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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - August 13, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- After interrupting campaign events of Martin O’Malley and Bernie Sanders, activists from the Black Lives Matter movement targeted their first Republican presidential candidate, Jeb Bush, on Wednesday. During a rally in Nevada, the activists began to chant “black lives matter” before Bush ended his speech without a closing statement and left the stage. A spokesperson from the Bush campaign said the candidate had met with some Black Lives Matter activists privately before the rally. (The Washington Post, Politico)
- Poll: According to a CNN poll released on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump and Ben Carson lead in Iowa with 22 percent and 14 percent, respectively. No other candidate received double-digit support. Iowa voters also indicated they believed Trump would best handle the issues of the economy, illegal immigration and terrorism. Only the issue of abortion had a different candidate atop the field, with Carson and Mike Huckabee at 17 percent each. (CNN)
Democrats
Joe Biden
- Several Joe Biden supporters have suggested Biden is seriously considering a presidential run this week by reaching out to political allies and evaluating the strength of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Steve Shurtleff, a Biden supporter and the Democratic leader in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, explained, “There are Democrats who are concerned about the turmoil swirling around the secretary with the emails and the server, and now the FBI is investigating and congressional hearings are coming up in the fall.” (The Wall Street Journal, Boston Herald)
Lincoln Chafee
- In an interview with USA Today, Lincoln Chafee commented on the current makeup of the Democratic presidential field. He said that although Bernie Sanders is currently Clinton’s biggest competitor, he suspects Joe Biden will enter the race. “Secretary Clinton has some possible issues, with the emails and credibility issues. That's another reason he probably would look at it,” Chafee said. As for his own odds of winning the Democratic nomination, Chafee pointed to the campaigns of John Kerry and William McKinley to show a candidate can be a long shot or run a lean campaign and still have some success. (USA Today)
Hillary Clinton
- A Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday investigated how the public feels about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. “Even though most voters feel Clinton’s intentions may have been acceptable, a majority (52 percent) say that her emails should be subject to a criminal investigation for the potential release of classified material. Another 41 percent say the emails should not be subject to this type of investigation,” the pollsters found. (The Washington Times)
- Robby Mook, campaign manager to Hillary Clinton, sent a memo to Clinton supporters on Wednesday in an attempt to allay concerns that her campaign was faltering. “Winning campaigns have a plan and stick to it, in good times and bad. President Obama endured significant pressure in 2007 to abandon Iowa and ultimately prevailed,” Mook wrote. (Politico)
Martin O’Malley
- In an interview with MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, Martin O’Malley said there must be more “robust debates” before the primaries so Democratic presidential candidates can discuss their policies. “Certainly, there must be a happy medium between the 20 debates we had last time and the one that the DNC would like to restrict Iowa to, the one they would like to restrict New Hampshire to. So, I would think three debates in both of those early states would be a lot preferable than limiting it to just one debate. What have we come to as a party, Mika, where we can only afford one debate in New Hampshire before this decision? It's ridiculous,” O’Malley said. (RealClearPolitics)
- O’Malley is set to campaign across Iowa for the next three weeks in a 15-stop tour. Recent PPP and CNN polls have placed him at 7 percent and 1 percent in the state. (Politico)
Bernie Sanders
- Earlier this week, Bernie Sanders appointed Symone Sanders to be his national press secretary. In addition to previously working for Chuck Hassebrook and Ralph Nader, she is an activist in the Black Lives Matter movement. (Essence)
Jim Webb
- Along with Mike Huckabee and Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb will be speaking at the Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday. (NPR)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- At a campaign rally in Nevada on Wednesday, Jeb Bush criticized Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and Hillary Clinton for compromising national security. “[Y]ou have Hillary Clinton, who was the secretary of state dealing with confidential information, with classified information, thinking it was OK to use a private server? Thinking that her server would be safer than the State Department's firewalls? We need a president that recognizes there are threats in the 21st century that are dramatically different than of 30 years ago,” Bush said of the Democratic frontrunner. (CNN)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson responded to allegations on Thursday that he had used fetal tissue for research in a 1992 medical study. “You have to look at the intent. To willfully ignore evidence that you have for some ideological reason is wrong. If you’re killing babies and taking the tissue, that’s a very different thing than taking a dead specimen and keeping a record of it,” Carson said while campaigning in New Hampshire. (The Washington Post)
- Carson suggested Planned Parenthood clinics are placed in black neighborhoods “to control that population” on Wednesday. “Well, maybe I’m not objective when it comes to Planned Parenthood. But you know, I know who Margaret Sanger is, and I know that she believed in eugenics, and that she was not particularly enamored with black people. And one of the reasons that you find most of their clinics in black neighborhoods is so that you can find way to control that population. And I think people should go back and read about Margaret Sanger, who founded this place — a woman who Hillary Clinton by the way says she admires. Look and see what many people in Nazi Germany thought about her,” he explained. (Breitbart)
