usatoday--2020-10-16--'I'm going to end it:' Astros star Carlos Correa calls shot before walk-off homer in Game 5 against

'I'm going to end it:' Astros star Carlos Correa calls shot before walk-off homer in Game 5 against the Rays

SAN DIEGO -- They know you hate them .
They know the baseball world will never forgive them over their infamous cheating scandal .
But , oh , how those Houston Astros refuse to go away , embracing the hatred .
Carlos Correa , not only hit a dramatic one-out , ninth-inning homer in the Astros ’ 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays , but the man actually called his shot .
Correa , who has the fourth-most home runs in playoff history , left the on-deck circle , but before striding to the plate with one out , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called his shot .
`` Before he went up there , '' Baker said , `` he said 'Walk off , ' and I said go ahead on man . ''
Baker lowered his head , and prayed to his late father , Johnny Baker Jr. , and his brother , Victor .
“ Please Lord , ’ ’ Baker said , “ let us walk it off.
’ ’ Correa walked to the plate , facing Rays closer Nick Anderson , and saw the first two pitches , swinging and missing one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The next was a 96-mph fastball .
Correa swung , stopped , and admired it as it sailed over the center-field fence .
“ I knew it was gone , ’ ’ Correa said , “ the moment I hit it.
’ ’ Correa danced around the bases , cupped his ear as he rounded third base , stomped on home plate , and there was Baker hugging him with all of his might , not wanting to let go .
So , what was Correa saying to him ?
“ If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ Correa said , “ I said , ' I ( expletive ) told you . '
’ ’ The braggadocio wasn ’ t meant as a sign of disrespect towards Anderson by any means , Correa said , but he had gone to the indoor batting cage after his second at-bat in the fourth inning , worked with hitting coach Alex Cintron , and something clicked .
He lined out to shortstop Wily Adames in the seventh inning , and was left convinced that if he got up to the plate one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I wanted to drive the ball , and I felt I could do it , ’ ’ Correa said .
“ So when I was walking on the field , I said , ' I ’ m going to end it . '
’ ’ And just like that , the Astros became the first team in playoff history to hit the first and last pitches of a postseason game for home runs .
It was the second walk-off postseason home run for Correa -- joining David Ortiz and Bernie Williams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ -- and the first managed by Baker , spanning five teams and 61 postseason games .
“ That was a big a game as I ’ ve ever been in , ’ ’ Baker said .
“ That was one of the reasons I came back ( to managing ) .
You know , it ’ s like you birdie the hole on the golf course , you ’ ve had a bad day , so you keep coming back to play .
“ Man , that was sweet .
That was as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ’ Just like that , the Astros , who were given their last rites just two days ago , are only the fourth team in history to trail 3 games to 0 and force a Game 6 in a best-of-seven series .
There have been 38 teams to trail 3-0 in a best-of-seven series , and one team has ever come back to win , the 2004 Boston Red Sox , who went on to defeat the New York Yankees in the ALCS and sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ’ 99 New York Mets and 1998 Atlanta Braves lost in six games .
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman actually broke out the documentary of that ’ 04 Red Sox team at their team hotel Wednesday night , and shared it with his teammates .
Do you believe in miracles ?
“ I know what the numbers look like , ’ ’ Astros right fielder Josh Reddick said , “ but there ’ s always that chance .
Look at what the Red Sox did .
To quote the great ( NBA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible . '
’ ’ And , now , you ’ ve got the Rays who may have those same nightmares dancing in their heads .
“ We ’ re going to be ok , ’ ’ Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said .
Maybe not , but these are the Astros , who have been here the last four years , and have reached the World Series in two of them , including , of course , that infamous 2017 season .
“ We always have confidence , ’ ’ Astros DH @ @ @ @ @ @ @ play with a group as talented as we are , we ’ re not ever going to give up .
We believe that we ’ re going down fighting.
’ ’ The rest of the baseball world may have thought this series was over when the Astros went down 3-0 , but as the Astros have proven , they had other ideas .
“ That hurdle seemed like it was way off in the distance a couple of days ago , ’ ’ Baker said .
“ We are one step closer to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will go down one of the greatest games in history , ’ ’ Baker said , “ and hopefully will go down as one of the greatest comebacks in history after two more games .
’ ’

'I’m going to end it:' Astros star Carlos Correa calls shot before walk-off homer in Game 5 against the Rays
Show Caption Hide Caption Are the Houston Astros fighting for their legacy this postseason? SportsPulse: The Houston Astros were the embarrassment of the league heading into the season after the team's cheating scandal was revealed. Our MLB reporters debate if they're fighting for their legacies this postseason. SportsPulse, USA TODAY
SAN DIEGO -- They know you hate them.
They know the baseball world will never forgive them over their infamous cheating scandal.
But, oh, how those Houston Astros refuse to go away, embracing the hatred.
Carlos Correa, not only hit a dramatic one-out, ninth-inning homer in the Astros’ 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, but the man actually called his shot.
Correa, who has the fourth-most home runs in playoff history, left the on-deck circle, but before striding to the plate with one out, walked over to manager Dusty Baker and called his shot.
"Before he went up there," Baker said, "he said 'Walk off,' and I said go ahead on man."
Baker lowered his head, and prayed to his late father, Johnny Baker Jr., and his brother, Victor.
“Please Lord,’’ Baker said, “let us walk it off.’’
Dusty Baker says Carlos Correa called his own shot before his 9th inning walk-off homer pic.twitter.com/g5SnnUiFOG — Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) October 16, 2020
Correa walked to the plate, facing Rays closer Nick Anderson, and saw the first two pitches, swinging and missing one curveball with the other called a ball.
The next was a 96-mph fastball.
Correa swung, stopped, and admired it as it sailed over the center-field fence.
“I knew it was gone,’’ Correa said, “the moment I hit it.’’
Correa danced around the bases, cupped his ear as he rounded third base, stomped on home plate, and there was Baker hugging him with all of his might, not wanting to let go.
So, what was Correa saying to him?
“If you really want to know,’’ Correa said, “I said, 'I (expletive) told you.'’’
The braggadocio wasn’t meant as a sign of disrespect towards Anderson by any means, Correa said, but he had gone to the indoor batting cage after his second at-bat in the fourth inning, worked with hitting coach Alex Cintron, and something clicked. He lined out to shortstop Wily Adames in the seventh inning, and was left convinced that if he got up to the plate one more time, he was going deep.
“I wanted to drive the ball, and I felt I could do it,’’ Correa said. “So when I was walking on the field, I said, 'I’m going to end it.'’’
And just like that, the Astros became the first team in playoff history to hit the first and last pitches of a postseason game for home runs.
It was the second walk-off postseason home run for Correa --joining David Ortiz and Bernie Williams as the only others with multiple walk-offs -- and the first managed by Baker, spanning five teams and 61 postseason games.
“That was a big a game as I’ve ever been in,’’ Baker said. “That was one of the reasons I came back (to managing). You know, it’s like you birdie the hole on the golf course, you’ve had a bad day, so you keep coming back to play.
“Man, that was sweet. That was as sweet as it gets, right there.’’
Just like that, the Astros, who were given their last rites just two days ago, are only the fourth team in history to trail 3 games to 0 and force a Game 6 in a best-of-seven series.
There have been 38 teams to trail 3-0 in a best-of-seven series, and one team has ever come back to win, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who went on to defeat the New York Yankees in the ALCS and sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The other three teams, the ’99 New York Mets and 1998 Atlanta Braves lost in six games.
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman actually broke out the documentary of that ’04 Red Sox team at their team hotel Wednesday night, and shared it with his teammates.
Do you believe in miracles?
“I know what the numbers look like,’’ Astros right fielder Josh Reddick said, “but there’s always that chance. Look at what the Red Sox did. To quote the great (NBA star) Kevin Garnett: 'Anything is possible.'’’
And, now, you’ve got the Rays who may have those same nightmares dancing in their heads.
“We’re going to be ok,’’ Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said.
Said Anderson: “I don’t think anybody’s worried.’’
Maybe not, but these are the Astros, who have been here the last four years, and have reached the World Series in two of them, including, of course, that infamous 2017 season.
“We always have confidence,’’ Astros DH Michael Brantley said. “When you play with a group as talented as we are, we’re not ever going to give up. We believe that we’re going down fighting.’’
The rest of the baseball world may have thought this series was over when the Astros went down 3-0, but as the Astros have proven, they had other ideas.
“That hurdle seemed like it was way off in the distance a couple of days ago,’’ Baker said. “We are one step closer to getting over that mountain.
“This will go down one of the greatest games in history,’’ Baker said, “and hopefully will go down as one of the greatest comebacks in history after two more games.’’
Follow Nightengale on Twitter:@Bnightengale


usatoday--2020-10-16--Soldier shows up in classic car for a big surprise

Soldier shows up in classic car for a big surprise Spc .
Josue Cuevas hopped out of a vintage car @ @ @ @ @ not seeing them for six months .

