The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
● UT-AG: On Thursday, former Utah Attorney General John Swallow launched a bid to regain the office he resigned from in 2013 due to corruption charges that he was later acquitted of. That's turned this year's GOP contest into a three-way race, as incumbent Sean Reyes was already facing an intra-party challenge from another Republican, Utah County Attorney David Leavitt. All three men are competing at the April 25 GOP convention in order to get on the June primary ballot, but as we'll discuss, convention rules mean that at least one of their campaigns will end next month.
Swallow first won office in 2012, when his boss, Mark Shurtleff, retired after three terms, but he didn't have long to celebrate. Just after he was sworn in, businessman Jeremy Johnson accused Swallow of participating in a scheme to bribe U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as a way to terminate a federal investigation into Johnson's online marketing firm.
Another businessman, Marc Sessions Jenson, also accused both Swallow and Shurtleff of wrongdoing soon thereafter. Jenson said that a few years earlier, after Shurtleff had successfully prosecuted him for fraud, the attorney general and his successor had extorted him for gifts and favors that included vacations, expensive massages, and a fake book deal for a Shurtleff friend.
Campaign Action
Federal and state officials began investigating the allegations, which Swallow and Shurtleff both denied, and the GOP-controlled state House also probed the matter. Federal investigators ultimately decided not to charge Swallow, but the other investigations continued.
Faced with continued legal scrutiny, Swallow announced his resignation in November of 2013, saying that he was leaving because of the high financial cost for both the state and his family. On his way out, Swallow declared, "Pure and simple, I believe the House investigation was calculated to drive me from office." A short time later, Reyes was appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert to succeed Swallow.
The next month, the House released a report concluding that Swallow had "compromised the principles and integrity of the Office to benefit himself and his political supporters" and had "hung a veritable 'for sale' sign on the Office door that invited moneyed interests to seek special treatment and favor."
Matters escalated the following year, when Swallow and Shurtleff were both arrested, but the duo's legal fortunes eventually brightened. State prosecutors dropped the charges against Shurtleff in 2016, and Swallow was acquitted in court the following year. The state legislature voted last year to pay Swallow $1.5 million to cover his legal expenses, a move that legislators described as necessary in order to avert what could have been a more costly legal battle.
Swallow, evidently believing that his reputational standing had improved, launched a comeback campaign last week by declaring that his term was "cut short by false allegations fed in part from political opponents in high positions in government," a situation "that can only be described as similar to what has transpired with President Trump."
Reyes' team, though, signaled early that it plans to use Swallow's old legal woes against him, acquittal or no: The incumbent's spokesman responded to Swallow's entry by remarking, "I would give you a comment but I can't stop laughing!!!"
Reyes had already picked up a challenge days earlier from Leavitt, who is the brother of former Gov. Mike Leavitt and, as Utah County attorney, has jurisdiction over the state's second-largest county. Leavitt has pitched himself as a reformer and focused his campaign on lowering the state's incarceration rate. Unlike Reyes, though, he declined to say much about Swallow's decision to run, saying that, while it was "unusual," Swallow had every right to get in.
Utah allows candidates to earn a spot on the primary ballot by either turning in enough signatures or by winning sufficient support at their party's convention: The GOP gathering will take place on April 25, though it will be conducted virtually due to the coronavirus. While candidates have the option to try both methods to get on the ballot, Reyes, Swallow, and Leavitt have each chosen the convention-or-bust option.
And at least one of them will go bust. State GOP rules say that, in races with three or more contenders, the convention may opt to either use multiple ballots or preference voting to gradually eliminate candidates from consideration. If one of these men ends up taking more than 60% of the delegate vote, he will be the only candidate to reach the primary ballot. If, however, no one hits this threshold, then the two remaining contenders will fight it out in the June GOP primary. (Utah Democrats' rules work the same way.)
But while the road to the Republican nomination is uncertain, whoever emerges with the nod will be the overwhelming favorite to prevail in November in dark-red Utah.
Election Changes
● Alaska: Alaska Democrats have canceled in-person voting for their April 4 primary and will instead extend the deadline by which absentee ballots must be received to April 10 (previously, ballots had to be postmarked by March 24). Ballots have already been mailed to 71,000 voters, but voters can also download a ballot from the party's website.
