POLITICS & 2020: The political crisis in Virginia deepened on Wednesday around three statewide elected Democratic leaders. In a lengthy statement, a woman named Vanessa Tyson detailed allegations of sexual assault against Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who has denied the charges. The alleged incident took place in 2004. “What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault.” – Tyson, who says she was lured into Fairfax’s hotel room at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fairfax would be in line to replace Gov. Ralph Northam if Northam were to resign over a 1984 photo that showed a person costumed in blackface and another dressed as a Ku Klux Klan member. Northam initially apologized but a day later denied he is in the photograph. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Mark Herring issued a statement saying he wore blackface makeup at a party in 1980. Herring had previously called on Northam to resign. Reid Wilson writes that the “rapidly evolving series of crises threatens both their own survival and their party’s electoral chances later this year” (The Hill). The Richmond Times Dispatch: Virginia’s leaders are not serving its citizens. The Washington Post editorial board: Northam must resign. 2020 Trump will hold his first reelection campaign rally of the year next week in El Paso, Texas. The city is notable for being on the border with Mexico. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the president cited El Paso as an example of where a wall has kept immigrants from crossing the border. It’s also the hometown of former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who will decide by the end of the month whether he’ll join the field of Democrats running for president. The New York Times: O’Rourke was once adrift in New York City. Now he’s searching again. > A new CNN poll finds that a majority of Democrats want former Vice President Joe Biden to enter the 2020 race (CNN). > Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will deliver a policy address today at Purdue University in Indiana. On Tuesday in Houston, CNN will host a town hall event with Schultz, who has angered Democrats as he moves closer to launching an independent bid for president (CNN). > Next up: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will launch her presidential bid on Saturday amid fresh questions about her claims of Native American heritage. Warren has apologized, but The Washington Post revealed this week that Warren claimed she was “American Indian” when she applied for the state bar in Texas. On Wednesday, Warren suggested she might have labeled herself as “American Indian” on other documents as well (Politico). > Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is expected to announce her presidential bid on Sunday. The Huffington Post: Klobuchar’s mistreatment of staff scared off candidates to manage her presidential bid. The HuffPost coverage on Wednesday stirred up a ferocious social media debate about gender in politics. © Getty Images Senate > Democrats are clamoring for former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams to run for Senate against Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in 2020. Perdue is a close Trump ally. Abrams nearly pulled off a stunner in the Georgia gubernatorial race last year and impressed Democrats once again with her nationally televised rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night (The Hill). Abrams has the attention of the president. “I don’t think she can win.” — Trump from the Oval Office on Wednesday > Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday threw cold water on speculation that he’s preparing to mount a bid for Kansas Senate to replace retiring Sen. Pat Roberts (R). “I intend to stay the secretary of State as long as President Trump will give me the incredible privilege to represent Americans around the world.” — Pompeo in an interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo More on campaigns and politics … House Republicans are painting Democrats as extremists as they attempt to win back the majority in 2020 (The Hill) … Democratic presidential contenders face a dilemma on how far to go in championing Medicare for all (The Hill). |