ADDY BAIRD: So your campaign was really focused on organizing by door knocking and talking to people in your district. We talked last week about how your campaign has shifted to phone banking because of the coronavirus outbreak. What have been the advantages and disadvantages of that shift? MCKAYLA WILKES: The advantages are that we're able to speak with a lot more people. Also that more people are at home at available to speak with us. The disadvantage is not having the intimacy of person to person contact.

THE LEDE

Joe Biden will personally address Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation this morning for the first time, after weeks of silence as reporters and others dug into her story and Democrats came out in his defense.

Reade has trouble understanding what took so long.

“No one asked him,” Reade told BuzzFeed News. “No one’s asking the question,” Reade said in a phone interview earlier this month. “No one’s even posing the question.”

There’s some lingering conventional wisdom that Biden has been lucky to be sealed off in his basement the last month, able to tightly control the few questions he chooses to answer. But the last few days show how bad that situation has really been. His options to naturally answer questions have been limited, and it’s unlikely one preselected cable news appearance is going to satisfy even many people in his own party.

Reade, meanwhile, has been consistently raising more questions for Biden to answer. Rosie Gray and Ruby Cramer reported Thursday night that she now feels dejected by Democrats she had admired. “I just — I’m stunned,” Reade said. “They didn't just say, ‘Oh, we're standing with Joe Biden until we hear more.’ They just discounted me. They marginalized me.”

For those who have to face the press: The members of his party who are more accessible to reporters have been in a bind as they face more and more questions on the allegation. This is especially true for progressive women, something the Cut’s Rebecca Traister laid out this week. Biden’s campaign has sent Democrats talking points, Cramer and Gray reported this week, leaning on a New York Times report to conclude the allegation is unsubstantiated. The problem there: The New York Times did not make that conclusion.

READ RECEIPTS

Texting with Mckayla Wilkes

Mckayla Wilkes is a progressive hopeful challenging the second-most powerful Democrat in Congress, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer. For upstart politicians like Wilkes, the coronavirus pandemic has completely forced them to rethink their entire campaign strategy. Typically, grassroots organizing means door-knocking and connecting with people face-to-face. That can’t happen now. Politics reporter Addy Baird, who recently wrote about how campaigns are adjusting, texted with Wilkes on Thursday afternoon.

MCKAYLA WILKES: Hi Addy! Now is still a good time. ADDY BAIRD: Great! So for starters can you send us a selfie of what you're up to right now? MCKAYLA WILKES: Sure. IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Selfie of Mckayla Wilkes. MCKAYLA WILKES: Call time!

ADDY BAIRD: Great selfie! I love it. So your campaign was really focused on organizing by door knocking and talking to people in your district. We talked last week about how your campaign has shifted to phone banking because of the coronavirus outbreak. What have been the advantages and disadvantages of that shift? MCKAYLA WILKES: The advantages are that we're able to speak with a lot more people. Also that more people are at home at available to speak with us. The disadvantage is not having the intimacy of person to person contact.

ADDY BAIRD: A lot of progressives including yourself have talked about how the coronavirus has highlighted the ways our system (including things like health care, unemployment assistance etc.) is broken. Have you noticed a shift in the way people are responding in your district when you talk to them about progressive priorities like Medicare for All? MCKAYLA WILKES: Absolutely. Thousands in our district have lost health insurance because of it being tied to their employer. Constituents are worried about getting sick and not having health insurance. Folks with pre-existing conditions (like myself) are worried about how they'll get their next prescription re-fill.

MCKAYLA WILKES (cont): I don't have the end of the year because I didn't know when I would be able to afford to see her again. Without insurance my meds came up to almost $300 for one months worth of medication. ADDY BAIRD: Wow. That leads me perfectly to the next thing I wanted to ask you about: You're.a pretty unique congressional candidate. You've talked openly about having been arrested and having had an abortion, as well as the fact that you're uninsured right now- rare things for candidates to talk about! Why have you chosen to be so open about your life in that way?? And how do people in your district respond to that transparency?

MCKAYLA WILKES: I've chosen to be open because I want to shed light on how badly we need a healthcare system. Right now we have a health insurance system where our lives and well being are treated as if they're commodities. It's all about the money and not about the health of people. I find that folks in my district value this transparency because unfortunately, everyone has a health care story to tell. Constituents value that I not only genuinely care about them but that I can relate to how so many of us feel because of what we all go through.

ADDY BAIRD: One of the main arguments for supporting your opponent, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, is that- even if they like your progressive policies and like your openness- they believe that someone like Hoyer can do more for the district because of his seniority in the House and position as leader. How do you respond to that argument?

MCKAYLA WILKES: My response to that argument is ''how has he used that seniority to help our district?'' We are currently in the midst of a world wide health pandemic. How has he used his seniority to help our district? He's excused the House to return to their districts ''absent an emergency'', he didn't fight for more than a one time means tested $1200 payment to his constituents, he didn't ensure that rent and mortgages were canceled to prevent waves of evictions and foreclosures, he didn't fight for small businesses and instead championed a relief package that allowed big businesses...

MCKAYLA WILKES (cont): ... like the Lakers and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to get millions while the actual small businesses got bread crumbs and are forced to downsize or go out of business, he didn't ensure that there was funding for PPE for essential workers, and now the house is out indefinitely because ''it's too dangerous'' meanwhile essential workers are dying on the front lines. We need leadership where it counts and we are in a state of urgent right now.

ADDY BAIRD: Morgan Harper, who challenged Rep. Joyce Beatty in Ohio, lost earlier this week by a pretty significant margin. Even if people are seeming more receptive to progressive ideas, are you concerned that the coronavirus could benefit entrenched iincumbents with a lot of money, like Hoyer? MCKAYLA WILKES: Not at all. I think people are expecting more than Jane recognition and seniority. People want action and answers. A lot of folks are unhappy with how things are being handled. When we speak with voters they're very receptive to what our plans are to fight the effects of coronavirus in our district.

ADDY BAIRD: Finally, Democrats have been facing a lot of questions about Tara Reade's allegation of sexual assault against Joy Biden, especially as more people have begun to corroborate Reade's account. Most Democrats have said they trust Biden/don't believe her, although AOC did say she thinks it's ''legitimate'' to talk about an allegation against the presumptive nominee of the party. What are your thoughts on the allegation and how Democrats have responded?

MCKAYLA WILKES: As a survivor of sexual assault, I too agree that it is legitimate to talk about Tara Reade's allegation. Too often rich and powerful men, or men period receive the benefit of the doubt while women are questioned. Folks that are questioning Tara Reade may as well ask her ''what she was wearing that day.'' I believe women.

ADDY BAIRD: Thank you so much for texting with me today, Mckayla. Hope you are your family stay safe and healthy! MCKAYLA WILKES: Thank you! Same to you Addy! Take care.

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