2020 Election Roadmap - A guide to the 2020 congressional and gubernatorial elections - The ESOP Association

 
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2020 Election Roadmap - A guide to the 2020 congressional and gubernatorial elections - The ESOP Association
2020 Election Roadmap

A guide to the 2020 congressional
and gubernatorial elections
Brought to you by The ESOP Association
October 7, 2020
Keys to the 2020 Senate election
                            State of play

                            § To gain majority in the Senate, Democrats would need to gain four seats or three seats and the
              1               presidency to break a 50-50 partisan tie
                            § Out of the 35 seats up for reelection, 12 are currently held by Democrats and 23 are currently
                              held by Republicans
                            § Five Republican seats are rated as Toss Up by The Cook Political Report (Georgia, Iowa,
                              Maine, Montana, and North Carolina)

                            Compounding effect of multiple competitive races

              2             § In Arizona, the race between incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and retired astronaut
                              Mark Kelly (D) has become increasingly competitive and Arizona’s role as a swing state in
                              the presidential election will bring a slew of spending and effort to increase turnout for both
                              elections
                            § In North Carolina, the 2020 Senate, gubernatorial, and presidential race are all competitive

                            Republicans mostly on defense
              3             § The 2020 Senate election map put Senate Republicans on defense for this election
                            § Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), currently rated as Lean R, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), currently rated
                              as Lean D, seem to be the only opportunity for Republicans to increase their majority in the Senate

S O U R C E 270towin, The Cook Political Report, Politico.

                                                                         2
Keys to the 2020 House election
                            State of play

               1            § To win the majority in the House, Republicans must pick up 18 seats
                            § Out of the 28 seats rated as Toss Ups by The Cook Political Report, 16 belong to incumbent
                              Democrats while 12 belong to incumbent Republicans
                            § Out of the 89 seats rated as competitive, 43 belong to Democrats and 46 belong to Republicans

                            Democrats’ strong position in the House

              2             § Heading into the 2020 election, about three times as many Republicans (27) will not
                              seeking reelection as Democrats (10)
                            § Democrats hold a wide lead in most generic ballot polls and hold a strong advantage due
                              to strong fundraising efforts at the candidate level and weak recruitment efforts for House
                              Republicans

S O U R C E 270towin, The Cook Political Report, Politico.

                                                                        3
Senators up for re-election
      In states won by the opposing party’s 2016 presidential candidate

         ■ Democratic Senator ■ Republican Senator
                                                                                           Democrats
                                                                                           Doug Jones (AL)             Ed Markey (MA)
             Clinton Victory               Trump Victory                                   Jeanne Shaheen (NH)         Jeff Merkley (OR)
                                                                                           Chris Coons (DE)            Gary Peters (MI)
                                                                                           Cory Booker (NJ)            Jack Reed (RI)
                                                                                           Dick Durbin (IL)            Tina Smith (MN)
            AK                Michigan                     Maine                      ME
                                                                                           Tom Udall (NM)*             Mark Warner (VA)
                         Gary Peters (D) won         Susan Collins (R) won
                         in 2014 by 13.3%            in 2014 by 37.0%        VT       NH

                   WA    ID    MT     ND       MN    IL    WI      MI   NY   RI       MA
                                                                                           Republicans
                                                                                           Dan Sullivan (AK)           Cory Gardner (CO)
                                                                                           Jim Risch (ID)              Mitch McConnell (KY)
                   OR    NV    WY     SD       IA    IN    OH      PA   NJ   CT

                                                                                           Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS)       Thom Tillis (NC)

                   CA    UT    CO     NE       MO    KY    WV      VA   MD   DE            Lamar Alexander (TN)*       Shelley Moore Capito (WV)
                                                                                           Martha McSally (AZ)         David Perdue (GA)
                         AZ    NM     KS       AR    TN    NC      SC   DC                 Joni Ernst (IA)             Bill Cassidy (LA)
                                                                                           Steve Daines (MT)           Jim Inhofe (OK)
                                      OK       LA    MS    AL      GA                      Lindsey Graham (SC)         Mike Enzi (WY)*
                   Colorado
                                                                                           Tom Cotton (AR)             Kelly Loeffler (GA)
            Cory Gardner (R)          TX
                                                    Alabama
                                                                        FL
                                                                                           Pat Roberts (KS)*           Susan Collins (ME)
            won in 2014 by 1.9%
                                                                                           Ben Sasse (NE)              Mike Rounds (SD)
                                               Doug Jones (D) won
                                               in a 2017 special                           John Cornyn (TX)
            HI
                                               election by 1.5%

