Mar 27, 2017

Huge fundraising boost for Dems in Georgia special election

Shannon Vavra

Bill Barrow / AP

Democrat Jon Ossoff has raised a whopping $3 million for his campaign to fill HHS Secretary Tom Price's seat in Georgia's Sixth Congressional District. That's miles ahead of the $10,000 or $20,000 Dems usually raise in the district, per Vox.

Why it matters: The special election on April 18th marks the first test of Democrats' anti-Trump strength, and the first opportunity to chip away at the Republican majorities. Ossoff has a counterintuitive strategy, though. He avoids talking about Trump even though the POTUS is unpopular in the district, citing the fact that everyone knows what's happening in DC already.

The caveat: Fundraising aside, Tom Price won the district by 23 points in 2016, and Republicans have held the district since 1979, so breaking into that red streak is still an uphill climb.

What's next: Georgia allows every candidate to enter the race at once, and if any candidate gets more than 50% of the vote they win outright. If there isn't an outright win, a runoff follows. As of last week, Ossoff is ahead of the Republicans in the race at about 40%, according to a zPolitics and Clout Research poll.

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Courtenay Brown

Fed temporarily lifts Wells Fargo's growth restrictions

Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it will temporarily lift Wells Fargo’s growth restrictions, which were put in place following the bank’s customer abuse scandals.

Why it matters: The Fed’s only reason for lifting the cap is so Wells Fargo can dole out more loans to struggling small businesses as part of the government’s coronavirus aid package. Earlier this week, the bank said it could only lend a total of $10 billion, thanks to Fed restrictions that it can’t grow its assets beyond $1.95 trillion.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 1,450,343 — Total deaths: 83,568 — Total recoveries: 308,617 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 399,979 — Total deaths: 12,912 — Total recoveries: 22,539 — Map.
  3. Business updates: Roughly one-third of U.S. apartment renters didn't make April payments.
  4. Federal government latest: The U.S. has begun to see "glimmers of hope" despite its highest recorded number of deaths in 24 hours, Anthony Fauci said.
  5. Public health latest: Surgeon General Jerome Adams highlighted the disproportionate impact the illness is having on African-American communities.
  6. World latest: Indians look to Taiwan amid China's coronavirus missteps
  7. 🚌 Public transit: Systems across the country are experiencing ridership collapse, squeezed funding streams and slow recovery from the pandemic.
  8. What should I do? Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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Bernie Sanders suspends presidential campaign

Photo: ANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday that he is suspending his presidential campaign.

The big picture: It's an end to the campaign of the leading progressive in the race — and the candidate who seemed to be the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination just a few months ago. It also makes Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee four months before the party's convention in Milwaukee.

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