Soldier shows up in classic car for a big surprise
Spc. Josue Cuevas hopped out of a vintage car and hugged his family after not seeing them for six months.
Militarykind, USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-10-16--As Kentucky's once-powerful coal industry buckles, its political prominence takes a tumble

GREENVILLE , Ky. — On a chilly February day in 2019 , nearly 200 residents , some wearing miners ' helmets and holding handwritten signs reading “ Save Unit 3 , ” gathered in a Muhlenberg County park dotted with historic buildings from coal 's heyday .
Then-Kentucky Gov .
Matt Bevin took the microphone , urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to vote against shutting down the last coal-fired unit of the iconic Paradise fossil plant .
Peabody Coal fed the plant , the largest of its kind in the world when it opened in 1963 , and made the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of John Prine ’ s song “ Paradise , ” the mines brought middle-class wages and glad-handing politicians seeking industry and union support .
Hopes were high for President Donald Trump , who had campaigned on a promise to revive the industry , to sway the TVA .
He tweeted his support , and Kentucky ’ s powerful Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also pushed to keep the plant open .
But just days later , the TVA opted to close the coal-fired unit anyway .
“ You ’ ve elected a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So you think they can get it done , ” said Jon Rogers , whose family coal company also fed the plant .
But , Rogers conceded , `` There ’ s a limit to their power.
” The closure was a stark example of Trump ’ s inability to meet the promises he made to voters to reverse coal ’ s decline .
Since then , a cascade of bankruptcies , coal plant closures and mine layoffs across the U.S. further diminished coal ’ s political clout .
Coal has shifted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — a far fall from the powerful role it played in influencing and financing past campaigns in major coal-producing states .
Hopes for the comeback that many politicians said they could help coal achieve are fading fast .
And those politicians are talking much less about the `` war on coal '' that helped push them to past victories — if they discuss coal at all .
“ Even President Trump now , he doesn ’ t talk about coal , ” Rogers said .
“ You just don ’ t hear it.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in coal country , including McConnell and his opponent in the Nov. 3 election , Democrat Amy McGrath , still pay lip service to the historically important resource .
But it doesn ’ t dominate their stump speeches the way it once did .
Industry campaign donations spiked during the Obama administration with the creation of super PACs that funded campaign ads hammering home their message that Democrats were waging a so-called “ war on coal.
” Now , contributions to federal candidates and PACs from the coal industry have suddenly plummeted — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Kentucky — as some of the top-spending companies reel from an industry seemingly in freefall .
The 'war ' is over , but coal declines continue While some candidates still invoke miners as a tried-and-true symbol of blue-collar America , the years-long criticism of the “ war on coal , ” which Trump , McConnell and others used to win votes , has quieted down .
McConnell declared victory in a February column : “ Together , President Trump and I have ended Obama ’ s regulatory war on coal .
Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to repair the damage.
” In the midst of McConnell ’ s last reelection bid , during the second quarter of 2014 , Kentucky ’ s coal mine employment totaled 11,510 workers , recent state government data shows .
By the second quarter of 2016 , when Trump was trying to win the White House , that figure had dropped to 6,517 workers .
And in the second quarter of 2020 , when McConnell and Trump both held two of the most powerful positions in the U.S. government , Kentucky was down to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were also driven by the pandemic .
Concerning McConnell ’ s contention that he helped stop Obama ’ s “ war on coal , ” McGrath told The Courier Journal : “ And he just lost 67 % of coal jobs in Kentucky over the last six years .
Is that winning , really ?
You know that was made up .
“ The problem is he continually lied to people for decades telling them , ‘ Oh , just vote for me , and I ’ m going to bring your coal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
“ They ’ re not back.
” McConnell , Trump and others ’ rhetoric that Obama ’ s “ war on coal ” was killing the industry was faulty , said Mark Thurber , associate director of Stanford University ’ s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development .
“ Objectively , it was never accurate , ” he said .
Environmental regulations Obama instituted , and that Trump rolled back , were part of the challenges coal faced , Thurber said , but the major obstacle was economic competition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is nothing that Trump and McConnell ever could have done to save coal short of … Soviet-style economics and governance , ” said Thurber , who published a book on the coal industry last year .
`` And probably even that would n't have worked . ''
Few expect coal ’ s downward spiral to translate into significant declines in support for Trump or McConnell ’ s 2020 reelection bids , though .
As hopes of reviving the industry evaporate , Western Kentucky University political science professor Scott Lasley suggested the message candidates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coal country is : You ’ re not forgotten .
“ If they still feel that Sen. McConnell and President Trump are still fighting for them and people in that region , they ’ ll be supportive , ” Lasley said .
'They just want somebody to be honest' In the tiny , red-brick historic downtown of Hazard , Kentucky , one building sports a Trump 2020 sign .
Yard signs for McGrath could be seen dotting one neighborhood .
But far fewer people are debating coal this year , said Terry Thies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Democratic Women ’ s Club .
“ That ’ s a big change from years past , ” she said .
“ Coal has always had a big influence in politics , until now.
” When McConnell was up for reelection in 2014 , coal was a dominant issue in his race against Democrat and former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes .
McConnell made coal — and his opposition to Obama ’ s “ war ” on it — a central theme of his campaign , and even Grimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policies .
Six years later , the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated McConnell ’ s latest reelection race , though McConnell and McGrath have each made mentions of coal in campaign ads and were quizzed about it during their debate on Monday .
McGrath said voters in Eastern and Western Kentucky still bring up coal when they meet her .
“ What I hear from miners and their families is they know that coal is not going away anytime soon .
We still need it … but it will not be what it once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Journal .
“ And they just want somebody to be honest about that and have a plan for the future.
” McGrath claims McConnell hasn ’ t done enough to help coal communities .
She points to the Senate ’ s failure , under McConnell ’ s leadership , to pass the RECLAIM Act , which would free up about $ 1 billion for cleaning up polluted former mine lands and preparing them for development .
McGrath also says bankruptcy laws must be changed to ensure miners are compensated when a coal company @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2020 campaign maintain he has accomplished a lot , in the face of significant challenges , to help the Kentucky families who depend on this struggling industry .
“ Mitch McConnell is Kentucky ’ s coal champion , and nobody has worked harder or done more in the Senate to protect coal communities than he has , ” Team Mitch spokeswoman Kate Cooksey said .
The senator has cited many examples of how he has worked to support coal companies and miners , including : • Securing legislation in December 2019 that prevented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ running empty ; • Negotiating a deal in 2017 that arranged for the permanent extension of health insurance benefits for retired miners and their dependents ; • Ensuring the Senate scrapped the Obama-era “ stream protection rule ” that required stricter standards for mining-related water contamination and for restoring streams negatively impacted by such operations , which opponents said would put coal jobs at risk .
While McConnell hasn ’ t totally dropped the “ war on coal ” talking point , warnings about restarting that “ war ” may not pack as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when Obama was still in office , University of Kentucky political scientist Steve Voss pointed out .
“ Selling a war on coal was easier .
Now those in charge can dangle threats of what might happen ( if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected ) , but it ’ s less compelling , ” he said .
Another reason coal has been less of a big deal during the 2020 election season may be because Biden doesn ’ t mention coal much , according to Murray State University political science professor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not an incumbent government or a rival presidential candidate who is attacking coal right now , ” Clinger said .
“ So , it ’ s a less salient issue in that respect.
” 'It was a huge block of votes' Steering a pickup through Muhlenberg County ’ s rolling hills in Western Kentucky , Jon Rogers headed toward the towering smokestacks on the Green River that could be seen for miles .
At the Paradise plant , which burned its last load of coal in February , a truck sat loaded with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s all the coal that ’ s left , ” he said , pointing to some left-behind piles .
Rogers and his relatives , who own the Rogers Brothers Coal Co. , long helped feed the plant , including leasing mining lands to Peabody and other operators .
Rogers sold a smaller mining company in 2008 and now works as the land manager for the company .
In 2017 , the TVA opened a smaller gas-fueled plant nearby , employing a small fraction of the coal plant ’ s workers .
By @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the coal plant was outmoded , inefficient , facing maintenance issues and that its retirement would save ratepayers millions — and it decided to close the coal unit .
The consequences for the county were swift .
A mine called Genesis operated by Murray Energy soon folded , putting more than 200 out of work .
Murray itself later declared bankruptcy .
By June , there were 250 people still working the county ’ s last mine , down from about 3,500 in the 1980s .
The fallout also extended to supporting industries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and plumbers .
“ It was a big blow to our community , ” said Judge-Executive Curtis McGehee .
The county slashed budgets and is scrambling to attract new industry to reclaimed surface mines .
But it ’ s battling a population that ’ s too small for some large employers and also lacks education and training .
Just 11 % of residents have bachelor ’ s degrees .
McGehee said he realizes it was seen as a business decision but feels TVA left the county hanging after taking advantage of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and rhetoric .
But I don ’ t think people have fought for the coal industry like they should have , ” he said .
“ When it ’ s time for an election , it ’ s easy for a Democrat or Republican to say they support the coal industry .
But if they don ’ t act on it , then I don ’ t know how helpful it is.
” Muhlenberg resident Steve Earle , the United Mine Workers District 12 Vice President , has seen the political focus dim @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with photos of coal and politics : Earle standing with President Bill Clinton , and FDR campaigning in a West Virginia coal camp .
With more than 5,000 members at one time in the area , he said , “ we were a force to reckon with .
It was a huge block of votes .
All the elected officials solicited .
They still do — but not as much ... ” “ For years when I lobbied in Frankfort , coal pretty much got what it wanted , ” Earle explained .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ coal industry has the clout it once did.
” His advice to those seeking jobs : “ Don ’ t chase coal , ” he said .
“ A lot of coal miners just feel like they ’ ve been abandoned , ” he said , noting few see promises for restoring coal as a savior for jobs anymore .
“ I think a lot of people have lost hope.
” As coal jobs and production continue to plummet this year , so too are political campaign contributions from coal industry executives .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ federal candidates and PACs quadrupled from the 2008 cycle to the 2012 cycle and neared $ 14 million in 2016 , the most recent FEC filings show they have fallen to the lowest level since before Obama took office .
The upward spike in coal industry giving during the Obama administration funded waves of TV attack ads against Democratic candidates , but those contributions have now dropped as some of the industry ’ s giants fall into financial peril .
Leading the charge to defeat Democrats with their checkbooks after 2008 were executives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Peabody Energy and Arch Coal — but mostly Joe Craft , the CEO of Alliance Coal with strong Kentucky ties .
Craft not only doled out the majority of the $ 24 million in federal campaign contributions from Alliance since the 2010 cycle , but gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans ’ efforts in Kentucky to win two races for governor and gain its first majority in the state House in over 100 years .
But as the industry started to collapse , so too did other companies ’ ability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in 2015 , followed by Peabody and Arch in 2016 .
Murray Energy contributed more than $ 1.5 million to federal candidates and PACs in each of the 2012 , 2014 , 2016 and 2018 cycles , then pitched in just shy of $ 100,000 in 2019 to reelect Kentucky Gov .
Matt Bevin — who was narrowly defeated in November just days before the coal giant faced its own reckoning and filed for bankruptcy .
In the 2020 cycle , Alliance and Craft alone now account for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s federal contributions .
A similar scenario has appeared to play out in Kentucky ’ s state legislative races this year , where coal industry donations are on track to be the lowest in years .
While Alliance made up 70-90 % of industry ’ s hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the gubernatorial races of 2015 and 2019 and the legislative races of 2016 and 2018 , Kentucky Registry of Election Finance records show less than $ 20,000 in coal industry spending on 2020 state legislative races as of early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hazard , William “ Jay ” McCool worked in coal for decades , doing jobs from roof-bolter to manager , surviving rockfalls and a slowly declining job market .
But McCool , 66 , like his father and grandfather , retired after he was diagnosed with black lung disease , caused by breathing in coal dust and silica , which has seen a recent resurgence .
Talking recently in a diner in Perry County , he recounted traveling to Washington , D.C. , last year with other miners to advocate for more excise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the indebted Black Lung Disability Trust Fund , which supports disabled miners .
Some of the miners publicly blasted McConnell afterward for meeting with them only briefly , but McCool said the longtime senator promised to work on the issue .
This spring , mining companies sought to have the tax reduced , citing the pandemic .
The fund is at risk for insolvency if Congress doesn ’ t take action by the end of the year .
He wants the federal government to make a commitment to the fund because the revival @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it never came , he said .
“ Trump said he ’ d bring miners back to work , but he didn ’ t , ” he said , unsure of whether it was Trump ’ s fault or others in government .
Regardless , he said , “ I don ’ t think they even tried.
” The majority of Perry voters are registered Democrats but supported Trump , said Perry County Judge-Executive Scott Alexander , who calls himself a “ God-fearing , gun-packing , coal-mining Democrat ” who believes that national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America.
” But , over the past four years , he said he 's seen hopes of a coal comeback fade .
“ The politicians , they run these polls and see what issues the public is talking about — and if coal didn ’ t make the radar , then it ’ s not going to be discussed in the election cycle , ” Alexander added .
“ And I think that ’ s the point where we ’ re at.
” Perry County saw coal employment drop 56 % from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year before , and coal jobs dropped 44 % to 353 , state statistics show .
In turn , the county ’ s budget has been further slammed by a steep drop in coal severance tax payments that are a tenth of what they once were , Alexander said .
That 's been coupled with declining property values and tax revenue .
Like other counties in a region that is among America ’ s poorest , Perry is struggling with cuts to services , a shortage of good-paying jobs and out-migration .
Alexander @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attracting new employers , which in recent years has included a drone testing facility and an aluminum parts manufacturer .
So far , he 's made promising progress in doing so , though such efforts are mixed across the region .
Much like promises about a coal revival , he said he ’ s careful not to make promises about new industries considering locating in his county before it happens .
“ The last thing we need is another false hope , ” he said .

