Primary night plans—Lugar's funeral—Pete's S.C. swing—Young's improving 2020 map
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Primary night plans—Lugar's funeral—Pete's S.C. swing—Young's improving 2020 map
The "It all comes down to turnout" edition.
Days until the 2020 election: 547
REMEMBERING LUGAR: Funeral services for Sen. Richard Lugar will take place on May 15 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, according to The Lugar Center. The service will be live-streamed. Beforehand, he will lie in state in the State Capitol beginning May 14, with a ceremony taking place at noon that day. The Lugar family will receive mourners on Tuesday from 2 to 7 p.m.
WHERE’S VEEP? He’ll join the president for the presentation of the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy to the U.S. Military Academy Football team and also help award Tiger Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
WHERE’S PETE? Campaigning in Orangeburg and Columbia, S.C.
Good Monday morning, and welcome to Importantville. It’s the day before primary elections here in Indiana, including municipal elections in cities such as Indianapolis, Carmel and Mayor Pete’s South Bend. Spoiler alert: It all comes down to turnout. In Indianapolis, there’s a high of 68 degrees with a 60 percent chance of showers.
In Indianapolis, Democrat incumbent Joe Hogsett will be at the IBEW Local Union 481. And Republican challenger State Sen. Jim Merritt will be at the Stacked Pickle on McFarland Blvd. Both are expected to win their elections handily.
In Carmel, incumbent Republican Mayor Jim Brainard is fending off a challenge from Fred Glynn, the Hamilton County Councilor. Glynn’s campaign say their numbers have him within the margin of error. The race has gotten ugly down the homestretch, with Brainard accusing Glynn of failing to pay his taxes (it was an Indiana Department of Revenue mistake, Glynn maintains), and Glynn buying ads that expose Brainard’s records of fender benders in city vehicles. If Glynn somehow pulled out a victory, it would be one of the state’s biggest upsets ever.
In South Bend, 2020 Democratic presidential contender and Mayor Pete Buttigieg isn’t on the ballot, but his legacy is: His handpicked candidate James Mueller will stand for election, and a loss could be awkward for Buttigieg.
Paid subscribers will get a Primary Day edition tomorrow.
THE BUTTIGIEG BEAT
Buttigieg is fresh off a week bracketed by attempts to win over black voters. He started off his week last Monday in Harlem meeting the Rev. Al Sharpton over fried chicken, and ended it in North Charleston, South Carolina, with a town hall that again drew very few black voters.
The first three questions in the post-town hall gaggle were about the issue.
The Associated Press has more:
Continuing his outreach to African American voters, South Bend Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg acknowledged Sunday that he needs to do more work to connect with the community, particularly in the early-voting state of South Carolina.
“It shows we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Buttigieg said after a town hall with 600 mostly white voters in North Charleston, where nearly half the population is black.
Buttigieg is planning to do just that during his two-day swing in South Carolina, the first state where black votes play a major role in the presidential primaries. On Monday, he’s holding a meet and greet in Orangeburg before sitting down with community leaders in Columbia.
Yesterday, per the campaign, Buttigieg “met with President Jimmy Carter at his home in Plains, Georgia. The mayor visited Maranatha Baptist Church for services and a Sunday school session led by President Carter before lunch at the Carter residence. They enjoyed a conversation about topics ranging from faith to the rigors of the campaign trail. They were joined by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Chasten Buttigieg.”
This week will see Buttigieg back in South Bend for a few days, where he’s finding himself spending little time, according to The Atlantic.
Meanwhile, over at The Indianapolis Star, reporters weigh in on where Buttigieg stands on policy.
EXTRA, EXTRA: The Indianapolis Star plans to cover Buttigieg with two reporters, including Andrew Clark on breaking news and Chris Sikich taking an entrepreneurial approach. It’s not an unprecedented move, with former Star scribe Mary Beth Schneider covering former Gov. Mitch Daniels’ early presidential moves ahead of 2012, along with those of former Sen. Evan Bayh. But it is a sign that Indiana’s paper of record is taking the contender seriously.
YOUNG’S IMPROVING 2020 SENATE MAP
With high-profile Democratic candidates like Stacey Abrams in Georgia turning down 2020 Senate bids, Sen. Todd Young’s time as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for 2020’s race could be better than imagined.
POLITICO writes:
Senate Democrats' bid to take back the majority is running into a big roadblock: Some of their most coveted recruiting targets are refusing to run.
And CNN notes:
Republicans have a better shot than not of maintaining control of the Senate in 2020.
Young, the first Hoosier to chair the NRSC since Lugar, might’ve picked a good cycle to do so. Here’s a look at the 34 races up in 2020, and the map he faces.
AROUND IMPORTANTVILLE
Deadspin takes on the Pacers’ new $600 million taxpayer-funded deal. “In any universe, that would be a pretty staggering price to pay for the privilege of watching first-round exits well into Victor Oladipo’s dotage. In this one, though, it’s merely the latest and biggest payoff in a series dating back to the construction of what was then the Conseco Fieldhouse only 20 years ago.”
FOX 59’s IN Focus considers Dick Lugar’s and Birch Bayh’s legacies.
IMPORTANTVILLE READS
Craig Fehrman, Indianapolis Monthly: The Bygone Era Of Birch Bayh
It was just after New Year’s Day, 1962, and Birch Bayh was driving his family to Harry Truman’s presidential library. Bayh, his wife, Marvella, and their 6-year-old son, Evan, weren’t headed to Missouri as tourists. They had an appointment with the former president himself.
Bayh was plotting a long-shot bid for one of Indiana’s U.S. Senate seats, and he wanted to meet with Truman, a man who knew something about Democratic upsets. The two talked politics for nearly an hour, until Evan, dressed in his best suit and trying very hard to stay still, blurted: “I have to go to the bathroom.” His parents were stunned—until Truman stood up, walked over, and offered Evan his hand. “You know, son, I do, too. Let’s go.”
Truman must have shared some good advice, because Birch Bayh won that race and two more after it, serving 18 years in the Senate. James Madison, a professor emeritus at I.U. and one of the state’s foremost historians, says Bayh “ranks among Indiana’s very, very best—a distinguished politician who made a difference.”
That’s all for today. Have a good week, and thanks for reading.