Notable Quote of the Day

“A pandemic and presidential politics have made 2020 an unpredictable year in Florida, but there's one thing the Sunshine State can count on this fall: A record- breaking deluge of political ads is coming.

Florida, the battleground state likely to make or break President Donald Trump’s reelection chances, will be awash in television ads as part of a frantic effort to win the state’s 29 electoral votes. The $137 million spent so far in Florida tops second-place Pennsylvania, which has seen $101 million in ad spending, and already has surpassed the total of $133 million spent in Florida in 2016. …

The overwhelming majority of the ads are aimed primarily at the Orlando ($43 million) and Tampa ($40.2 million) media markets. Those two markets collectively include an 18-county region known as the I-4 Corridor. That critical slice of national political real estate is targeted each presidential election cycle because it is home to a large swath of swing voters. Headed into election day on 2016, for instance, the region had 1.5 million voters with no major party affiliation.”

– Matt Dixon and Gary Fineout, Politico

Election Updates

• The first presidential debate, scheduled for September 29 in Cleveland, will run for 90 minutes with no commercial breaks. There will be one moderator, which the commission will announce in September. Audience and media attendance will depend on the severity of the coronavirus. 

• The Joe Biden campaign began airing three Spanish-language and bilingual ads about the coronavirus pandemic and healthcare in Arizona and Florida.

• The Democratic-aligned group, American Bridge, released an ad featuring Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, saying Trump could not be trusted.

• During the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, Donald Trump pardoned Jon Ponder, a convicted bank robber who started a nonprofit in 2010 to help ex-prisoners reenter society.

• The following officials will speak at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday: Vice President Mike Pence, Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Joni Ernst, Reps. Daniel Crenshaw, Elise Stefanik, and Lee Zeldin, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

• Howie Hawkins held a livestream with Jake Tonkel, a San Jose City Council candidate, on Tuesday.

Flashback: August 26, 2016

The Trump campaign hired Bill Stepien as national field director.