A Two-Man Race And 'A F**king Global Crisis'

The primary (sort of) comes to a halt [View this email in your browser]( [Politics Brief from WNYC + Gothamist] [Keep friends and family informed. Forward the Politics Brief.]( The 2020 Race (Sort Of) Stalls As The Coronavirus Pandemic Worsens By [James Ramsay]( [sticky notes from supporters outside Bernie Sanders' office in Washington] Patrick Semansky/AP Bernie Sanders isn't dropping out. When asked about it on Wednesday, he [told a CNN reporter]( that he's "dealing with a f**king global crisis." "Right now I'm trying to do my best to make sure that we don't have an economic meltdown and that people don't die," he added. "Is that enough for you to keep me busy for today?" For his part, Joe Biden has also focused largely on the coronavirus since his primary wins this week. In [an address Tuesday night]( — delivered alone in front of a camera in his house — he said tackling the pandemic is "a national emergency akin to fighting a war." Democrats don't vote in another primary for at least two weeks. On April 4th, three states are scheduled to vote (Alaska, Hawaii, Wyoming). Then comes Wisconsin on April 7th, assuming its primary isn't postponed. While Sanders has a shot in Wisconsin — he won there in 2016 — he currently trails Biden in statewide polls. [FiveThirtyEight's latest forecast]( shows Biden with a 99.1% chance of winning the majority of delegates, and says there's about a 1% chance that no candidate has a majority going into the Democratic National Convention. The model puts Sanders' odds for an outright win at 0.1%. After this week's victories, Biden did make a direct appeal to Sanders' young supporters, and aides for the two candidates told the [Wall Street Journal]( that both men have a history of getting along with each other, which they see as a pathway to party unity. "I think there’s a lot of mutual respect, I think there’s real affection," said Tad Devine, a top Sanders adviser from 2016. Meanwhile, President Trump's re-election campaign is [blazing ahead]( with online ads and fundraising pleas. "The Trump campaign’s data and technology operation is the most sophisticated in history, so we’re better positioned to virtually engage voters than any other campaign," said Trump's campaign manager, Brad Parscale. And as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, there's no indication the general election in November will be postponed. "The general election should not be moved, [and] the president can not move it," civil rights activist Vanita Gupta [told Brian Lehrer this week](. "The date of the general election is set by federal law. It would require an act of Congress to change it." Bloomberg Is Laying Off His Campaign Staff And Giving $18 Million To The DNC Michael Bloomberg's promise — even before dropping out of the presidential race — was that he'd pay his campaign staff to work through November, with the goal of doing whatever it took to deny President Trump a second term. Now, he's abandoning that idea and giving $18 million to the Democratic National Committee for organizing in six battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. He'll continue to pay his former staff in those states until the second week of April; the DNC could then theoretically hire people in those offices to continue working through the general election. In a memo obtained by the [New York Times]( Bloomberg's campaign argued that it was a bad idea to have an independent entity that wasn't "coordinated and united in strategy and execution" with the party trying to support the nominee. “We therefore believe the best thing we can all do over the next eight months is to help the group that matters most in this fight: the Democratic National Committee," the memo said. ([The Associated Press]( Kirsten Gillibrand Becomes The 13th Former Candidate To Endorse Joe Biden [a screenshot of Kirsten Gillibrand's tweet endorsing Joe Biden]( "He’s the absolute best candidate to defeat President Trump, and I think he is the person who has gained the trust and the respect of the American people in a way that no one else has," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said yesterday. "The truth is he’s run the strongest campaign." Gillibrand previously went after Biden in a debate for voting against an expansion of child-care tax credits back in 1981. (Biden argued at the time that he didn't support giving the tax credit to upper-income families.) Now, Gillibrand is saying that Biden is a champion for women, noting that he backed her legislation for paid family leave and medical leave. She also gave a thumbs-up to his announcement in last Sunday's debate that he'd select a woman as his running mate. With her endorsement, Gillibrand joins [Tulsi Gabbard]( and 11 other former candidates who are now supporting Biden. In total, [15 sitting senators]( have endorsed the former vice president. Gillibrand's colleague from New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer, has yet to endorse a candidate. ([The Washington Post]( Connecticut Postpones Its Primary Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced Thursday that the state is moving its presidential primary from April 28th to June 2nd. Lamont, a Democrat who [endorsed Joe Biden]( last summer, had been planning to hold a rally with the former vice president in Hartford yesterday. The event was officially cancelled last Friday. The state's Democratic Party is [fully backing the governor's decision](. Connecticut, which hasn't swung for a Republican presidential candidate [since 1988]( has 60 delegates to award on the Democratic side, compared to 28 delegates for the Republican primary. The DNC has asked states not to postpone primaries, but to instead [start mailing absentee ballots to all registered voters](. Party chair Tom Perez argued for getting votes in safely and on schedule, rather than "moving primaries to later in the cycle when timing around the virus remains unpredictable." (New York, which is scheduled to hold its primary on April 28th, has not indicated that it plans to postpone.) Lamont [tweeted]( yesterday afternoon that he'd share more information on the election later in the day, has yet to give an update. Secretary of State Denise Merrill had asked Lamont to [allow anyone to vote by mail]( with an absentee ballot. The governor hasn't ruled it out. ([WNPR]( Co-Sign: 'Keep Calm And Listen To Brian Lehrer' "To the thousands of New Yorkers who listen to The Brian Lehrer Show five days a week at 10 a.m., our local news radio host is equal parts civic treasure and municipal therapist." The New York Times this week has [a lovely reminder]( of the civic value of The Brian Lehrer Show, especially in moments like this, when people need both information and a sense of community while being asked to separate from each other. Brian is crucial. My friends who work on the staff are doing incredible work. [Listen to their show](. [the logo for Brian Lehrer's daily politics podcast]( What Will Your Federal Relief Look Like? After a week of accelerating responses to the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government is working out how to put money in the hands of the workers and businesses whose finances are in jeopardy. Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. 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