Chris Kenning, Morgan Watkins and Joe Sonka, Louisville Courier Journal

As Kentucky's once-powerful coal industry buckles, its political prominence takes a tumble
Show Caption Hide Caption Plant's closure impacts struggling coal industry A coal plant in western Kentucky has shut down, marking a defeat for coal and President Trump, who tried to keep it open. The closure is the latest in a slew of coal plant shutdowns that's making it tougher for the industry to bounce back. (March 24) AP
GREENVILLE, Ky. — On a chilly February day in 2019, nearly 200 residents, some wearing miners' helmets and holding handwritten signs reading “Save Unit 3,” gathered in a Muhlenberg County park dotted with historic buildings from coal's heyday.
Then-Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin took the microphone, urging the Tennessee Valley Authority to vote against shutting down the last coal-fired unit of the iconic Paradise fossil plant.
Peabody Coal fed the plant, the largest of its kind in the world when it opened in 1963, and made the county a top producer. The subject of John Prine’s song “Paradise,” the mines brought middle-class wages and glad-handing politicians seeking industry and union support.
Hopes were high for President Donald Trump, who had campaigned on a promise to revive the industry, to sway the TVA. He tweeted his support, and Kentucky’s powerful Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also pushed to keep the plant open.
But just days later, the TVA opted to close the coal-fired unit anyway.
“You’ve elected a person occupying the most powerful office on earth. So you think they can get it done,” said Jon Rogers, whose family coal company also fed the plant.
But, Rogers conceded, "There’s a limit to their power.”
The closure was a stark example of Trump’s inability to meet the promises he made to voters to reverse coal’s decline. Since then, a cascade of bankruptcies, coal plant closures and mine layoffs across the U.S. further diminished coal’s political clout.
Coal has shifted to the back-burner in the 2020 election — a far fall from the powerful role it played in influencing and financing past campaigns in major coal-producing states.
Hopes for the comeback that many politicians said they could help coal achieve are fading fast. And those politicians are talking much less about the "war on coal" that helped push them to past victories — if they discuss coal at all.
“Even President Trump now, he doesn’t talk about coal,” Rogers said. “You just don’t hear it.”
Politicians who need to win votes in coal country, including McConnell and his opponent in the Nov. 3 election, Democrat Amy McGrath, still pay lip service to the historically important resource. But it doesn’t dominate their stump speeches the way it once did.
Industry campaign donations spiked during the Obama administration with the creation of super PACs that funded campaign ads hammering home their message that Democrats were waging a so-called “war on coal.”
Now, contributions to federal candidates and PACs from the coal industry have suddenly plummeted — along with funding of state legislative races in Kentucky — as some of the top-spending companies reel from an industry seemingly in freefall.
The 'war' is over, but coal declines continue
While some candidates still invoke miners as a tried-and-true symbol of blue-collar America, the years-long criticism of the “war on coal,” which Trump, McConnell and others used to win votes, has quieted down.
McConnell declared victory in a February column: “Together, President Trump and I have ended Obama’s regulatory war on coal. Now we’re doing all we can to repair the damage.”
In the midst of McConnell’s last reelection bid, during the second quarter of 2014, Kentucky’s coal mine employment totaled 11,510 workers, recent state government data shows.
By the second quarter of 2016, when Trump was trying to win the White House, that figure had dropped to 6,517 workers. And in the second quarter of 2020, when McConnell and Trump both held two of the most powerful positions in the U.S. government, Kentucky was down to 3,760 coal mine workers. Recent declines were also driven by the pandemic.
Concerning McConnell’s contention that he helped stop Obama’s “war on coal,” McGrath told The Courier Journal: “And he just lost 67% of coal jobs in Kentucky over the last six years. Is that winning, really? You know that was made up.
“The problem is he continually lied to people for decades telling them, ‘Oh, just vote for me, and I’m going to bring your coal jobs back.’ Well look around,” she said. “They’re not back.”
McConnell, Trump and others’ rhetoric that Obama’s “war on coal” was killing the industry was faulty, said Mark Thurber, associate director of Stanford University’s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development.
“Objectively, it was never accurate,” he said.
Environmental regulations Obama instituted, and that Trump rolled back, were part of the challenges coal faced, Thurber said, but the major obstacle was economic competition from cheap natural gas.
“There is nothing that Trump and McConnell ever could have done to save coal short of … Soviet-style economics and governance,” said Thurber, who published a book on the coal industry last year. "And probably even that wouldn't have worked."
Few expect coal’s downward spiral to translate into significant declines in support for Trump or McConnell’s 2020 reelection bids, though.
As hopes of reviving the industry evaporate, Western Kentucky University political science professor Scott Lasley suggested the message candidates want to send now to people in coal country is: You’re not forgotten.
“If they still feel that Sen. McConnell and President Trump are still fighting for them and people in that region, they’ll be supportive,” Lasley said.
Read more: Coal industry's political influence wanes, with exception of Joe Craft
'They just want somebody to be honest'
In the tiny, red-brick historic downtown of Hazard, Kentucky, one building sports a Trump 2020 sign. Yard signs for McGrath could be seen dotting one neighborhood.
But far fewer people are debating coal this year, said Terry Thies, the former head of Perry County’s Democratic Women’s Club.
“That’s a big change from years past,” she said. “Coal has always had a big influence in politics, until now.”
When McConnell was up for reelection in 2014, coal was a dominant issue in his race against Democrat and former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.
McConnell made coal — and his opposition to Obama’s “war” on it — a central theme of his campaign, and even Grimes slammed the Democratic president’s fossil-fuel policies.
Six years later, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated McConnell’s latest reelection race, though McConnell and McGrath have each made mentions of coal in campaign ads and were quizzed about it during their debate on Monday.
McGrath said voters in Eastern and Western Kentucky still bring up coal when they meet her.
“What I hear from miners and their families is they know that coal is not going away anytime soon. We still need it … but it will not be what it once was,” she told The Courier Journal. “And they just want somebody to be honest about that and have a plan for the future.”
McGrath claims McConnell hasn’t done enough to help coal communities.
She points to the Senate’s failure, under McConnell’s leadership, to pass the RECLAIM Act, which would free up about $1 billion for cleaning up polluted former mine lands and preparing them for development.
McGrath also says bankruptcy laws must be changed to ensure miners are compensated when a coal company goes bankrupt.
But McConnell and his 2020 campaign maintain he has accomplished a lot, in the face of significant challenges, to help the Kentucky families who depend on this struggling industry.
“Mitch McConnell is Kentucky’s coal champion, and nobody has worked harder or done more in the Senate to protect coal communities than he has,” Team Mitch spokeswoman Kate Cooksey said.
The senator has cited many examples of how he has worked to support coal companies and miners, including:
Securing legislation in December 2019 that prevented a major pension plan for miners from running empty;
Negotiating a deal in 2017 that arranged for the permanent extension of health insurance benefits for retired miners and their dependents;
Ensuring the Senate scrapped the Obama-era “stream protection rule” that required stricter standards for mining-related water contamination and for restoring streams negatively impacted by such operations, which opponents said would put coal jobs at risk.
While McConnell hasn’t totally dropped the “war on coal” talking point, warnings about restarting that “war” may not pack as much of a punch as it did when Obama was still in office, University of Kentucky political scientist Steve Voss pointed out.
