Tuesday’s primaries lead to Missouri victories for Medicaid expansion and Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush, the Biden campaign announces the biggest advertising buy in history across 15 states, and the Trump campaign makes debate demands while lowering expectations for Joe Biden. Then Manny Garcia and Cliff Walker, the leaders of the Texas Democratic Party, talk to Dan about what it will take to turn the state blue in 2020. And Ben Rhodes talks to Tommy about his new Crooked Media podcast, Missing America.

Show notes

Elections 

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Missouri voters narrowly approve Medicaid expansion 
• The Kansas City Star: Missouri votes to expand Medicaid over objections of state’s Republican leaders 
• NPR: Missouri Voters Approve Medicaid Expansion Despite Resistance From Republican Leaders 
• Kaiser Family Foundation: Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map 
• NYT: Missouri Expands Medicaid, Using Progressives’ New Tactic: Ballot Initiatives 
•  Vox: Covid-19 is pushing red states to finally expand Medicaid
•  The Atlantic: Oklahomans Just Embarrassed Trump a Second Time
•  WaPo: Have Republicans lost the argument over the Medicaid expansion? 
•  Pew Research: The Politics of Medicaid Expansion Have Changed 
• Politico: Progressive challenger Cori Bush beats Rep. Lacy Clay in primary 
• St. Louis Public Radio: Cori Bush Upsets Lacy Clay In Congressional Democratic Primary 
• NYT: Cori Bush Defeats William Lacy Clay in a Show of Progressive Might 
• NYT: What It’s Like to Run for Congress Without Health Insurance During a Pandemic 
• WaPo: Another left-wing Democratic primary win surprises the incumbent but not activists
• The Intercept: DOWN GOES CLAY: CORI BUSH KNOCKS OFF HALF-CENTURY DYNASTY 
• Politico: Progressives, Black Caucus set for Missouri showdown 
• NYT: Rashida Tlaib Cruises to Victory in a Primary Rematch 
• The Detroit News: Tlaib wins rematch with Jones in Michigan’s 13th District
• The Intercept: RASHIDA TLAIB AND SLATE OF LOCAL WINS SIGNAL PROGRESSIVE REVIVAL IN MICHIGAN 
• NYT: Kris Kobach Loses Kansas Senate Primary, Easing Republican Worries 
• NY Mag: Kris Kobach Loses Kansas Senate Primary 
• Mother Jones: Kris Kobach, the Nativist Vote Suppressor, Loses His Kansas Senate Primary 
• The Atlantic: Democrats Are Spending Millions to Boost a Trump Ally 

Joe’s Ad Buy

• NYT: Biden Announces $280 Million Fall Ad Buy Across 15 States 
•  ABC News: Biden campaign goes on offense, looks to expand electoral map with $280 million general election ad buy 
• CNN: Biden campaign to hammer Trump over pandemic response with $280 million in ads across 15 states 
• CBS: Biden campaign announces largest ad buy ever by a presidential candidate 
• TIME: Joe Biden Campaign Reserves $280 Million for Ad Buys Across 15 States 
• NBC: Biden campaign makes $280 million in ad reservations for fall stretch 
• Daily Beast: Biden Campaign Preps Offensive Against Trump ‘Death Star’ 
• Reuters: Biden unveils quarter-billion-dollar campaign advertising blitz
• Houston Chronicle: Biden campaign announces $280 million ad buy through fall
• AJC: Biden’s campaign launches first presidential ads in battleground Georgia 
• LMT: Biden picks Laredoan to lead Texas campaign 
• Morning Consult: Republicans Lead Senate Races in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, With South Carolina Tied 
• CBS: Biden increases Texas staff and resources in bid to win Lone Star State
• Dallas Morning News: Joe Biden staffs up in Texas, assembling team in emerging battleground with three months to go
• Houston Chronicle: Joe Biden promotes two Latinas to lead his campaign in Texas 
• Texas Tribune: Joe Biden’s campaign names first Texas hires for general election 
• Forbes: Polls Put Biden Ahead in Georgia and North Carolina 
• The Hill: Biden campaign staffs up in Georgia
• Politico: ‘We see an opening’: Biden makes a play for Texas 
• NYT: Biden Announces $280 Million Fall Ad Buy Across 15 States
• Newsweek: Biden Leads Trump by Double Digits in Battleground States Michigan and Wisconsin: Poll
• WaPo: Biden’s new campaign website drives unity theme by incorporating ideas from former rivals 
• LA Times: Trump’s base starting to erode, new poll shows 
• Forbes: Biden Hasn’t Lifted Democrats in Key Red State Senate Races, Polling Shows
• CBS: Polling analysis: Do Voters view Biden and Trump as moderate or extreme? 
• Politico: Trump’s campaign knocks on a million doors a week. Biden’s knocks on zero. 
• Toledo Blade: Ohio poll reveals what issues are motivating voters in 2020 
• WaPo: Democrats in key states press for a more visible Biden campaign 
• CNN: Trump must win North Carolina. He’s losing there. 
• Politico: ‘Hating Joe Biden doesn’t juice up their base’: Key swing states slip away from Trump 
• New Yorker: Biden’s Big-Tent Strategy Seems to be Working
• VOX: How the coronavirus got Joe Biden to think much bigger 
• NBC: Biden and Obama get together take aim at Trump’s coronavirus response 
• NYT– Upshot: Big Polling Leads Tend to Erode. Is Biden’s Edge Different?
• VOX: How Biden is winning
• NYT: Why a ‘Do No Harm’ General Election Strategy Could Work for Joe Biden 
• ABC: Biden campaign invests in diverse coalitions with new campaign hires 
• AP: Democratic group looks to close Trump-Biden enthusiasm gap (07/22)

Debate about the debates

• Axios: Exclusive: Trump campaign seeks early September presidential debate
• Politico: Trump campaign requests earlier debate date to get ahead of mail-in ballots
• CNN: Fact check: Trump makes at least 20 false claims in Fox & Friends interview 
• Fox News:  Mike Huckabee: Biden will forfeit right to be president if he doesn’t debate Trump
• Fox News: Trump ally Christie urges more and earlier presidential debates
• WaPo: Biden won’t travel to Milwaukee to accept Democratic nomination amid coronavirus concerns 
• WaPo: Republicans consider South Lawn of the White House for Donald Trump’s convention speech
• CNN: Joe Biden could still lose this election
• CNN: Political analyst makes plea for Biden not to debate Trump 
• NYT Op-Ed – Let’s Scrap the Presidential Debates
• Axios: Watch the full “Axios on HBO” interview with President Trump
• Vox: “They are dying. That’s true. It is what it is.” Trump’s Axios interview was a disaster.
• The Guardian: ‘They’re dying … it is what it is’: key takeaways from Trump’s shocking interview
• CNN: Jonathan Swan reveals the simple secret to exposing Trump’s lies: basic follow-up questions 
• WaPo: Axios’s Jonathan Swan is the latest interviewer to leave Trump grasping on TV