest combined total across the four most recent election cycles for which we have inflation-adjusted numbers..
• The only candidate to have outraised Trump was Barack Obama (D), who had raised $444.3 million in inflation-adjusted funds at this point in 2008 and $358.2 million at this point in 2012. 
• Trump's cash-on-hand total of $113 million is the highest of any candidate's at this point in the election cycle, topping Obama's $112.2 million in inflation-adjusted cash on hand in July 2012.
• At this point in the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R) had raised a combined inflation-adjusted $634.1 million. 
• Obama and Mitt Romney (R) had raised a combined $538.5 million in 2012, while Trump and Hillary Clinton (D) had raised a combined $384.1 million.

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Previewing the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat from Kansas

Yesterday, we kicked off our previews of the battleground races taking place this Tuesday, Aug. 4. We highlighted the four battleground races in Arizona. Today, let’s look at Kansas.

There are four battleground primaries taking place in Kansas. As a reminder, battlegrounds are elections that Ballotpedia expects to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling.

United States Senate election in Kansas (Republican primary)

Eleven candidates are running. Incumbent Pat Roberts (R), who was first elected in 1996, is not seeking re-election. The last time Kansas had an open Senate seat was in 2010. Bob Hamilton, Kris Kobach, and Roger Marshall have led the candidate field in endorsements, fundraising, and media coverage. On July 21, Marshall was endorsed by Roberts. Kobach has received the support of former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Hamilton, a former plumbing business owner, says he is a political outsider who will bring his business savvy to Washington. He says he will be a citizen legislator who will work to limit lobbyists' influence.

Kobach, who served as Kansas Secretary of State between 2011 and 2019 and was the Republican nominee for governor in 2018, says he is "[c]ommitted to restoring the Constitution to the Founders’ intent, limiting the size of government and solving the humanitarian crisis at the border." 

Marshall currently represents Kansas' 1st Congressional District, having first won election in 2016. He says he has a record of accomplishments in the House including sitting on the Agriculture Committee, ensuring that protections for crop insurance were included in the Farm Bill, and passing a bill to reduce tax rates. Marshall has received endorsements from Roberts and 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole (R-Kan.)

The other battleground primaries in Kansas are:

• Republican primary for Kansas’ 1st Congressional District

  • Bill Clifford, Tracey Mann, Jerry Molstad, and Michael Soetaert are running. Media attention has focused on Clifford and Mann. Incumbent Rep. Roger Marshall (R) is running for U.S. Senate, leaving this safe Republican seat open. Clifford was elected to the Finney County Commission in 2014 and previously served four terms on the Garden City Community College Board of Trustees. Mann was the lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2018 to 2019. Jeff Colyer (R) appointed him, and they lost the 2018 Republican primary to Kris Kobach and Wink Hartman.

• Republican primary for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District

  • Incumbent Steve Watkins, Jacob LaTurner, and Dennis Taylor are running. Watkins was first elected in 2018, defeating Paul Davis (D) by less than 1 percentage point. Incumbent Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R) did not seek re-election that year. Gov. Sam Brownback (R) appointed LaTurner as Kansas treasurer in 2017, and LaTurner was elected to remain in office in 2018. Previously, LaTurner served in the state Senate. Taylor was Kansas secretary of labor and served on the Shawnee County Commission. Election forecasters rate the general election as either Likely or Solid Republican.

• Republican primary for Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District

  • Five candidates are running for the Republican Party nomination for this seat, currently held by incumbent Sharice Davids’ (D),  who is running for re-election. Election forecasters rate the general election as either Lean Democratic or Likely Democratic.

By the way, Kansas legislative primaries also have an interesting history. In the 2018 Republican state House primaries, debate between supporters and opponents of former Gov. Brownback's 2012 tax cuts made the elections a battle between rival Republican factions. Twenty-three of the 31 contested primaries featured contests between pro-Brownback supporters of the cuts and anti-Brownback opponents. Republicans held their supermajority that year, winning 85 seats to Democrats’ 40. 

We’ll have previews of the battleground primaries in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington in the Brew right up to Aug. 4.

Local roundup

We’re continuing our weekly roundup of local races and election results with previews of the local ballot measure elections in Arizona, Michigan, and Missouri on Aug. 4.

Arizona

Voters in Gilbert will decide Proposition 430, a measure that would ratify the town's 2020 General Plan. According to the ballot title, the Gilbert General Plan is “a statement of land development policies that sets forth objectives, principles and standards for growth and redevelopment.” Gilbert’s population was 229,972 as of 2013. 

Michigan

Voters in Wayne County will decide two propositions to renew property tax levies. Voters in the Detroit Public Schools Community District will decide a proposition to renew a non-homestead property tax levy.

Missouri

Voters in Platte County will decide two sales tax measures, and voters in Hickman Mills C-1 School District will decide a bond issue.

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