“Selling a war on coal was easier. Now those in charge can dangle threats of what might happen (if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected), but it’s less compelling,” he said.
Another reason coal has been less of a big deal during the 2020 election season may be because Biden doesn’t mention coal much, according to Murray State University political science professor James Clinger.
“There’s not an incumbent government or a rival presidential candidate who is attacking coal right now,” Clinger said. “So, it’s a less salient issue in that respect.”
'It was a huge block of votes'
Steering a pickup through Muhlenberg County’s rolling hills in Western Kentucky, Jon Rogers headed toward the towering smokestacks on the Green River that could be seen for miles.
At the Paradise plant, which burned its last load of coal in February, a truck sat loaded with equipment to haul out.
“That’s all the coal that’s left,” he said, pointing to some left-behind piles.
Rogers and his relatives, who own the Rogers Brothers Coal Co., long helped feed the plant, including leasing mining lands to Peabody and other operators. Rogers sold a smaller mining company in 2008 and now works as the land manager for the company.
In 2017, the TVA opened a smaller gas-fueled plant nearby, employing a small fraction of the coal plant’s workers. By 2019, the agency was arguing that the coal plant was outmoded, inefficient, facing maintenance issues and that its retirement would save ratepayers millions — and it decided to close the coal unit.
The consequences for the county were swift. A mine called Genesis operated by Murray Energy soon folded, putting more than 200 out of work. Murray itself later declared bankruptcy. By June, there were 250 people still working the county’s last mine, down from about 3,500 in the 1980s.
The fallout also extended to supporting industries such as truckers, ironworkers, pipefitters, and plumbers. “It was a big blow to our community,” said Judge-Executive Curtis McGehee.
The county slashed budgets and is scrambling to attract new industry to reclaimed surface mines. But it’s battling a population that’s too small for some large employers and also lacks education and training. Just 11% of residents have bachelor’s degrees.
McGehee said he realizes it was seen as a business decision but feels TVA left the county hanging after taking advantage of its resources.
“I hear the talk and rhetoric. But I don’t think people have fought for the coal industry like they should have,” he said. “When it’s time for an election, it’s easy for a Democrat or Republican to say they support the coal industry. But if they don’t act on it, then I don’t know how helpful it is.”
Muhlenberg resident Steve Earle, the United Mine Workers District 12 Vice President, has seen the political focus dim, too. His office is filled with photos of coal and politics: Earle standing with President Bill Clinton, and FDR campaigning in a West Virginia coal camp.
With more than 5,000 members at one time in the area, he said, “we were a force to reckon with. It was a huge block of votes. All the elected officials solicited. They still do — but not as much...”
“For years when I lobbied in Frankfort, coal pretty much got what it wanted,” Earle explained. “I don’t think the coal industry has the clout it once did.”
His advice to those seeking jobs: “Don’t chase coal,” he said.
“A lot of coal miners just feel like they’ve been abandoned,” he said, noting few see promises for restoring coal as a savior for jobs anymore. “I think a lot of people have lost hope.”
Political giving mimics industry plunge
As coal jobs and production continue to plummet this year, so too are political campaign contributions from coal industry executives.
While the industry’s contributions to federal candidates and PACs quadrupled from the 2008 cycle to the 2012 cycle and neared $14 million in 2016, the most recent FEC filings show they have fallen to the lowest level since before Obama took office.
The upward spike in coal industry giving during the Obama administration funded waves of TV attack ads against Democratic candidates, but those contributions have now dropped as some of the industry’s giants fall into financial peril.
Leading the charge to defeat Democrats with their checkbooks after 2008 were executives from Murray Energy, Alpha Natural Resources, Peabody Energy and Arch Coal — but mostly Joe Craft, the CEO of Alliance Coal with strong Kentucky ties.
Craft not only doled out the majority of the $24 million in federal campaign contributions from Alliance since the 2010 cycle, but gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republicans’ efforts in Kentucky to win two races for governor and gain its first majority in the state House in over 100 years.
But as the industry started to collapse, so too did other companies’ ability to fill super PAC coffers.
Alpha Natural Resources filed for bankruptcy in 2015, followed by Peabody and Arch in 2016.
Murray Energy contributed more than $1.5 million to federal candidates and PACs in each of the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 cycles, then pitched in just shy of $100,000 in 2019 to reelect Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin — who was narrowly defeated in November just days before the coal giant faced its own reckoning and filed for bankruptcy.
In the 2020 cycle, Alliance and Craft alone now account for more than 60% of the industry’s federal contributions.
A similar scenario has appeared to play out in Kentucky’s state legislative races this year, where coal industry donations are on track to be the lowest in years.
While Alliance made up 70-90% of industry’s hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the gubernatorial races of 2015 and 2019 and the legislative races of 2016 and 2018, Kentucky Registry of Election Finance records show less than $20,000 in coal industry spending on 2020 state legislative races as of early October.
More false hope not needed
In mines not far from Hazard, William “Jay” McCool worked in coal for decades, doing jobs from roof-bolter to manager, surviving rockfalls and a slowly declining job market.
But McCool, 66, like his father and grandfather, retired after he was diagnosed with black lung disease, caused by breathing in coal dust and silica, which has seen a recent resurgence.
Talking recently in a diner in Perry County, he recounted traveling to Washington, D.C., last year with other miners to advocate for more excise taxes on coal companies to help fund the indebted Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which supports disabled miners.
Some of the miners publicly blasted McConnell afterward for meeting with them only briefly, but McCool said the longtime senator promised to work on the issue.
This spring, mining companies sought to have the tax reduced, citing the pandemic. The fund is at risk for insolvency if Congress doesn’t take action by the end of the year.
He wants the federal government to make a commitment to the fund because the revival of coal mining that could have boosted it never came, he said.
“Trump said he’d bring miners back to work, but he didn’t,” he said, unsure of whether it was Trump’s fault or others in government. Regardless, he said, “I don’t think they even tried.”
The majority of Perry voters are registered Democrats but supported Trump, said Perry County Judge-Executive Scott Alexander, who calls himself a “God-fearing, gun-packing, coal-mining Democrat” who believes that national Democrats have “lost touch with rural America.”
But, over the past four years, he said he's seen hopes of a coal comeback fade.
“The politicians, they run these polls and see what issues the public is talking about — and if coal didn’t make the radar, then it’s not going to be discussed in the election cycle,” Alexander added. “And I think that’s the point where we’re at.”
Perry County saw coal employment drop 56% from the second quarter of 2020 compared to a year before, and coal jobs dropped 44% to 353, state statistics show.
In turn, the county’s budget has been further slammed by a steep drop in coal severance tax payments that are a tenth of what they once were, Alexander said. That's been coupled with declining property values and tax revenue.
Like other counties in a region that is among America’s poorest, Perry is struggling with cuts to services, a shortage of good-paying jobs and out-migration.
Alexander said his county is now focused on attracting new employers, which in recent years has included a drone testing facility and an aluminum parts manufacturer. So far, he's made promising progress in doing so, though such efforts are mixed across the region.
Much like promises about a coal revival, he said he’s careful not to make promises about new industries considering locating in his county before it happens.
“The last thing we need is another false hope,” he said.