                                                                                           *Senators not seeking reelection in 2020

S O U R C E US Senate.
2/2/20

                                                                                  4
Republicans hold 8 out of 10 Senate seats most likely to
      flip party control
    Hotline’s 2020 Senate power rankings                                     POWER RANKINGS

    IN ORDER HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO FLIP PARTY CONTROL
                                                                             1. Alabama:
    ■ Seat held by a Republican ■ Seat held by a Democrat                    • Incumbent: Doug Jones (D)
    Outline indicates it is in top five states most likely to flip           • Challenger: Former Auburn football coach Tommy
                                                                                Tuberville (R)
                                                                             2. Colorado:
                                                                             • Incumbent: Cory Gardner (R)
                         7                                           5       • Challenger: Former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D)
                                                                             3. Arizona:
                                                   9                         • Incumbent: Martha McSally (R)
                                        6                                    • Challenger: Veteran & retired astronaut Mark Kelly (D)
                             2                                               4. North Carolina:
                                                                             • Incumbent: Thom Tillis (R)
                                                                 4           • Challenger: Former State Sen. Cal Cunningham (D)
                3                                           10
                                                  1     8                    5. Maine:
                                                                             • Incumbent: Susan Collins (R)
                                                                             • Challenger: State House Speaker Sara Gideon (D)
                                                                             6.    Iowa — Joni Ernst (R)
                                                                             7.    Montana — Steve Daines (R)
                                                                             8.    Georgia — Kelly Loeffler (R)
                                                                             8.    Georgia — David Perdue (R)
                                                                             9.    Michigan — Gary Peters (D)
                                                                             10.   South Carolina — Lindsey Graham (R)

S O U R C E US Senate.
9/16/20

                                                                         5
Split ticket voting is on the decline in recent years
    Percent of House districts won by the opposite party for president
    DATA FROM THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION’S 2019 VITAL STATISTICS ON CONGRESS

          Possible reasons for the decrease:
                                                                                               44.1%
          • Increased political polarization                                                                   43.7%
          • Self-sorting of the population
          • The advantages of incumbency

                                                                                    33.3%
                                                                                                                        34.0%
                                                                            29.9%                          32.8%
                                                                                              32.0%

                         25.2%                                                                         28.5%
                                                                                      26.1%                                     25.1%

                                                                    21.3%
                                                                                                                       24.1%
                                            18.9%                                                                                  19.8%
                                                                            19.3%                                                               19.1%
                                                    14.1%
                                                            14.6%

                                 10.5%      11.8%    14.1%
                                                                    11.2%                                                               13.6%
                                                                                                                                                        8.0%

                         6.7%
          3.4%
                                                                                                                                                6.0%
                                         3.2%
                  1.6%

         '00 '04 '08 '12 '16 '20 '24 '28 '32 '36 '40 '44 '48 '52 '56 '60 '64 '68 '72 '76 '80 '84 '88 '92 '96 '00 '04 '08 '12 '16

S O U R C E US Senate.
2/2/20

                                                                              6
Democrats hold 14 of the 20 most likely House seats to
       flip, but will likely retain their majority

                                                                       POWER RANKINGS
            Hotline’s 2020 House power rankings
            IN ORDER HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO FLIP PARTY CONTROL          1.    TX-23: Rep. Will Hurd (R)*
                                                                        2.    OK-5: Rep. Kendra Horn (D)
           ■ Seat held by a Republican ■ Seat held by a Democrat        3.    SC-1: Rep. Joe Cunningham (D)
                                                                        4.    NM-2: Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D)
                                                                        5.    NY-22: Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D)
                                                                        6.    GA-7: Rep. Rob Woodall (R)*
                                                                        7.    IA-1: Rep. Abby Finkenauer (D)
                                                                        8.    GA-6: Rep. Lucy McBath (D)
                                                                        9. MN-7: Rep. Collin Peterson (D)
                                                                        10. IA-3: Rep. Cindy Axne (D)
                                                                        11. ME-2: Rep. Jared Golden (D)
                                                                        12. TX-24: Rep. Kenny Marchant (R)*
                                                                        13. NY-11: Rep. Max Rose (D)
                                                                        14. CA-21: Rep. T.J. Cox (D)
                                                                        15. PA-10: Rep. Scott Perry (R)
                                                                        16. TX-7: Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D)
                                                                        17. NJ-3: Rep. Andy Kim (D)
                                                                        18. IL-13: Rep. Rodney Davis (R)
                                                                        19. CA-48: Rep. Harley Rouda (D)
                                                                        20. TX-22: Rep. Pete Olson (R)*