- Carson said, while campaigning in New York on Wednesday, conversations about racial inequality should focus on solutions. Speaking about intraracial violence, Carson said, “We need to be talking about, ‘Why is that occurring?’ We need to be talking about, ‘How do we instill values into people again?’ And those are family and faith." (New York Daily News)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie criticized Jeb Bush for bringing up the Iraq War at a foreign policy speech earlier this week. “Listen, this should have been handled by Gov. Bush the same way it’s been handled by any of the other candidates who understand how to do this, which is to say, listen, if we knew then what we know now, we wouldn’t have gone into Iraq. Period. End of discussion. There’s no reason to go back and try to re-litigate this,” Christie said. (The Tampa Bay Times)
- Christie questioned why Bush wouldn’t sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge on Wednesday. “If your record stands on its own there's no reason not to take the pledge,” Christie said. (NJ.com)
- In a radio interview on Wednesday, Christie questioned the application of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to any person born in the United States, in modern times. “I think all this stuff needs to be reexamined in light of the current circumstances. [Birthright citizenship] may have made sense at some point in our history, but right now, we need to re-look at all that,” Christie explained. (MSNBC)
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz “commended” Jeb Bush for maintaining political beliefs that diverge from traditional Republican positions. “He has been quite candid in embracing amnesty, in embracing Common Core. Now those policy positions are dramatically out of step with Republican primary voters, but I have commended his courage of convictions that he sticks with his defense of amnesty and his defense of Common Core,” Cruz said on Tuesday. (The Texas Tribune)
- According to the National Journal, Cruz has received more than double the amount of contributions Rick Perry has from Perry’s 2012 donors. “Presidential fundraising isn't entirely a zero-sum game, with some donors choosing to support multiple candidates. But many contributors stick with one candidate at a time. Cruz siphoning off Perry's presidential donor base is just another example of how much momentum the former governor has lost since he rocketed up the 2012 GOP primary polls four summers ago,” the Journal reported. (National Journal)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina wrote an op-ed for CNN on Thursday asking Hillary Clinton to “please name an accomplishment.” “I'm sure Democrats and the Clinton Machine will continue to use empty talking points and bumper sticker rhetoric against me because they know Hillary Clinton is the status quo. She is the epitome of a professional political class that has managed a bloated, inept, corrupt federal government for far too long,” Fiorina said. (CNN)
- Fiorina announced more than a dozen endorsements from Iowa on Wednesday. One of these supporters, state Rep. Ross Paustian said, “The people of Iowa are tired of politics as usual, which is why an outsider with real-world business experience like Carly is resonating here. If we truly want change in Washington, we need to elect someone who will challenge the status quo — not someone who is part of it.” (The Des Moines Register)
- Fiorina expanded her New York operations this week, hiring a former press secretary to George W. Bush, Becki Fleischer, former U.S. Rep. Nan Hayworth and Assemblyman Kieran Lalor. (New York Post)
Jim Gilmore
- According to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey, 68 percent of Republicans believe a Jim Gilmore nomination is unlikely. (Rasmussen Reports)
Lindsey Graham
- In an interview on CNBC on Thursday, Lindsey Graham called Donald Trump's immigration policies “gibberish.” “I have no idea how you get 11 million people to walk back where they came from. Then we decide who we let back in. That's not an immigration solution," Graham said. (CNBC)
- Graham said he would be willing to compromise on reducing tax deductions if Democrats made some changes to federal assistance programs. “Nobody's talking about raising tax rates. But we are talking about eliminating deductions and applying some of that to the debt. I'd be willing to do that if Democrats would age-adjust and means-test,” he said. (CNBC)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register defending Social Security and Medicare. “Many Americans, like me, have been working since we were 14 years old, and Washington has been pick-pocketing us every day of our working lives. If you work 30, 40 or 50 years, Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars that Washington has confiscated from your paycheck. You could have invested that money and generated a return, but you didn’t have a choice because Washington put a gun to your head and robbed it from your paycheck. … As president I will honor our commitment to our seniors and give them what they paid,” Huckabee said. (The Des Moines Register)
- Huckabee expressed support for the Renewable Fuel Standard on Thursday while speaking at the Iowa State Fair. (The Washington Times)
John Kasich
- John Kasich shrugged off the suggestion that he was more of a moderate during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash. “I've balanced more budgets than about anybody walking on the face of the earth -- I mean, I'm just kinda kidding, but I've done that. I've cut taxes in every step of the way -- the largest tax cuts in Ohio of any sitting governor right now. I'm for school choice. We're getting at the problem of higher education costs. And somehow because I care about people or I care about the environment, that makes me something other than a conservative?" Kasich said.
