Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - April 11, 2019

Newsletters Daily Brew Weekly Brew Hall Pass

Specialty

Ballot Measure Monthly The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Robe & Gavel

Previous edition

Next edition

April 11, 2019

Gabbard reaches donor threshold for debate stage   April 11, 2019: Elizabeth Warren raised $6 million in the first quarter of 2019, fifth most among Democratic candidates. Tulsi Gabbard reached the fundraising threshold necessary to qualify for the first Democratic primary debates. Share the latest from the campaign trail.         Notable Quote of the Day “Would I love to see two women [nominated]? Yes. Would I like to see one? Yes. But it doesn’t mean that if there isn’t one ... that it’s not a ticket that we should all get behind.” – Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House Democrats Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, John Hickenlooper, Amy Klobuchar, Tim Ryan, Eric Swalwell, and Elizabeth Warren spoke at North America’s Building Trades Unions conference. Candidates discussed infrastructure, apprenticeships, and tax policy, among other issues. Booker introduced the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019 with Sen. Ron Wyden (D) and Rep. Yvette Clark (D), which would allow the Federal Trade Commission to evaluate algorithm-based systems for bias, privacy, and security issues. Julián Castro held an event in San Antonio, Texas, focused on immigration and intended to be a counter-rally to a visit from Trump. Tulsi Gabbard tweeted Wednesday night that she had crossed the 65,000-donor threshold to qualify for the first Democratic primary debate. Kirsten Gillibrand differentiated her healthcare policy Wednesday, tweeting, “Medicare For All is an ambitious goal. But we also need a plan for how to get there, and I have one: Under my transition plan, we'd create a public option and force insurance companies to compete. That's how we can lower costs and get to universal health care.” In a profile in The Atlantic, Mike Gravel and his campaign manager, David Oks, reiterated that the Gravel did not want to win or have people vote for him. “We thought the way to push the field left would be to have our own candidate in the race,” Oks said. “We really need someone to go in there and criticize the other candidates for policy positions that are really bad.” Gravel said he was interested in supporting Sanders or Gabbard after his campaign. Jay Inslee appeared on a CNN town hall Wednesday night, where he said the filibuster should be eliminated to pass legislation on climate change and discussed criminal justice, impeachment, and the Boeing 737 MAX groundings. In an interview on WBUR’s “On Point,” Wayne Messam discussed why he was running for president and his positions on gun regulation, healthcare, abortion, the economy, and climate change. According to a FiveThirtyEight comparison of the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016 and 2020, Sanders is performing better this cycle in media coverage, polling, fundraising, and endorsements at this point in the campaign. Warren raised $6 million in the first quarter of 2019 with an average donation of $28 from 135,000 individuals, placing her behind Sanders, Harris, O’Rourke, and Buttigieg in fundraising. Business Insider profiled the digital strategy of Andrew Yang and the #YangGang members who were former Trump supporters. The Democratic National Committee is targeting voters in states Trump won, like Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, with hyper-local ads focused on how the Trump administration’s policies are affecting them. Republicans Donald Trump traveled to San Antonio, Texas, as part of a fundraising trip. He added that he would send troops to the border to combat an increase in Central America migrants.     On the Cusp: Tracking Potential Candidates Joe Biden is expected to announce his presidential run after April 21. What We’re Reading Cook Political Report: Look at the Forest, Not the Trees: What We Do and Don't Know About 2020 New York Magazine: California Is a Golden Opportunity — and Challenge — for Kamala Harris in 2020 Roll Call: ‘Medicare for All’ keeps defining 2020 political landscape Flashback: April 11, 2015 The Hillary for America campaign released its mission statement. The New York Times described it: “In the 2008 Democratic nomination contest, Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign was rife with infighting and lacked a clear rationale. The endeavor initially seemed all about the candidate, not the voters. This time, her brain trust is sending a strong message to her organization at the outset: We are a team, and this is about Americans.”