Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - April 14, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- CNN will host a Democratic presidential debate on Thursday night in Brooklyn, New York, just five days ahead of the state’s primary. The debate will be moderated by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer with additional questioning from CNN political correspondent Dana Bash and NY1 anchor Errol Louis. Likely topics to be discussed include the changed tone of the Democratic contest, Wall Street and banking policy, regime change in Libya, and campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies. (CNN)
- Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, will not be prosecuted for allegedly grabbing reporter Michelle Fields last month, the Palm Beach County State Attorney David Aronberg is expected to announce on Thursday. Fields responded to the story, tweeting on Wednesday night, “Prosecutor's office told me they would inform me of decision tomorrow. If reports true, guess they decided to leak to reporters first. Ugly.” (Politico, CNN)
Polls
- Donald Trump leads in Maryland with 47 percent, according to a Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday. John Kasich follows with 27 percent support. “If Trump’s current level of support translates to each of Maryland’s eight congressional districts, he may be able to run the table in the all-important delegate contest,” according to the poll’s director, Patrick Murray. (Monmouth)
- A survey of Maryland voters from The Washington Free Beacon found Trump leading in the state by a tighter margin. He registered 33 percent support, just seven points ahead of Cruz’s 26 percent. Kasich followed with 25 percent. (The Washington Free Beacon)
- The Siena Research Institute found Trump with a sizeable margin in New York with 50 percent to Kasich’s 27 percent. In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton tops Bernie Sanders, 52 percent to 42 percent. (Siena College)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- In her speech before the National Action Network (NAA) on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton focused on environmental hazards disproportionately impacting black Americans and programs to increase homeownership for low-income communities. She also discussed the “epidemic of gun violence,” referencing Bernie Sanders. “Now, my opponent, who will be speaking to you tomorrow, and I don't see this the same way. But I think this is a national emergency, and I'm going to do everything I can to take on the gun lobby and to try to save lives, the lives of the children of women like this and the sisters and the brothers and the daughters and the sons of so many others,” Clinton said. (The New York Times, Politico)
- Clinton also targeted Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in her NAA speech. “America's long struggle with racism is far finished. And we are seeing that in this election. When the front-runner for the Republican nomination was asked in a national television interview to disavow David Duke and other white supremacists supporting his campaign, he played coy,” Clinton said. She continued, “And not to be outdone by his primary rival, Ted Cruz would treat Muslim-Americans like criminals and religiously profile their neighborhoods. So, ugly currents that lurk just below the surface of our politics have burst into the open. And everyone sees this bigotry for what it is. Therefore, it is up to all of us to repudiate it.” (RealClearPolitics)
- Clinton announced on Wednesday morning her plan to establish an Office of Immigrant Affairs to “build on the work of the Obama administration’s task force, and create a dedicated place in the White House to coordinate immigration policies across the federal government and with state and local government as well.” She presented the plan after being endorsed by the immigrant rights group the New York State Immigrant Action Fund. (The Huffington Post, NBC News)
Bernie Sanders
- The Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents 42,000 transit workers in and around New York endorsed Bernie Sanders on Wednesday. (New York Daily News)
- Sanders joined a picket line of striking Verizon employees on Wednesday after their unions and Verizon were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract. “Verizon is one of the largest, most profitable corporations in this country. They want to outsource decent-paying jobs. They want to give their CEO $20 million a year,” Sanders charged. Verizon chief executive Lowell McAdam responded, “All of our contract proposals currently on the table include wage increases, generous 401(k) matches and continued pension benefits. Contrary to Sen. Sanders’s contention, our proposals do not call for mass layoffs or shipping jobs overseas.” Sanders tweeted back, “I don’t want the support of McAdam, [General Electric CEO Jeffrey] Immelt and their friends in the billionaire class. I welcome their contempt.” (The Huffington Post, Politico)
- Sanders supporter Spencer Thayer created a website last week to encourage activists to pressure superdelegates to support Sanders. Some Democratic superdelegates have reported receiving threats and being bullied since the Superdelegate List, formerly known as the Superdelegate Hit List, went live. Sanders’ campaign has stated that they do not support external organizations lobbying superdelegates or “condone harassment of anybody.” (The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post)