usatoday--2020-10-16--The pandemic is political — and women are angry at the president

This story was published in partnership with The 19th , a nonprofit , nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender , politics and policy .
This reporting was supported by the International Women ’ s Media Foundation ’ s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists .
For months , women across the country have been navigating careers , caregiving and the coronavirus crisis , taking precautions and figuring out a new normal for themselves and their families .
During that same time , President Donald Trump was downplaying the seriousness of the illness , flouting guidance from medical experts and urging @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has returned to the campaign trail and his rallies with unmasked attendees numbering in the thousands .
Then , Trump announced that he is among the more than 7.4 million Americans who have contracted COVID-19 .
After spending the weekend at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , Trump returned to the White House , tweeting : “ Feeling really good !
Don ’ t be afraid of Covid .
Don ’ t let it dominate your life .
We have developed , under the Trump Administration , some really great drugs & @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did 20 years ago !
” Interviews with women voters reveal frustration , anger and resentment at what they see as the president ’ s irresponsibility that has led to a completely avoidable outcome for himself and the nation .
They say the president ’ s actions stand in sharp contrast to the sacrifices they continue to make in their daily lives .
“ I was angry at how reckless he had been with not wearing a mask , not social distancing , traveling knowing he had been exposed and endangering his whole @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a psychotherapist based in Washington .
Kerai is a married mother of a second-grader who is learning virtually due to the pandemic .
“ I ’ ve had to turn away clients and income because I have to manage my daughter ’ s education , ” Kerai said .
“ It ’ s been a strain .
He ’ s making it worse.
” In an already consequential election year , the pandemic has become increasingly political for women , who make up the majority of the electorate , the U.S. workforce and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to COVID-19 .
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce in September , compared to 216,000 men — many unable to juggle jobs and care for children unable to return to the classroom .
Research has shown that the already disparate mental health picture for women has grown during the pandemic , especially for working and career mothers .
And women are the majority of essential workers in health care , and domestic and service roles .
Among women voters , the gender gap in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and in polls , most voters respond that they disapprove of Trump ’ s handling of the coronavirus .
A recent NBC News/WSJ poll found that women prefer Biden to Trump by 27 percentage points .
In the ongoing absence of a national plan to address the pandemic , women are often coming up with protocols for their households .
Ashley Troha , a 34-year-old education consultant who is married with two children , ages 3 and 6 , said she spent much of the spring researching best practices to prevent the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would say even out of my extended family , we were the most cautious , ” Troha said .
She cut back on her hours at work to focus on schooling for her six-year-old daughter .
Troha said she went through a period of depression because of how hard it was to manage things .
Visiting family that was more lax with precautions like wearing masks caused “ a bit of family strain.
” When Troha got a notification on her cell phone last week that the president contracted the virus and said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Good.
” “ Not that I would want any harm on anyone , but I feel like this entire approach has been so detrimental to so many people in our country and it didn ’ t seem like he was acting like it was a reality , ” she explained .
“ Part of the delay of our reopening compared to other countries has been the lack of leadership and common-sense decisions … It ’ s disappointing.
” Rebecca Lyczak said she felt secure returning to working in person this fall as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she gets tested bi-weekly and students are tested every week .
But she ’ s worried about her husband — a high school teacher currently teaching remotely , but expected to return to the classroom in mid-October — and what his situation will mean for her family .
“ Once my husband ’ s students come back , I don ’ t think I ’ m going to be able to see my parents for quite awhile , because I ’ ll be too nervous , ” said Lyczak , whose son is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with friends , while her daughter , a high school sophomore , is doing remote learning .
Lyczak said she was surprised the president hadn ’ t gotten sick sooner , but that she was glad the diagnosis came before he was scheduled to travel to Wisconsin for another rally .
Within hours of Trump ’ s diagnosis , more White House officials , members of Congress and Trump surrogates and campaign aides also tested positive .
Reporting pointed to the likely source of the outbreak as a September 26 event at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court justice nominee , Amy Coney Barrett .
Many in attendance were not wearing masks and greeted each other with hugs and handshakes .
Several people in Trump ’ s inner circle have tested positive for coronavirus since his announcement of his diagnosis .
“ If he had taken things seriously , we would maybe not be in this position right now , ” Lyczak said .
“ I ’ m convinced we would ’ ve had less people who would ’ ve died .
” More than 210,000 Americans have died @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared a global pandemic on March 11 .
The virus has disproportionately killed Black and Latino Americans , who have also borne the brunt of the attendant economic crisis .
In her community in San Rafael , California , Lindsey Riddell said most of her neighbors are wearing masks , but she often feels like much of the country has relaxed the rules and she wonders when things will return to normal .
Riddell , her husband , their three children under the age of 5 and an au pair live in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home — she in their bedroom and he in a hallway or the garage — and Riddell says that while they are fortunate enough to have in-home child care and the resources to weather the pandemic as comfortably as possible , too many of her friends and colleagues are struggling .
“ This stuff is wearing on everyone , and now the president has coronavirus , ” Riddell , 42 , said .
“ Maybe that will help more people keep each other safe , ” she mused , hoping that the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and not his example .
Watching the president ’ s actions over the weekend , Kerai said she is also thinking about frontline workers , small businesses that have had to close and those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 .
“ This has been so difficult for so many people , ” she said , adding that her “ mind was blown ” when she saw Trump ’ s impromptu motorcade outside of Walter Reed to wave to supporters on Saturday afternoon , despite still having coronavirus .
“ The lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s infuriating , ” she said .
Riddell said she was frustrated to hear about the medical treatment the president is receiving — top-notch care not available to the majority of Americans who get sick .
“ It ’ s easy to downplay the seriousness of a very dangerous disease when you know you have access to the best , most cutting-edge treatments , ” she said .
“ It ’ s easy to feel immune and invincible when you are among the privileged few .
It seems grossly unfair , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting his own supporters at risk .
I may not agree with all the Trump supporters in the world , but I don ’ t want harm to come to them .
”

