1. Voters in four states to decide statewide primaries Aug. 11
2. Proponents of Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma raised and spent $5.5 million, opponents raised $210,000
3. Filing deadline for independent presidential candidates to pass in 10 more states by Aug. 21

Voters in four states to decide statewide primaries Aug. 11 

As we’ve been covering in the Brew, August is a busy period of the primary election season. Seven states held statewide primaries from Aug. 4 through Hawaii’s primaries on Aug. 8. Four more states—Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin—are holding statewide primaries on August 11.

Connecticut will hold the final presidential nominating event of the year. In response to public health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) postponed the primary twice, first from April 28 to June 2 and then to August 11. 

In other primary elections Tuesday, voters will decide nominees for one U.S. Senate seat, 22 U.S. House seats, six state executive seats—including the governor of Vermont—and 683 state legislative seats. There are 11 battleground primaries, which are races we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in government or to be particularly competitive or compelling. One of those is the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District.

Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District

Five candidates are running in this primary. Media attention has focused on incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar and Antone Melton-Meaux.

Omar was elected to the House in 2018. She says she has delivered for the district by passing more amendments than any other member of the Minnesota delegation. She has been endorsed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Minnesota Attorney General and former 5th District Rep. Keith Ellison (D).

Melton-Meaux is a lawyer and mediator who says Omar has been more focused on arguments with the president and celebrity status than on the needs of the district. He has been endorsed by The Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial board and former Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy-Armstrong.

As of June 30, 2020, Omar raised $3.9 million. Melton-Meaux raised $3.7 million. Torey Van Oot of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote, "Much of the money on both sides comes from out of the state, reflecting Omar’s national profile as one of the first Muslim women in Congress and an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump."

The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball all rate the general election as Solid or Safe Democratic. Omar defeated Jennifer Zielinski (R), 78% to 22%, in the 2018 general election.

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Proponents of Medicaid expansion in Oklahoma raised and spent $5.5 million, opponents raised $210,000  

Last week Missouri voters approved a Medicaid expansion ballot measure - the second state to do so in 2020, after Oklahoma passed an expansion measure on June 30. A review of campaign finance reports in Oklahoma showed that the campaign supporting Oklahoma’s Medicaid expansion measure raised nearly 20 times as much as the campaign opposing the measure. Oklahoma voters approved Medicaid expansion—State Question 802—50.5% to 49.5%.

The measure expanded Medicaid eligibility to adults between 18 and 65 whose income is 138% of the federal poverty level or below under the Affordable Care Act. At the time the measure passed, Oklahoma was the 37th state to expand Medicaid since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010 (Missouri became the 38th). 

• According to campaign finance reports through June 30, the Yes on 802 campaign raised $5.5 million in cash and $295,000 of in-kind contributions. The campaign reported spending $5.47 million. In total, 95% of the funds raised came from eight donors:

• Oklahoma Hospital Association: $2.5 million

• St. Francis Hospital: $940,000

• Tulsa Community Foundation: $923,000

• Stacy Schusterman, chair of Samson Energy Company: $500,000

• Ascension St John Foundation: $250,000

• The Fairness Project $247,616.61 (in-kind)

• Chickasaw Nation: $100,000

• Oklahoma Medical Association: $25,000

The Vote No on 802 Association reported $210,600 in cash contributions and $100,084 of in-kind contributions through June 30.

A total of $1.8 million was spent to collect the 177,958 valid signatures required to place the measure on the ballot.

In 2018, Ballotpedia tracked $1.185 billion in contributions to ballot measure campaigns supporting and opposing the 167 certified measures in 38 states. So far in 2020, committees registered to support or oppose statewide ballot measures have reported a combined total of $335.7 million in contributions. A total of 111 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the 2020 ballot in 33 states.

Filing deadline for independent presidential candidates to pass in 10 more states by Aug. 21  

Although there is no formal, national deadline to file to run for president of the United States, each state has its own filing requirements and deadlines for independent presidential candidates to qualify for the general election ballot. These requirements may include submitting a petition with the signatures of a certain number of registered voters or paying a filing fee, or both.

The filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates have already passed in 29 states.

During the week from August 10 through August 14, three states have upcoming filing deadlines:

• Georgia (August 14)

• Iowa (August 14)

• Nevada (August 14)

In the following week—from August 17 to August 21—seven states have filing deadlines 

• Utah (August 17)

• Minnesota (August 18)

• Montana (August 19)

• Alabama (August 20)

• Tennessee (August 20)

• Louisiana (August 21)

• Virginia (August 21)

The chart below shows how many days are left until each remaining state's filing deadline passes:

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