2020 Republican National Convention begins in Charlotte

The 2020 Republican National Convention begins in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday. Each night of the convention has a different theme: Land of Heroes, Land of Promise, Land of Opportunity, and Land of Greatness.

• President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, First Lady Melania Trump, Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) are expected to speak throughout the week. Trump will accept the Republican nomination from the White House grounds.
• In June, the Republican National Committee Executive Committee voted to downsize the convention in Charlotte, reducing the number of in-person delegates from 2,500 to 336. The committee also decided to adopt the 2016 platform again since the Platform Committee would not be meeting.

Biden formally accepts Democratic presidential nomination

The 2020 Democratic National Convention concluded after four days of events, including the nomination of former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) for president and vice president. Biden accepted the nomination in a speech from Willmington, Delaware.

• Other featured speakers included former President Barack Obama, former First Lady Michelle Obama, former Second Lady Jill Biden, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.)
• The convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13-16, 2020, but organizers postponed the event in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the convention's events took place remotely across four stages in New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Wilmington.

Spano becomes eighth U.S. House incumbent to lose his primary this cycle, Lummis wins Republican Senate primary in Wyoming

Alaska, Florida, and Wyoming held congressional primary elections on August 18. Heading into the 2020 election, Alaska’s U.S. congressional delegation has two Republican senators and one Republican representative. Florida has two Republican senators, 14 Republican representatives, and 13 Democratic representatives. Wyoming has two Republican senators and one Republican representative. 

• One U.S. Senate seat and the at-large U.S. House seat were on the ballot in Alaska. The incumbents in both races filed for reelection. Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan (R) was unopposed and advanced to the general election. Rep. Don Young (R) advanced to the general election against two challengers. 
• All 27 U.S. House seats in Florida were on the ballot. Twenty-five incumbents—13 Democrats and 12 Republicans—filed for re-election. Fifteen incumbents were unopposed and advanced automatically. Ten remaining incumbents faced challengers in the primary. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-3) did not file for reelection, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-19) withdrew prior to the election, and Rep. Ross Spano (R-15) lost his primary.. 
• One U.S. Senate seat and the at-large U.S. House seat were on the ballot in Wyoming. Sen. Mike Enzi (R) announced on May 4, 2019, that he would not run for reelection to the U.S. Senate. Rep. Liz Cheney (R) filed for reelection to the U.S. House. She faced one challenger in the primary and advanced to the general election.

Sen. Bill Cassidy tests positive for coronavirus

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) announced on Aug. 20 he had tested positive for coronavirus. He is the second member of the U.S. Senate to test positive for COVID-19.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was diagnosed with coronavirus in late March. To date, 13 members of Congress have tested positive for the virus.
• Cassidy is running for re-election, and is on the ballot in the primary election in Louisiana on November 3.

Women's suffrage amendment turns 100

One hundred years ago, Tennessee became the 36th state to approve what became the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—the women’s suffrage amendment—on August 18, 1920. The specific text of the 19th Amendment reads: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

• The U.S. House of Representatives passed the amendment on May 21, 1919, and the U.S. Senate passed the amendment on June 4, 1919. At least three-fourths of the states (36 of 48) needed to pass resolutions for the amendment to become law. 
• The 15th Amendment prohibited the government from denying a citizen's right to vote on account of race, and the 19th Amendment prohibited the government from denying a citizen's right to vote on account of sex. However, some states and localities had laws that disenfranchised men and women of color. Intimidation was also used to keep people of color from registering to vote and voting. Historian Susan Ware, writing about the effect of the 19th Amendment, stated, "The primary beneficiaries of the 19th Amendment at first were white women and the small minority of African American women who lived in northern and western states, where there were no racial restrictions on voting."

Voters to decide Republican primary runoff in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District

Terry Neese and Stephanie Bice will compete in the Republican primary runoff in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District on August 25. The two advanced to a runoff when no candidate won 50% of the vote in the June 30 primary. Neese won 36.5% and Bice won 25.4% in the primary.

• Neese is a businesswoman who founded Terry Neese Personnel Services and co-chaired President Donald Trump's small business advisory council. Among her campaign priorities, according to her campaign website, are lowering taxes, increasing funding for border security, and reducing the national debt. Leading up to the runoff, Neese received an endorsement from the third-place finisher in the June primary, David Hill.
• Bice is an Oklahoma state senator for District 22, an office she has held since 2014. Her campaign website says her key issues include increasing funding for infrastructure and border security, along with “work[ing] to ensure families have the power and control to make decisions about their own healthcare.” On August 6th, Bice was endorsed by former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).
• Click here to view a runoff debate between Neese and Bice where they discuss topics including education, firearm ownership, and Coronavirus policies.

The winner of the runoff will go on to challenge incumbent Kendra Horn (D). In 2018, Horn defeated Steve Russell (R), becoming the first Democrat to hold the office since 1975. In February 2019, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified Oklahoma’s 5th as a Frontline district and the Republican National Congressional Committee identified the district as an offensive target for the 2020 election cycle.

U.S. Supreme Court releases November argument calendar

The U.S. Supreme Court has released its November argument calendar for the 2020-2021 term. The court will hear eight hours of oral argument in nine cases between November 2 and November 10.

So far, the court has agreed to hear 31 cases during its 2020-2021 term.

• November 2, 2020
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club
  • Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board
• November 3, 2020
  • Jones v. Mississippi
  • Borden v. United States
• November 4, 2020
  • Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• November 9, 2020
  • Niz-Chavez v. Barr
  • Brownback v. King
• November 10, 2020
  • California v. Texas (Consolidated with Texas v. California)

Eleven states have upcoming filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates

Although there is no formal, national deadline to file to run for president of the United States, independent presidential candidates must keep a close eye on the election calendar as each state has its own filing requirements and deadline to qualify to appear on the general election ballot.

• These requirements may include submitting a petition with a certain number of signatures or paying a filing fee. Filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates have already passed in 39 states.
• In the week of August 24, there are four filing deadlines the following week:
• August 24: Idaho
• August 25: Massachusetts, Oregon, and Wyoming
• The final seven filing deadlines will pass in the week of August 31.

Is Congress in session?

Both chambers of Congress are in recess next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.

Where was the president last week?

• On Monday, Trump participated in a Fox & Friends interview and spoke about jobs and the economy in Minnesota.
• On Tuesday, Trump participated in signing a proclamation on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and participated in an Iowa Disaster Recovery briefing.
• On Wednesday, Trump received his intelligence briefing and held a news conference.
• On Thursday, Trump met with the Prime Minister of Iraq and spoke at Mariotti Building Products in Pennsylvania.
• On Friday, Trump spoke at the 2020 Council for National Policy Meeting.

Federal judiciary update

• 78 federal judicial vacancies
• 48 pending nominations
• 3 future federal judicial vacancies

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