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Every weekday, Ballotpedia tracks the events that matter in the 2020 presidential election.
Now, we’re bringing you the highlights from our daily briefings in a new weekly format so you can stay up-to-date on the 2020 election with one weekly email.
Here’s the latest from the campaign trail.
Candidates by the Numbers
 There are eight new candidates running since last week, including two Democrats and two Republicans. In total, 807 individuals are currently filed with the FEC to run for president.
Notable Quotes of the Week
“The [Iowa] State Fair is like half time. We’ve had the first two quarters of the game. We have the 3rd and 4th quarters to play still. If you’re a fan of the NBA, nothing happens until the 4th quarter. I wouldn’t be satisfied being ahead at half time.”
– Jeff Link, Iowa Democratic political strategist
“Under the traditional model for American presidential politics, winning candidates veer left (or right for the Republicans) in the primaries and then scamper back towards the center for the general election. So the real question is whether the leading Democrats have already staked out positions that would prevent the eventual nominee from modulating his or her tone in the fall of 2020.”
– Walter Shapiro, The Guardian
Week in Review
2020 candidates on gun violence and domestic terrorism
Following mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend, the 2020 Democratic candidates responded in interviews, tweets, and speeches. Candidates focused on Donald Trump’s rhetoric on immigrants, congressional inaction, and gun violence policies.
Trump called the weekend’s mass shootings part of a mental illness problem. He tweeted, “Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform.” He traveled to the two cities on Wednesday to meet with the communities affected by the shootings.
Some candidates left the campaign trail. Beto O'Rourke canceled campaign events, including a scheduled speech at the Iowa State Fair, to return to his hometown in El Paso. Tim Ryan also canceled events to visit Dayton, Ohio.
Steve Bullock gave an interview about the topic on CNN, speaking about the 1994 school shooting death of his nephew, Jeremy.
Others released policy proposals:
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Pete Buttigieg unveiled a $1 billion plan to combat domestic terrorism and radicalization, which would expand the FBI’s domestic counterterrorism field staff, target online hate speech with software tools, and include new gun legislation on background checks and magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition, among other policy proposals.
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Jay Inslee released a 10-point plan to address gun violence connected to white nationalism. His proposals included increasing federal funding for de-radicalization programs, spending more resources on joint federal-state investigations of white nationalists, and using extreme risk protection orders.
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In a Medium post, Amy Klobuchar outlined her anti-domestic terrorism proposal. She called for prioritizing law enforcement tracking, investigation, and prosecution of hate crimes and white nationalist activity. Under her plan, people with violent misdemeanor hate crime convictions would be barred from purchasing or possessing firearms.
It’s all about Iowa
The Iowa State Fair began Thursday and many candidates are spending half a week or more in the caucus state. All major candidates are scheduled to speak at the fair except for Beto O'Rourke, Wayne Messam, and Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris made her first 2020 media buy in the state, spending $145,000 on an ad introducing herself to voters that will air in Iowa for a week.
Other candidates issued policy proposals on rural communities:
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Kirsten Gillibrand proposed establishing a $50 billion fund for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to distribute as block grants addressing infrastructure improvements, disaster relief, and entrepreneurship, among other issues. Her plan also covers rural healthcare and green energy practices.
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Amy Klobuchar released her farming communities platform, which includes expanding federal commodity price supports and federal crop insurance programs, tariff review, loan forgiveness for agricultural students, increasing the use of ethanol, and infrastructure improvements.
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Pete Buttigieg unveiled his plan for improving rural healthcare through a “Medicare for All Who Want It” system. He would also expand loan forgiveness programs for healthcare professionals and the Conrad 30 waiver program, which waives a reentry requirement for some foreign doctors committing to work in underserved or rural areas.
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Elizabeth Warren proposed creating an Office of Broadband Access that would administer an $85 billion grant program to guarantee high-speed internet access across the country. Other initiatives she discussed include providing $100 billion in funding to address the opioid crisis, creating a rural pipeline for medical professionals, and combating consolidation in the agriculture sector.
Yang becomes the ninth candidate to qualify for the September and October debates
Andrew Yang qualified for the third and fourth Democratic presidential primary debates, reaching the polling threshold of 2 percent or more in a fourth eligible poll. Yang previously announced he had reached the grassroots fundraising and polling thresholds last week before the Democratic National Committee clarified its polling rules, leaving Yang one short at the time.
Tulsi Gabbard also crossed the donor threshold of 130,000 unique contributors for the Septembe and October debates. She has not yet passed the polling threshold. She is leaving the campaign trail for two weeks to complete Army National Guard training in Indonesia.
All candidates will have additional time to qualify for the October debate. The Democratic National Committee clarified that the qualification period began June 28—the same as for the September debate—and will end two weeks before the debate.
As a result, any candidate who qualifies for the September debate will automatically be eligible for the October event. Candidates will have at least three more weeks to reach the fundraising and polling thresholds. The date for the October debate has not yet been set.
The state of the race
Mike Gravel suspended his presidential campaign Tuesday and endorsed Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard. While Gravel qualified for the second Democratic presidential primary debate last month, he did not make the stage due to tiebreaker rules.
He is the third notable Democrat to leave the race, following Rep. Eric Swalwell and former West Virginia state legislator Richard Ojeda.
John Hickenlooper has not ruled out a potential bid for U.S. Senate in Colorado and has spoken with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about a possible run. "He is still in the race for president, but he hasn't closed the door to anything,” said Hickenlooper’s communications director.
Trump’s weekend plans
Donald Trump departs for his New Jersey golf club Friday as part of his annual August holiday. Real estate developer Stephen Ross is hosting a fundraiser for him Friday. Tickets for a private roundtable discussion with Trump are $250,000.
Want more? Find the daily details here:
Poll Spotlight
Staff Spotlight
Mike Frosolone is a Democratic staffer with experience organizing in Midwestern states.
Previous campaign work:
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2014 Staci Appel U.S. House campaign (IA-03), field director
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2012 Michigan state legislative elections, House Democratic organizer
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2010 Dan Muhlbauer Iowa House of Representatives campaign, campaign manager
Other experience:
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2015-2019: Iowa House Democrats, caucus director
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2008-2010: Service Employees International Union, organizer
What he says about Booker:
"Cory's performance serves as a validation for the folks who have committed their early support to his campaign."
What We’re Reading
Flashback: August 5-9, 2015
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August 5, 2015: The Hillary Clinton campaign made a $2 million ad buy in New Hampshire and Iowa focused on Clinton’s biography.
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August 6, 2015: Ten Republicans debated in the first presidential primary debate of the 2016 election cycle.
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August 7, 2015: Marco Rubio said he did not support abortion or exceptions in the case of rape or incest, clarifying a position he took in the previous night’s debate.
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August 8, 2015: Bernie Sanders ended a Seattle campaign event early after two Black Lives Matter activists took control of the podium.
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August 9, 2015: John Kasich said he supported a pathway to legal status for the 11 million immigrants living in the United States without legal permission.
Trivia
How many candidates have won the presidency without winning more than 60% of the vote in any state?
a. Zero→
b. Seven→
c. Four→
d. Two→
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