- In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders’ wife, Jane Sanders, said that the Democratic primary process was “not a democratic way to carry out an election.” She pointed to New York’s voter registration rules, which require voters who want to participate in the state’s closed primary to change affiliation in October, if necessary, as an example. Jill Sanders also described her husband’s interview last week with The New York Daily News as “more of an inquisition.” (CNN)
Republicans
- Some Republican delegates and party leaders have received threatening phone calls and emails after publicly criticizing Donald Trump or expressing support for another candidate. "When they reference burials and your family in the same email, and telling you that you're being watched, that's concerning," said Craig Dunn, a delegate from Indiana. A rally will be held in Colorado on Friday to highlight threats received by the state party chair, Steve House. (The Chicago Tribune)
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz’s campaign released an ad set to air during conservative talk radio shows in New York on Wednesday targeting Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio. After highlighting de Blasio’s positions on stop-and-frisking and immigration, the ad’s narrator says, “Cruz will instruct the Justice Department to hold corrupt politicians accountable. Maybe that’s why de Blasio fears Ted Cruz. Send de Blasio a message. Vote Cruz for president.” (The New York Times)
- U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller dismissed a federal lawsuit on Friday alleging that Cruz was ineligible to run for president because he was not a “natural-born citizen.” After hearing oral arguments, Miller decided the plaintiff lacked standing as a private citizen and taxpayer. (The Houston Chronicle)
- According to an analysis of the Republican delegate field published by The Washington Post on Wednesday, Cruz would likely pick up 130 to 170 additional delegates on a second ballot at the Republican National Convention. (The Washington Post)
- Trusted Leadership PAC, a super PAC supporting Cruz, is spending $500,000 on television and radio ads in New York markets to boost Cruz’s chances in next week’s primary. One ad ties Kasich to President Barack Obama through his support of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. (CBS News, The Washington Post)
John Kasich
- John Kasich’s campaign accused the #NeverTrump movement of being more invested in promoting Ted Cruz than stopping Donald Trump from winning the Republican presidential nomination. Spokesperson Chris Schrimpf said in a statement on Wednesday, “If the Never Trump movement was serious, they'd be going all out to keep Trump under 50 percent in New York and to weaken him across the April 26 states in the Northeast where Gov. Kasich is running a strong second. Their failure to act is inexplicable." (NBC News)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump privately met with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly on Wednesday after months of attacking her professional competence. Kelly discussed their meeting on her news program in the evening: “We met for about an hour, just the two of us, and had a chance to clear the air. Mr. Trump and I discussed the possibility of an interview. And I hope we will have news to announce on that soon." (Politico)
- Ross Barkan, a national political reporter for The New York Observer, resigned his post on Wednesday a day after the newspaper endorsed Trump for president. Barkan noted the endorsement was part of a “variety of different factors” leading to his resignation. He added that “the last month has been difficult for me and difficult for some of our colleagues.” The New York Observer is owned by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. (The Huffington Post)
- Rick Wiley, the campaign manager for Scott Walker’s 2016 presidential bid, has joined Trump’s campaign as his national political director. “Voters are frustrated with the political status quo in our country and are hungry for an outsider to shake up Washington. Donald Trump has energized millions of hard working people across the country with his no-nonsense straight talk and will bring his record of success to tackle the real problems that face our nation,” Wiley said. (The Washington Post)
- Trump’s campaign is conducting congressional outreach meetings beginning on Thursday with senior adviser Ed Brookover and U.S. Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). The expected topics of the meetings are Trump’s primary strategy and how to maintain and cultivate the support of members of Congress. (The Hill, CNN)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein expressed solidarity with the Million Student March Against Racism and Student Debt in an email on Wednesday. “I’m supporting the Million Student March Against Racism and Student Debt, taking place at campuses across the country, because burdening young people with crushing debt holds back not only their personal potential, but the potential of our entire society,” she wrote. (Jill 2016)
See also
- Presidential election, 2016
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Important dates in the 2016 presidential race
- Polls and Straw polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