The pandemic is political — and women are angry at the president
Show Caption Hide Caption COVID-19 testing: Positivity rates and why they are so important COVID-19 widespread testing is crucial to fighting the pandemic, but is there enough testing? The answer is in the positivity rates. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
This story was published in partnership with The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy.
This reporting was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists.
For months, women across the country have been navigating careers, caregiving and the coronavirus crisis, taking precautions and figuring out a new normal for themselves and their families. During that same time, President Donald Trump was downplaying the seriousness of the illness, flouting guidance from medical experts and urging the reopening of the country as he has returned to the campaign trail and his rallies with unmasked attendees numbering in the thousands.
Then, Trump announced that he is among the more than 7.4 million Americans who have contracted COVID-19. After spending the weekend at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Trump returned to the White House, tweeting: “Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
Interviews with women voters reveal frustration, anger and resentment at what they see as the president’s irresponsibility that has led to a completely avoidable outcome for himself and the nation. They say the president’s actions stand in sharp contrast to the sacrifices they continue to make in their daily lives.
“I was angry at how reckless he had been with not wearing a mask, not social distancing, traveling knowing he had been exposed and endangering his whole family,” said Sara Kerai, a psychotherapist based in Washington. Kerai is a married mother of a second-grader who is learning virtually due to the pandemic.
“I’ve had to turn away clients and income because I have to manage my daughter’s education,” Kerai said. “It’s been a strain. He’s making it worse.”
In an already consequential election year, the pandemic has become increasingly political for women, who make up the majority of the electorate, the U.S. workforce and are being disproportionately impacted by and responding to COVID-19.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce in September, compared to 216,000 men — many unable to juggle jobs and care for children unable to return to the classroom. Research has shown that the already disparate mental health picture for women has grown during the pandemic, especially for working and career mothers. And women are the majority of essential workers in health care, and domestic and service roles.
Among women voters, the gender gap in the presidential election favors Vice President Joe Biden — and in polls, most voters respond that they disapprove of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus. A recent NBC News/WSJ poll found that women prefer Biden to Trump by 27 percentage points.
In the ongoing absence of a national plan to address the pandemic, women are often coming up with protocols for their households. Ashley Troha, a 34-year-old education consultant who is married with two children, ages 3 and 6, said she spent much of the spring researching best practices to prevent the spread of the disease.
“I would say even out of my extended family, we were the most cautious,” Troha said.
VP debate: Harris says she would not take a Trump recommended vaccine Harris says she would absolutely take a vaccine if it was recommended by public health professionals, but not if only President Trump says to. USA TODAY
She cut back on her hours at work to focus on schooling for her 6-year-old daughter. Troha said she went through a period of depression because of how hard it was to manage things. Visiting family that was more lax with precautions like wearing masks caused “a bit of family strain.”
When Troha got a notification on her cell phone last week that the president contracted the virus and said that her initial reaction was, “Good.”
“Not that I would want any harm on anyone, but I feel like this entire approach has been so detrimental to so many people in our country and it didn’t seem like he was acting like it was a reality,” she explained. “Part of the delay of our reopening compared to other countries has been the lack of leadership and common-sense decisions … It’s disappointing.”
Rebecca Lyczak said she felt secure returning to working in person this fall as a biology professor at Ursinus College, where she gets tested bi-weekly and students are tested every week. But she’s worried about her husband — a high school teacher currently teaching remotely, but expected to return to the classroom in mid-October — and what his situation will mean for her family.
“Once my husband’s students come back, I don’t think I’m going to be able to see my parents for quite awhile, because I’ll be too nervous,” said Lyczak, whose son is taking a leave from college and living with friends, while her daughter, a high school sophomore, is doing remote learning.
Lyczak said she was surprised the president hadn’t gotten sick sooner, but that she was glad the diagnosis came before he was scheduled to travel to Wisconsin for another rally.
Within hours of Trump’s diagnosis, more White House officials, members of Congress and Trump surrogates and campaign aides also tested positive. Reporting pointed to the likely source of the outbreak as a Sept. 26 event at the White House where the president announced his Supreme Court justice nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Many in attendance were not wearing masks and greeted each other with hugs and handshakes. Several people in Trump’s inner circle have tested positive for coronavirus since his announcement of his diagnosis.
Graphics: Contact tracing and visualizing the people exposed to COVID-19 by Trump outbreak
“If he had taken things seriously, we would maybe not be in this position right now,” Lyczak said. “I’m convinced we would’ve had less people who would’ve died. ”
More than 210,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11. The virus has disproportionately killed Black and Latino Americans, who have also borne the brunt of the attendant economic crisis.
In her community in San Rafael, California, Lindsey Riddell said most of her neighbors are wearing masks, but she often feels like much of the country has relaxed the rules and she wonders when things will return to normal.
Riddell, her husband, their three children under the age of 5 and an au pair live in their three-bedroom home. The couple works from home — she in their bedroom and he in a hallway or the garage — and Riddell says that while they are fortunate enough to have in-home child care and the resources to weather the pandemic as comfortably as possible, too many of her friends and colleagues are struggling.
“This stuff is wearing on everyone, and now the president has coronavirus,” Riddell, 42, said. “Maybe that will help more people keep each other safe,” she mused, hoping that the public will heed the president’s fate and not his example.
Watching the president’s actions over the weekend, Kerai said she is also thinking about frontline workers, small businesses that have had to close and those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19.
“This has been so difficult for so many people,” she said, adding that her “mind was blown” when she saw Trump’s impromptu motorcade outside of Walter Reed to wave to supporters on Saturday afternoon, despite still having coronavirus.
“The lack of judgment, the wanton endangerment … it’s infuriating,” she said.
Riddell said she was frustrated to hear about the medical treatment the president is receiving — top-notch care not available to the majority of Americans who get sick.
“It’s easy to downplay the seriousness of a very dangerous disease when you know you have access to the best, most cutting-edge treatments,” she said.
“It’s easy to feel immune and invincible when you are among the privileged few. It seems grossly unfair,” Riddell said “He’s putting his own supporters at risk. I may not agree with all the Trump supporters in the world, but I don’t want harm to come to them.”


usatoday--2020-10-16--Trump, Biden shower ad money on Phoenix, Philadelphia, Florida's I-4 corridor in final stretch

As President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden wage a ferocious advertising campaign focused on a half-dozen battleground states , ground zero this year is a handful of crucial television markets in Florida , Arizona and Pennsylvania .
Florida is the biggest ad magnet .
The tipping point of the perennial swing state runs along Interstate 4 from Tampa to Orlando , a belt that holds pockets of elderly voters , suburban women , Latinos , military service members – each among the demographic slices targeted to win the presidential race .
“ The partisan divide is narrowest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MacManus , a political science professor emeritus at University of Florida , who described her home area of Tampa area and Orlando as “ the swing markets in the swing state.
” '' The whole campaign is right here , ” McManus said .
In what is projected to be a record-setting year for campaign spending , Floridians are seeing a hurricane of political ads .
Arizona and Pennsylvania were also key battlegrounds .
Since Sept. 28 , the study found the top six markets were : •Tampa , where viewers saw 9,177 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was supported by 6,580 ads and Trump by 2,597 ads .
•Orlando , where viewers saw 8,781 ads for $ 10.7 million .
Biden was supported by 6,079 ads and Trump by 2,702 ads .
•Miami , where viewers saw 8,128 ads for $ 10.8 million .
Biden was supported by 5,737 ads and Trump by 2,391 ads .
•Philadelphia , where viewers saw 7,118 ads for $ 8.8 million .
Biden was supported by 5,581 ads and Trump by 1,537 ads .
•Phoenix , where viewers saw 6,866 ads for $ 10.9 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ads and Trump by 3,156 ads .
•Harrisburg , Pa. , where viewers saw 5,527 ads for $ 4 million .
Biden was supported by 3,881 ads and Trump by 1,646 ads .
Because the Sunshine State is a melting pot , the campaigns can test their competitive messaging there .
Biden has focused on the administration ’ s response to COVID-19 and healthcare .
He warns about Trump being a threat to Social Security and Medicare .
Trump compared the economic recovery to his own recovery from the virus and warned that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radical left , threatening Second Amendment rights and vowing to raise taxes .
“ If you want a lesson in micro-targeting of TV ads , just spend a day in these two markets , ” MacManus said of Tampa and Orlando .
“ Age targeting .
Gender targeting .
Issue targeting .
It ’ s pin-pointed here.
” How much is at stake ?
The 2020 campaign is projected to spend a record-setting $ 11 billion – about 50 % more than 2016 when accounting for inflation , according to the non-partisan Center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t dictate who wins .
Trump was vastly outspent in 2016 and still beat Democrat Hillary Clinton .
Special-interest groups can also outspend the candidates .
But beneath that umbrella , Trump and Biden are showering hundreds of millions of dollars in ads on battleground states .
Advertising – each candidate putting his money where his mouth is – offers a glimpse of each campaign 's priorities flitting across broadcast and cable television , radio and online .
Biden ’ s record-setting fundraising has outpaced Trump ’ s down the final @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run more ads in more states than the incumbent .
Through Aug. 31 , Biden ’ s campaign raised $ 540 million and Trump ’ s campaign raised $ 476 million , according to the Federal Election Commission .
The difference is starker when combined with the national party committees .
During August , Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised a record $ 365 million compared to Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $ 210 million .
Biden announced he raised another $ 383 million in September and Trump has n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was expected to outpace Trump again after big fundraising days following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and after a chaotic debate with Trump .
The fundraising advantage allowed Biden 's campaign to buy twice as many television ads in key battlegrounds and outspend Trump 's campaign nationwide .
Biden has spent $ 223 million airing television ads 356,366 times since April 9 , according to the Wesleyan Media Project .
For comparison , Trump spent $ 161 million on 261,633 airings during the same period , the study found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 153 million on television and radio ads , nearly tripling Trump ’ s $ 57 million , according to the tracking firm Advertising Analytics .
But outside groups narrowed the difference to $ 189 million supporting Biden and $ 127 million supporting Trump , according to Advertising Analytics .
The gap narrowed as the campaigns head to the finish line , but Biden kept a significant advantage .
From Sept. 28 through Oct. 11 , Biden ’ s campaign spent nearly $ 56 million to air television ads 80,000 times while Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to air ads 32,000 times , according to the Wesleyan Media Project .
“ Although the impact of ads in presidential races tends to be fairly small , Biden ’ s consistent ad advantages of two-to-one or even three-to-one in the battleground states has to account for at least some of his expanding lead in the polls over the past few weeks , ” said Travis Ridout , co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project .
Trump has outpaced Biden in online ads throughout the campaign , although Biden is catching up in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 165.8 million on ads on Facebook and Google since mid-April and $ 33.8 million since late September , according to the Wesleyan study .
For comparison , Biden spent $ 130.1 million on online ads since mid-April and $ 34.7 million since late September , according to the study .
During September , Biden outspent Trump 2-to-1 on television ads in North Carolina and Florida , 3-to-1 in Michigan and 4-to-1 in Pennsylvania , according to Advertising Analytics .
One of the latest hotspots has been Phoenix , which is competitive for both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 24.4 million was spent the week ending Oct. 9 , according to Advertising Analytics .
`` I think spending indicates that both campaigns believe that Arizona is in play , '' said Kim Fridkin , foundation professor of political science at Arizona State University and co-author of `` Taking Aim at Attack Advertising . ''
`` Biden 's advertising is making the case that COVID-19 needs to be controlled before we can bring back the economy and that may resonate with voters , '' said Fridkin , who acknowledged she has n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` I also think Trump 's advertising focusing on his successes in growing the economy would be effective as well .
I do n't think that messages focusing on immigration or riots in the streets would resonate with voters in Arizona . ''
Online ads can be tailored to specific regions of a state or specific audiences .
For example , Biden 's Google ads can target Philadelphia or Pittsburgh rather than the entire state of Pennsylvania .
`` They 're flooding the state , '' said Terry Madonna , director of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster , Pennsylvania .
`` A lot of them are interest groups supporting the candidates . ''
Local television ads are much cheaper than national ads , so stations in Tampa , Orlando or Phoenix are a bargain compared to a network .
Based on viewership and ad costs at 1,100 local stations in October 2018 , Advertising Analytics and Nielsen found that Minneapolis , Tampa , Orlando and Phoenix offered some of the cheapest opportunities to reach viewers .
For example , the cost to reach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Orlando during `` The View , '' $ 38 in Tampa during `` The Late , Late Show with James Corden , '' $ 38 in Minneapolis during `` Nightline '' and $ 46 in Phoenix during Good Morning America Sunday .
For comparison , the cost to reach a thousand independent voters can reach hundreds of dollars on other programs .
`` While overall advertising trends are shifting to digital media , our data has shown that broadcast television remains an incredibly efficient option for political advertisers , '' the report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t determine the winner of the race .
Trump was dramatically outspent nearly 2-to-1 in 2016 – $ 398 million to $ 768 million – and still defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton , according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics .
One of Trump ’ s advantages , which became far greater as president , was his ability to generate free coverage of his campaign , rather than buying advertising .
Trump received free media worth $ 5.9 billion from July 2015 through October 2016 , about double Clinton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to analysis firm mediaQuant .
`` What 's fascinating is how static the race has been , '' Madonna said .
`` It does n't seem like much is moving the dial . ''
A new study of presidential campaigns from 2004 to 2012 evaluated spending on advertising and grassroots outreach such as door to door canvassing and phone calls .
The so-called “ air war ” of advertising was more effective at persuading undecided voters , while the “ ground game ” was better at encouraging voter turnout , according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ While field campaigning tends to specifically focus on turnout of those whose minds are already made up , television advertising , which is less targeted but more informational in nature , tends to be better received by those who are undecided and could still change their minds , ” said Doug Chung of Harvard University , who wrote the report with Lingling Zhang of the University of Maryland .
Another concern is that viewers flooded with ads during every commercial break will ignore them or turn the channel .
MacManus said early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't watch any more .
`` I think there 's a saturation point that is somewhat easily reached , '' MacManus said .
`` if you see a new one , it grabs your attention .
But if it 's the same old – whatever . ''

