Connecticut Delays Primary Until June 2: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Connecticut will postpone its April 28 primary until June 2 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Governor Ned Lamont said.

Lamont said he made the decision in the interest of public health. Five other states delayed their primaries and Wyoming has canceled the in-person part of its caucuses. More are likely to follow.

“In coordination with other states and our secretary of the state, and in an effort to carry out democracy while keeping public health a top priority, I have decided to move our presidential primary to June 2nd,” Lamont wrote on Twitter.

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio have already pushed back presidential primary dates to late May or June. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the primary would be delayed the day before Tuesday’s primary.

The Centers for Disease Control guidelines recommend barring gatherings of over 50 people for the next eight weeks to curb the outbreak. The White House has recommended avoiding gatherings of more than 10.

Sanders’s Tax Proposal Falls Short, Study Shows (3:00 p.m.)

Bernie Sanders’s tax proposal would raise about $23.3 trillion over a decade, about two-thirds of the amount needed to fund his Medicare-for-All plan, according to a study released Thursday by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.

The study projects that Sanders’s proposed tax increases on individuals, corporations, financial trades, payrolls and accumulated wealth would fall well short of the $30-40 billion price tag for the Vermont senator’s proposal to create a government-run health care system that abolishes private insurance.

“Sanders’s proposals would raise annual taxes on all income groups, but the highest-income households would see substantially larger increases both in dollar amounts and as a share of their incomes,” the study said.

The plan would raise the tax bills of those in the 1% by an average $518,000 in 2021. Taxpayers in the middle 20% would see their tax liabilities increase by $1,070 on average.

Sanders has made other expansive proposals, including free college tuition and child care, that could cost more than $20 trillion.

Coming Up

Alaska and Hawaii will hold Democratic primaries on April 4, while Wyoming will hold Democratic caucuses.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, also sought the Democratic presidential nomination. He endorsed Joe Biden on March 4.)

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