● Delaware: Democratic Gov. John Carney has issued an order moving Delaware's April 28 presidential primary to June 2 and allowing all voters to request an absentee ballot due to the coronavirus (Delaware is one of 17 states that requires an excuse to vote absentee). Carney also postponed all school board elections from May 12 to June 16.
● Georgia: Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says his office will send absentee ballot application forms to all active Georgia voters for the state's May 19 presidential and downballot primary, a plan that officials had previously floated. Voters will still need to return the forms (which are not postage-paid) in order to receive a ballot.
● Iowa: Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate is allowing absentee voting for Iowa's June 2 downballot primaries to begin on April 23, 11 days earlier than the statutory May 4 start date. Before the passage of a voter ID bill in 2017, this 40-day absentee period was the law in Iowa. Pate also postponed three elections for local office until July 7.
● Michigan: Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says that she will send postage-paid absentee ballot applications to all voters able to participate in Michigan's May 5 local elections. Voters will still need to return the applications in order to receive a ballot. Benson also says that her office will help local governments ensure that postage-paid return envelopes are included with any ballots.
● Nevada: Nevada officials are reportedly planning to conduct the state's June 9 downballot primaries entirely by mail. No details are available yet as to whether the state would proactively mail absentee ballots (or applications) to all voters. As things stand, voters must request an absentee ballot by May 26.
● New York: An organization representing local election officials has asked Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to postpone New York's April 28 presidential primary until June 23, as has Democrat Nate McMurray, who is running in a special election for the state's 27th Congressional District that is scheduled for the same day.
Democratic Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz has also introduced a bill that would effect the same change. In addition, Dinowitz's proposal would allow all voters to request an absentee ballot due to the coronavirus, since New York still requires an excuse to vote absentee. Cuomo has said he's looking into whether he can expand absentee access under his own authority, or whether legislative action is required.
● South Carolina: Election officials in South Carolina are weighing whether to delay the state's June 9 downballot primaries and are also considering various potential changes to the state's election procedures. Those include implementing excuse-free absentee voting and early voting, as well as moving to an all-mail election. Any changes would require an executive order by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster or action by the legislature.
● Wisconsin: Even though he just issued a shelter-in-place order for the entire state, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has once again said Wisconsin will not postpone its April 7 elections, which include presidential primaries and general elections for state and local office. The obvious problem of conducting in-person voting while asking citizens to stay home, however, has led Evers to suggest that in-person voting might be scrapped altogether. The governor has exhorted voters to request absentee ballots, and officials have received a surge of requests for them, but no steps have been taken to proactively mail ballots to all voters.
● Wyoming: Wyoming Democrats, who had previously canceled in-person voting for their April 4 presidential caucus, have now moved to an entirely vote-by-mail election. This means that voters will no longer be able to drop off ballots in person. In addition, the deadline by which ballots must be received has been extended to April 17 (previously, ballots had to be postmarked by March 20).
Senate
● IA-Sen: Senate Majority PAC has launched its second TV spot supporting businesswoman Theresa Greenfield ahead of the June Democratic primary to take on GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.
The narrator declares, "After a workplace accident took her husband, Social Security got her family through. So Theresa Greenfield can be trusted to protect it." The commercial also declares she's tough enough to stand up to D.C. corruption and "take on the special interests to make healthcare more affordable and refuse the corporate PAC money corrupting our system."
● KY-Sen: Retired Marine combat pilot Amy McGrath is out with a TV spot focused on the coronavirus ahead of the Democratic primary, which was recently moved from May to June.
McGrath speaks to the camera from her home with her husband and children in the background and tells the audience that "like many of you, I'm cooped up at home with Erik and our kids." The candidate says that because of the outbreak "we've decided to focus our campaign on helping families and seniors throughout Kentucky" and adds that she's launched an initiative "so our volunteers can assist Kentuckians in need during this crisis." McGrath does not mention Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
House
● NC-11: GOP Rep. Mark Meadows said Tuesday that he'd resign from Congress "toward the end of this month" to become Donald Trump's newest chief of staff, even though he seemed to already be representing the administration at a meeting earlier in the day. The Constitution forbids sitting members of Congress from simultaneously holding another public office, but Meadows insisted that wasn't working for the White House yet and that "Mick Mulvaney is still the acting chief, officially."