Trump, Biden shower ad money on Phoenix, Philadelphia, Florida’s I-4 corridor in final stretch
Show Caption Hide Caption Attack ads are already filling the airwaves. Expect it to get worse. Attack ads usually fill the airwaves in the last few weeks of the presidential campaign, but this year they have gotten an early start. USA TODAY
As President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden wage a ferocious advertising campaign focused on a half-dozen battleground states, ground zero is a handful of crucial television markets in Florida, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Florida is the biggest ad magnet. The tipping point of the perennial swing state runs along Interstate 4 from Tampa to Orlando, a belt that holds pockets of elderly voters, suburban women, Latinos, military service members – each among the demographic slices targeted to win the presidential race.
“The partisan divide is narrowest in these two markets,” said Susan MacManus, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Florida, who described her home area of Tampa and Orlando as “the swing markets in the swing state.”
"The whole campaign is right here,” MacManus said.
In what is projected to be a record-setting year for campaign spending, Floridians are seeing a hurricane of political ads. Arizona and Pennsylvania are also battlegrounds. Since Sept. 28, the top six markets have been:
•Tampa, where viewers saw 9,177 ads for $9 million. Biden was supported by 6,580 ads and Trump by 2,597 ads.
•Orlando, where viewers saw 8,781 ads for $10.7 million. Biden was supported by 6,079 ads and Trump by 2,702 ads.
•Miami, where viewers saw 8,128 ads for $10.8 million. Biden was supported by 5,737 ads and Trump by 2,391 ads.
•Philadelphia, where viewers saw 7,118 ads for $8.8 million. Biden was supported by 5,581 ads and Trump by 1,537 ads.
•Phoenix, where viewers saw 6,866 ads for $10.9 million. Biden was supported by 3,710 ads and Trump by 3,156 ads.
•Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where viewers saw 5,527 ads for $4 million. Biden was supported by 3,881 ads and Trump by 1,646 ads.
The Sunshine State is a melting pot, where the campaigns can test their competitive messaging. Biden has focused on the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19 and health care. He warns about Trump being a threat to Social Security and Medicare. Trump compared the economic recovery to his own recovery from the virus and warned that Biden would be a puppet of the radical left, threatening Second Amendment rights and raising taxes.
“If you want a lesson in micro-targeting of TV ads, just spend a day in these two markets,” MacManus said of Tampa and Orlando. “Age targeting. Gender targeting. Issue targeting. It’s pinpointed here.”
How much is at stake?
The 2020 campaign is projected to spend a record-setting $11 billion – about 50% more than in 2016 when accounting for inflation, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
The presidential ads won’t dictate who wins. Trump was vastly outspent in 2016 and still beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Special-interest groups can outspend the candidates.
Beneath that umbrella, Trump and Biden shower hundreds of millions of dollars in ads on battleground states. Advertising – each candidate putting his money where his mouth is – offers a glimpse of each campaign's priorities flitting across broadcast and cable television, radio and online.
Biden’s record-setting fundraising has outpaced Trump’s down the final stretch, which allows the challenger to run more ads in more states than the incumbent. Through Aug. 31, Biden’s campaign raised $540 million and Trump’s campaign raised $476 million, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The difference is starker when combined with the national party committees. During August, Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised a record $365 million; Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $210 million.
Biden announced he raised an additional $383 million in September, and Trump hasn't reported his figure. Biden was likely to outpace Trump again after big fundraising days following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a chaotic debate with Trump.
The fundraising advantage allowed Biden's campaign to buy twice as many television ads in battlegrounds and outspend Trump's campaign nationwide.
Biden has spent $223 million airing television ads 356,366 times since April 9, according to the Wesleyan Media Project. Trump spent $161 million on 261,633 airings during the same period, the study found.
During September, Biden spent $153 million on television and radio ads, nearly tripling Trump’s $57 million, according to the tracking firm Advertising Analytics. Outside groups narrowed the difference to $189 million supporting Biden and $127 million supporting Trump, according to Advertising Analytics.
The gap narrowed as the campaigns head to the finish line, but Biden kept a significant advantage. From Sept. 28 through Oct. 11, Biden’s campaign spent nearly $56 million to air television ads 80,000 times while Trump’s campaign spent nearly $32 million to air ads 32,000 times, according to the Wesleyan Media Project.
“Although the impact of ads in presidential races tends to be fairly small, Biden’s consistent ad advantages of two-to-one or even three-to-one in the battleground states has to account for at least some of his expanding lead in the polls over the past few weeks,” said Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project.
Trump has outpaced Biden in online ads throughout the campaign, although Biden is catching up in the closing weeks. Trump has spent $165.8 million on ads on Facebook and Google since mid-April and $33.8 million since late September, according to the Wesleyan study. Biden spent $130.1 million on online ads since mid-April and $34.7 million since late September, according to the study.
Where are ads targeted?
During September, Biden outspent Trump 2-to-1 on television ads in North Carolina and Florida, 3-to-1 in Michigan and 4-to-1 in Pennsylvania, according to Advertising Analytics.
One of the latest hot spots has been Phoenix, which is competitive for the presidency and the Senate, where $24.4 million was spent the week ending Oct. 9, according to Advertising Analytics.
"I think spending indicates that both campaigns believe that Arizona is in play," said Kim Fridkin, foundation professor of political science at Arizona State University and co-author of "Taking Aim at Attack Advertising."
"Biden's advertising is making the case that COVID-19 needs to be controlled before we can bring back the economy, and that may resonate with voters," said Fridkin, who acknowledged she hasn't conducted a systematic analysis of the ads. "I also think Trump's advertising focusing on his successes in growing the economy would be effective as well. I don't think that messages focusing on immigration or riots in the streets would resonate with voters in Arizona."
Online ads can be tailored to specific regions of a state or specific audiences. For example, Biden's Google ads can target Philadelphia or Pittsburgh rather than the entire state of Pennsylvania.
"They're flooding the state," said Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. "A lot of them are interest groups supporting the candidates."
Television ads are much cheaper than national ads, so stations in Tampa, Orlando or Phoenix are a bargain compared with a network. Based on viewership and ad costs at 1,100 stations in October 2018, Advertising Analytics and Nielsen found that Minneapolis, Tampa, Orlando and Phoenix offered some of the cheapest opportunities to reach viewers.
For example, the cost to reach independent viewers was $26 per thousand in Orlando during "The View," $38 in Tampa during "The Late, Late Show With James Corden," $38 in Minneapolis during "Nightline" and $46 in Phoenix during "Good Morning America" Sunday. The cost to reach a thousand independent voters can reach hundreds of dollars on other programs.
"While overall advertising trends are shifting to digital media, our data has shown that broadcast television remains an incredibly efficient option for political advertisers," the report said.
Does advertising matter?
The amount spent on advertising doesn’t determine the winner of the race. Trump was outspent nearly 2-to-1 in 2016 – $398 million to $768 million – and still defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.
One of Trump’s advantages, which became far greater as president, was his ability to generate free coverage of his campaign, rather than buying advertising. Trump received free media worth $5.9 billion from July 2015 through October 2016, about double Clinton’s $2.8 billion, according to analysis firm mediaQuant.
"What's fascinating is how static the race has been," Madonna said. "It doesn't seem like much is moving the dial."
A new study of presidential campaigns from 2004 to 2012 evaluated spending on advertising and grassroots outreach such as door-to-door canvassing and phone calls. The “air war” of advertising was more effective at persuading undecided voters, while the “ground game” was better at encouraging voter turnout, according to the study in INFORMS journal Marketing Science.
“While field campaigning tends to specifically focus on turnout of those whose minds are already made up, television advertising, which is less targeted but more informational in nature, tends to be better received by those who are undecided and could still change their minds,” said Doug Chung of Harvard University, who wrote the report with Lingling Zhang of the University of Maryland.
One concern is that viewers flooded with ads during every commercial break will ignore them or turn the channel. MacManus said early voters turn their ballots in and don't watch any more.
"I think there's a saturation point that is somewhat easily reached," MacManus said. "if you see a new one, it grabs your attention. But if it's the same old – whatever."