                                                                       * Incumbent not seeking reelection in 2020

S O U R C E National Journal.
7/27/20

                                                                   7
National GOP committees have raised about $195 million
       more than their Democratic counterparts

         Total receipts by national party PACs                              AS OF AUGUST 31, 2020

         ■ Democratic PAC    ■ Republican PAC
   5                         5
                  RNC                                       $533M

                  DNC                           $282M
       3                 3
            2 DCCC               2           $249M

                  NRCC                $191M

                  NRSC               $168M

                  DSCC               $165M

           Total Dem                                                $696M

           Total GOP                                                                $891M

S O U R C E FEC
9/29/20

                                                        8
Roadmap

          § Congressional elections
          § Gubernatorial elections

                      9
Keys to 2020 gubernatorial races
                         Few possibilities for party flips

             1           § Currently, Democrats hold 24 governorships while Republicans hold 26
                         § In the 2020 elections, seven GOP seats are up for election while four Democratic seats are up for
                           election
                         § However, only two seats are likely to possibly flip parties (NC-Cooper (D) and MT-Open (D))

                         High visibility during COVID-19 outbreak could favor incumbents

             2           § State response has been in the spotlight during the COVID-19 outbreak, leading to coverage of
                           governors and more exposure to the public
                         § In multiple public polls, governors have a higher approval rating than President Trump on their
                           handling of the coronavirus

                         Governorships do not always align with partisanship for other offices
                         § Presidential and Senate elections do not necessarily indicate which party will win the governor
                           seat in a state
             3           § Although President Trump won Montana by 20 points in 2016, Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) won his
                           election although it was a slimmer margin
                         § Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) (up for reelection in 2022) has won two consecutive gubernatorial
                           elections despite Maryland electing two Democratic senators and Democrats winning the state in
                           presidential elections since 1992

S O U R C E The Cook Political Report, 270towin.
12/13/19

                                                                    10
There are only two open seats up for election in 2020
       2020 gubernatorial races by incumbent and status

          ■ Dem incumbent (3)            ■ GOP incumbent (6)
          ■ Dem open (1)                 ■ GOP open (1)

                               AK                                                                 ME

                                                                                             VT   NH

                                        WA   ID    MT    ND    MN        IL   WI   MI   NY   RI   MA

                                        OR   NV    WY    SD    IA        IN   OH   PA   NJ   CT

                                        CA   UT    CO    NE    MO        KY   WV   VA   MD   DE

                                             AZ    NM    KS    AR        TN   NC   SC   DC

                                                         OK    LA        MS   AL   GA

                               HI                        TX                             FL

S O U R C E The Cook Political Report
12/13/19

                                                                    11
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) has raised over $19 million
     Total receipts in 2020 governor races by state (in millions of dollars)
     AS OF MOST RECENT FILING PERIOD

             DE                      IN         MO            MT               NH             NC              ND              UT               VT             WA              WV
                                                                                          $19.3

                                                           $6.7                                   $6.9                                                    $7.0

                                                    $4.5
                                             $4.0
                               $2.7                                                                                       $2.4                                    $1.9
                                                                  $1.1    $1.5
             $0.5                     $0.7                                        $0.6                    $1.0                                                            $0.7 $1.0
                      $0.1                                                                                        $0.1            $0.1    $0.1 $0.5
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*Denotes incumbent
Displays receipts for front-runners
S O U R C E Indiana Election Division, Missouri Ethics Commission, CERS Montana, North Carolina State Board of Elections, North Dakota Secretary of State, Utah Disclosures, Vermont
Elections Divisions Campaign Finance, Washington Public Disclosure Commission, West Virginia Secretary of State.

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