1. Scott Franklin defeats incumbent Rep. Ross Spano (R) in FL-15
2. Looking at federal aid to states: past and present
3. Democratic National Convention continues

Scott Franklin defeats incumbent Rep. Ross Spano (R) in FL-15

Last night, statewide elections were held in Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming. Here’s a selection of the battleground election results that were available at press time. 

Florida’s 15th Congressional District (Republican primary)

Scott Franklin defeated incumbent Rep. Ross Spano in the Republican primary for Florida's 15th Congressional District. With 99% of precincts reporting, Franklin received 51% of the vote to Spano's 49%. Spano is the eighth U.S. House incumbent to lose a primary this year.

Franklin, who was elected to the Lakeland City Commission in 2018, said he would advance President Trump's agenda and "earn back the trust, respect and integrity the people of Central Florida deserve."

The Federal Election Commission received complaints that Spano loaned his 2018 campaign $167,000 that he borrowed from friends, in violation of contribution limits. In November 2019, the Justice Department and House Ethics Committee began federal probes into the alleged violation.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that Spano said he didn't know the loans violated any regulations and that he acknowledged the likely wrongdoing, but said if campaign finance regulations were violated, they were violated by mistake.

Three election forecasters rate the general election as Lean Republican. In 2018, Spano received 53% of the vote to Kristen Carlson's (D) 47%.

United States Senate election in Wyoming (Republican primary)

Cynthia Lummis defeated nine other candidates in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Wyoming. The Associated Press called the race on election night with 9% of precincts reporting. Lummis led with 57.1% of the vote, followed most closely by Robert Short with 17.5%.

Lummis served as Wyoming’s U.S. House Representative from 2009 to 2017. On Aug. 13, Trump endorsed her in a tweet, writing, “Cynthia is Strongly for our Military, our Vets, and protection of the Second Amendment. She will be a great Senator, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

The general election has been rated by independent outlets as Solid Republican. Incumbent Mike Enzi (R) announced last year he would not run for another term. Enzi defeated Charlie Hardy in 2014 by 55 percentage points.

Florida’s 26th Congressional District (Republican primary)

Carlos Gimenez defeated Omar Blanco to win the Republican nomination in Florida's 26th Congressional District on Aug. 18. As of 8:45 p.m. on election night, Gimenez had 60% of the vote to Blanco's 40%.

Gimenez, who has served as mayor of Miami-Dade County since 2011, says he reduced tax rates and cut spending while increasing the speed of county services. He said he would be the stronger challenger to Mucarsel-Powell.

Blanco, the president of Miami-Dade Firefighters and Paramedics Local 1403, said he has experience with seeking policy change in Washington. He also accused Gimenez of mismanaging the county's response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying his policies had been harmful to local businesses.

Gimenez will face incumbent Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D) in the general election. One election forecaster says the race is a toss-up, one says it tilts towards Mucarsel-Powell, and one says it leans towards Mucarsel-Powell.

Follow along as more results come in here.

Learn more

       

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Looking at federal aid to states: past and present

Between March and August 2020, Congress and President Trump appropriated funds to assist state and local governments with revenue shortfalls prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Negotiations in Congress over a new round of coronavirus aid stalled, in part, because of disagreement over additional relief for state and local governments. 

Advocates for an increase in federal support have called on Congress and President Trump to appropriate additional federal funds to make up for declines in tax revenue and attendant budget shortfalls. 

Opponents of increased funding acknowledge that the economic consequences of the pandemic are substantial, but also say that states’ spending—enabled, in large part, by increasing levels of federal aid over time—exacerbated the economic fallout from COVID-19.

To view our detailed coverage of this topic, click here. It includes data on the fiscal effect of coronavirus on state tax revenues, coronavirus-related federal aid to states, and current and historical data on federal funding to states.

Below are three facts on federal funding to states from our article:

• Estimates from three organizations expect state losses in tax revenue of between $41-$110 billion in fiscal year 2020 and between $191-$290 billion in fiscal year 2021.

• The National Association of State Budget Officers, in its 2019 State Expenditure Report, reported that 30.7% of total state spending was derived from federal funds.

• Hawaii had the lowest level of federal funding as a percentage of general revenue in fiscal year 2017 (20.7%). Montana had the highest (46.1%).

The chart below shows the trend in federal grants to state and local governments between 1940 and 2020 (in constant 2012 dollars).

Democratic National Convention continues

Today is the third day of the Democratic National Convention. It runs through Thursday across four stages in New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Wilmington. The convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13-16 in Milwaukee. Organizers postponed it in response to the coronavirus.

Seven caucuses and councils are scheduled to meet. In addition, the speakers will include former Pres. Barack Obama and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris. For our detailed coverage of the convention, click here.

And an update on filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates: seven deadlines are passing this week. They are listed below. After this week, 11 will remain.

• Aug. 17: Utah (1,000 signatures required)

• Aug. 18: Minnesota (2,000 signatures required)

• Aug. 19: Montana (5,000 signatures required)

• Aug. 20: Alabama (5,000 signatures required) and Tennessee (275 signatures required)

• Aug. 21: Louisiana ($500 filing fee required) and Virginia (2,500 signatures required)

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