Nov 19, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Democratic donors want to know if Beto O'Rourke will launch 2020 bid

Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Democratic donors and political operatives in Iowa and around the country are holding off on throwing their resources behind a candidate for the 2020 presidential primary until they find out whether Rep. Beto O'Rourke plans to run, reports Politico.

The big picture: The hype surrounding the charismatic Texas congressman — who raised a record-breaking $38 million in the third quarter of 2018 before narrowly losing to Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race — has reportedly been enough to spook donors from going all in on another candidate. O'Rourke has not yet declared whether he intends to run in 2020, but is expected to join a packed field of Democratic candidates if he decides to do so.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 32 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 12,553,591 — Total deaths: 561,038 — Total recoveries — 6,909,209 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 3,188,982 — Total deaths: 134,130 — Total recoveries: 983,185 — Total tested: 38,856,341 — Map.
  3. Public health: We're losing the war on the coronavirus.
  4. Food: How the coronavirus pandemic boosted alternative meat.
  5. World: India reimposes lockdowns as coronavirus cases soar.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Rural America has its own coronavirus problem.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Ursula Perano
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Romney calls Stone commutation "historic corruption"

Sen. Mitt Romney. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Saturday tweeted a scathing response to President Trump's Friday night commutation of former associate Roger Stone's prison sentence, calling the move "[u]nprecedented, historic corruption."

Why it matters: Romney has emerged as the party's most prominent Trump critic. He sent shockwaves through Washington after announcing he would vote to convict Trump in the impeachment trial — becoming the only Senate Republican to break ranks and vote for the president's removal from office. Now he is the first major GOP lawmaker to condemn Trump's Friday night call regarding Stone.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Sam Baker
6 hours ago - Health

We're losing the war on the coronavirus

Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

By any standard, no matter how you look at it, the U.S. is losing its war against the coronavirus.

Why it matters: The pandemic is not an abstraction, and it is not something that’s simmering in the background. It is an ongoing emergency ravaging nearly the entire country, with a loss of life equivalent to a Sept. 11 every three days — for four months and counting.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow