2020 Watch: Is this suddenly a new election?
NEW YORK (AP) — Presidential politics move fast. What we’re watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:
Days to general election: 43
Days to first debate: 8
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The narrative
The October surprise of 2020 came early.
The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg injects another generational fight to an election year that already featured the deadliest public health threat in a century, the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression and the most significant civil unrest since the civil rights era. Six weeks before Election Day, the fight to replace Ginsburg is set to dominate headlines, with the prospect of reshuffling voters’ priorities and campaign strategies, especially for President Donald Trump.
Still, the pandemic rages on. Millions of school children are stuck at home. The economic recovery is dragging. And more than 200,000 Americans have died.
Coming soon: one of the most highly anticipated presidential debates in the modern era is just eight days away.
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The big questions
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The final thought
Biden’s home state of Pennsylvania is increasingly looking like 2020’s premier battleground state.
While it’s true that both candidates have multiple paths to 270 electoral votes, their chances of winning would decrease dramatically if they fail to capture the state’s 20 electoral votes. There has been little public polling in recent weeks, but each side privately tells us the race there is tightening.
Trump is scheduled to campaign in Pennsylvania twice this week. And after Florida, no state will see more spending on presidential advertising over the coming six weeks than Pennsylvania, according to the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG. Also, just days ago, Biden unveiled a frame for the election that’s decidedly Pennsylvania-focused: This is a campaign between “Scranton and Park Avenue,” Biden declared, drawing a contrast between his working-class Pennsylvania roots and Trump’s privileged upbringing in New York.
Trump became the first Republican since 1988 to win Pennsylvania four years ago. But he did it by just 44,000 votes out of more than 6 million cast.