usatoday--2020-10-16--Taxes and white supremacy: President Trump faces hard questions at town hall

Questions about denouncing white supremacy came up again for President Trump at an NBC town hall .

President Trump answers hard question about white supremacy
Questions about denouncing white supremacy came up again for President Trump at an NBC town hall.
USA TODAY


usatoday--2020-10-17--Michigan to ban open carry of guns at polling places, other spots on Election Day

DETROIT – People will not be allowed to openly carry firearms near polling places , clerks offices or locations where absentee ballots are counted , Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced Friday .
Benson included the decision in guidance sent to Michigan clerks as elections officials prepare for any voter intimidation efforts on Election Day , Nov. 3 .
“ Fair , free and secure elections are the foundation of our democracy , ” Benson said in a news release .
“ I am committed to ensuring all eligible Michigan citizens can freely exercise their fundamental right to vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harassment .
Prohibiting the open-carry of firearms in areas where citizens cast their ballots is necessary to ensure every voter is protected.
” The directive states that no one may openly carry a firearm within 100 feet of a polling place , clerk 's office or absentee ballot counting board .
It requires clerks to post signage noting the rule , and to contact law enforcement if there are any violations .
Additional guidance from the state to law enforcement on possible safety and security issues on Election Day is expected soon .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state , many located at schools , churches or similar venues .
Although President Donald Trump has bashed mail-in voting and encouraged supporters to vote in person on Election Day , he has also called for an `` army '' of supporters to monitor voting at the polls .
This has prompted concerns there may be an increase in voter intimidation , especially in a state like Michigan that was decided by only 10,704 votes in 2016 .
State Rep .
Beau LaFave , an outspoken Republican from Iron Mountain , blasted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Could a contentious election affect a peaceful transition of power ?
Watch : Amy Coney Barrett is asked about recusal if election outcome becomes Supreme Court case “ It doesn ’ t surprise me one bit that the secretary of state is playing these cheap political games .
The idea that she must prevent people from exercising their Second Amendment rights for our elections to be safe and secure is absolutely false .
Secretary Benson is fearmongering to suppress voters , and it ’ s appalling , '' LaFave said .
LaFave said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ churches and schools are already ‘ pistol-free ’ zones under state statute , with limited exceptions , any unilateral action by the executive branch , secretary of state or attorney general banning firearms in other polling places is unlawful , unenforceable and a violation of citizens ’ voting rights and their right to self-defense .
`` No voter should be forced to choose between these fundamental principles .
There ’ s no way her ban passes constitutional muster .
I have no doubt a lawsuit will be forthcoming , '' LaFave said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ any specific portion of Michigan law or any state rule that gives the secretary of state the authority to ban the open carry of firearms .
No similar guidance was issued for the Aug. 4 primary in Michigan .
Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer did consider mandating people wear masks if they voted in person for that election , but ultimately decided against such an order for fear of possibly disenfranchising voters .
A spokeswoman for Benson directed questions to the Office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel .
Later , she cited federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidate voters , but did not say how that correlated to the secretary 's authority to ban open carry on Election Day .
A spokesman for Nessel also could not point to a specific law that gives Benson the authority to ban voters from openly carrying a firearm as prescribed in the law .
`` Our office has researched the issue and we ’ re confident in the advice provided to the secretary , '' spokesman Ryan Jarvi said .
In the news release from Benson , Nessel said she fully supports Benson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the right to vote in person on Election Day free from threat and intimidation .
An armed presence at the polls is inconsistent with our notion of a free democracy , '' Nessel said .
`` I stand with the secretary in her commitment to ensure that every eligible voter who wants to vote in person can do so safely and without fear or intimidation.
” The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also said it supports Benson 's decision .
`` The Supreme Court has long recognized that polling places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ’ free from distraction and interference , '' Michigan Executive Director Dave Noble said in a news release .
`` Therefore , just as people are not allowed to carry signs or pass out political literature within 100 feet of polling places , people should not be allowed to openly carry guns . ''
The general election is Nov. 3 , but Michigan voters may request and cast an absentee ballot now .

Michigan to ban open carry of guns at polling places, other spots on Election Day
Show Caption Hide Caption Why voter suppression in the US has increased since 2013 Civil rights experts point to long wait times to vote as a sign of growing voter suppression in the U.S. Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
DETROIT – People will not be allowed to openly carry firearms near polling places, clerks offices or locations where absentee ballots are counted, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced Friday.
Benson included the decision in guidance sent to Michigan clerks as elections officials prepare for any voter intimidation efforts on Election Day, Nov. 3.
“Fair, free and secure elections are the foundation of our democracy,” Benson said in a news release.
“I am committed to ensuring all eligible Michigan citizens can freely exercise their fundamental right to vote without fear of threats, intimidation or harassment. Prohibiting the open-carry of firearms in areas where citizens cast their ballots is necessary to ensure every voter is protected.”
The directive states that no one may openly carry a firearm within 100 feet of a polling place, clerk's office or absentee ballot counting board. It requires clerks to post signage noting the rule, and to contact law enforcement if there are any violations.
Additional guidance from the state to law enforcement on possible safety and security issues on Election Day is expected soon.
There are thousands of polling places around the state, many located at schools, churches or similar venues. Although President Donald Trump has bashed mail-in voting and encouraged supporters to vote in person on Election Day, he has also called for an "army" of supporters to monitor voting at the polls.
This has prompted concerns there may be an increase in voter intimidation, especially in a state like Michigan that was decided by only 10,704 votes in 2016.
State Rep. Beau LaFave, an outspoken Republican from Iron Mountain, blasted the decision.
Just the FAQs: Could a contentious election affect a peaceful transition of power?
Watch: Amy Coney Barrett is asked about recusal if election outcome becomes Supreme Court case
“It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the secretary of state is playing these cheap political games. The idea that she must prevent people from exercising their Second Amendment rights for our elections to be safe and secure is absolutely false. Secretary Benson is fearmongering to suppress voters, and it’s appalling," LaFave said.
LaFave said that “while some polling locations like churches and schools are already ‘pistol-free’ zones under state statute, with limited exceptions, any unilateral action by the executive branch, secretary of state or attorney general banning firearms in other polling places is unlawful, unenforceable and a violation of citizens’ voting rights and their right to self-defense.
"No voter should be forced to choose between these fundamental principles. There’s no way her ban passes constitutional muster. I have no doubt a lawsuit will be forthcoming," LaFave said.
The guidance to clerks did not cite any specific portion of Michigan law or any state rule that gives the secretary of state the authority to ban the open carry of firearms.
No similar guidance was issued for the Aug. 4 primary in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did consider mandating people wear masks if they voted in person for that election, but ultimately decided against such an order for fear of possibly disenfranchising voters.
A spokeswoman for Benson directed questions to the Office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Later, she cited federal law that makes it a crime to intimidate voters, but did not say how that correlated to the secretary's authority to ban open carry on Election Day.
A spokesman for Nessel also could not point to a specific law that gives Benson the authority to ban voters from openly carrying a firearm as prescribed in the law.
"Our office has researched the issue and we’re confident in the advice provided to the secretary," spokesman Ryan Jarvi said.
In the news release from Benson, Nessel said she fully supports Benson's directive.
"Michigan voters have the right to vote in person on Election Day free from threat and intimidation. An armed presence at the polls is inconsistent with our notion of a free democracy," Nessel said.
"I stand with the secretary in her commitment to ensure that every eligible voter who wants to vote in person can do so safely and without fear or intimidation.”
The Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also said it supports Benson's decision.
"The Supreme Court has long recognized that polling places should be an ‘island of calm,’ free from distraction and interference," Michigan Executive Director Dave Noble said in a news release.
"Therefore, just as people are not allowed to carry signs or pass out political literature within 100 feet of polling places, people should not be allowed to openly carry guns."
The general election is Nov. 3, but Michigan voters may request and cast an absentee ballot now.
Follow Dave Boucher on Twitter: @Dave_Boucher1.