WHEN TO EXPECT BIDEN VP PICK
By Matt Loffman, @MattLoff
Producer

When will Joe Biden announce his running mate? It’s the question that’s consumed political reporters since he clinched the nomination and has only become louder now that we are just 13 days from the start of the Democratic convention. What can we learn about his potential timeline from Democratic presidential nominees of the past? 

Well, perhaps most importantly, step back and take a breath. 

Biden is well within the historical average. Since 1984, in years with non-incumbent Democratic candidates, the vice presidential running mate has been announced on average 6.4 days before the start of the convention. Biden himself wasn’t announced as Barack Obama’s running mate until two days before the 2008 convention began. The earliest announcement came 20 days before the convention in 2004 when John Kerry announced fellow Sen. John Edwards as his choice. 

The idea of even knowing  the VP nominee before the convention is a relatively new phenomenon. In modern history, it wasn’t until 1984, when Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, that Democrats went into the convention knowing the full ticket. From 1960 until then, the vice presidential nominee was announced in the middle of the convention. 

While we aren’t expecting a shakeup on the GOP ticket, knowing the VP choice before the convention is even newer for Republicans. The first time in modern history that a Republican running mate was announced before the convention was 1996. The timing of the GOP VP announcement since then is on average just under six days before the convention. Donald Trump announced Mike Pence as his running mate three days before the 2016 convention. 


FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @iancouzenz
Politics production assistant

States use COVID relief dollars to hold down business taxes -- July 27. Eight states have used federal relief money for unemployment insurance trust funds, allowing them to  avoid the tax hike for  businesses that state and federal law would normally require in order to replenish the funds when they get too low. Why it matters: The move helps ensure that businesses already facing hardship due to the pandemic aren’t also hit with a higher tax bill, but it also means that not all relief money is going toward direct relief, such as rental assistance and food banks. -- Stateline

Campaign intensifies to lead House Appropriations -- July 30. Rep. Rosa DeLouro was thought to be a shoe-in to take over as committee chair because of her friendships with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and retiring chair Nita Lowey, but two other women are vying for the spot and have attracted more support among their colleagues than expected. Why it matters: Many freshman Democrats are pressuring the party to elect leadership with more generational diversity. If they succeed here, it could symbolize a much larger cultural shift within the party. -- Politico   

Republicans prep for leadership battle if Trump goes down -- Aug. 3. Donald Trump’s election helped the GOP’s warring factions come to a truce that would likely fall apart if he were to lose in November. Why it Matters: After a wave of defeats in 2016 pushed Republicans back into the minority in the House, another blow could spur calls for change and a fight over the future of the party that could topple existing leadership. -- Politico

Police money in US politics under scrutiny as calls for reform grow -- Aug. 3. Since 1990, 55 police union and law enforcement PACs have donated more than $1.18 million to congressional campaigns. More than 40 percent of this went to lawmakers who still hold office. Why it matters: Since 2002, congressional Democrats have received more of these funds than Republicans. But as more Democrats lead calls for police reform, they’re at risk of losing those donations, either from the groups themselves or from pressure to no longer accept them. -- Financial Times

FDA’s Shifting Standards for Chinese Face Masks Fuel Confusion -- Aug. 3. In the early days of the pandemic, a severe shortage of N95 masks prompted the FDA to loosen regulations on mask imports, allowing for approximately 3,500 Chinese mask manufacturers to flood the market with KN95 masks that were supposed to provide similar levels of protection against the coronavirus. Why it matters: The FDA did little to regulate these masks, resulting in many subpar products making their way into the market and rendering the KN95 distinction all but meaningless. This in turn left many state agencies with large quantities of masks  that are now considered unusable due to quality concerns. -- The Wall Street Journal 


#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer

One hundred years ago, in the leadup to the 1920 presidential election, one of the candidates was campaigning from home much like Joe Biden is today. This candidate campaigned from his front porch in Ohio. He wasn’t the only stationary presidential candidate that year — one of his opponents, socialist Eugene Debs, was a “candidate in seclusion,” campaigning from a prison in Georgia.

Our question: Which 1920 presidential candidate campaigned from his front porch?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: On this day in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. Name one of the two states that rescinded their earlier support and re-ratified the amendment in 2003.

The answer: Ohio or New Jersey.

The ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment was extremely controversial. It went on to be the basis for many civil rights cases and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment. However, in one test of the amendment’s reach, in 1875, the Supreme Court ruled in Minor v. Happersett that the amendment did not grant women the right to vote. 

Congratulations to our winners: Lee Miringoff and Andrew Barlow!!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.