- Although Kasich has declined to state a firm answer on whether he would support a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigration, he rejects a pathway to citizenship. “I would prefer for them to be legalized once we find out who they are because I think they contribute a lot to America. They’re hard workers. They’re god-fearing. They’re family oriented. If they committed a crime, they’ve got to be deported or put in prison. … I don’t favor citizenship because, as I teach my kids, you don’t jump the line to get into a Taylor Swift concert,” Kasich said. (WDAM 7)
Bobby Jindal
- In an interview with Newsmax TV, Bobby Jindal said ObamaCare should replaced with “a system of ‘cross-state purchase of insurance so you have more competition,’ an ‘expanded access to medical and health savings accounts and wellness accounts,’ and a ‘crackdown on frivolous lawsuits.’” (Newsmax)
George Pataki
- George Pataki is scheduled to make seven stops across New Hampshire this weekend, including a private fundraiser on Friday night. (WMUR)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul’s campaign is launching an outreach effort to college students this month. Called “300 in 30,” the initiative seeks to establish 300 Students for Rand chapters at colleges across the country in a month. (CNN)
- Paul released an ad opposing Donald Trump on Wednesday showing Trump making comments supportive of liberal policies. (The Washington Post)
Rick Perry
- Rick Perry is breaking new presidential election ground as super PACs supporting him take over responsibilities traditionally owned by a candidate’s campaign, according to NPR on Thursday. Larry Noble, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said Perry is “not going to be able to pull this off without coordinating. If they do it and succeed, it’ll be the new benchmark.” (NPR)
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio criticized Hillary Clinton on Wednesday for her use of a private email server to do State Department business. “There is no way you have all those emails going back and forth between her and her top deputies, and it doesn’t include sensitive information, not to mention information that’s been classified. So it’s just really reckless and irresponsible,” Rubio said. (Daily Caller)
- Calling Cuba “a human slave state,” Rubio slammed the Obama administration on Thursday for improving the country’s ranking in a report that measures human trafficking violations. He requested Cuba’s rating be reconsidered and documents related to human trafficking in the country be released. (Miami Herald)
Rick Santorum
- During a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Rick Santorum advocated for “generationally neutral” reform of Social Security. He said the retirement age should be raised to match increases in life expectancy. (The Des Moines Register)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump responded to an ad by Rand Paul suggesting Trump was more of a Democrat than a conservative on Wednesday. “Rand Paul is doing so poorly in the polls he has to revert to old footage of me discussing positions I no longer hold. As a world-class businessman, who built one of the great companies with some of the most iconic real estate assets in the world, it was my obligation to my family, my company, my employees and myself to maintain a strong relationship with all politicians whether Republican or Democrat. I did that and I did that well. Unless you are a piece of unyielding granite, over the years positions evolve as they have in my case. Ronald Reagan, as an example, was a Democrat with a liberal bent who became a conservative Republican. … I feel sorry for the great people of Kentucky who are being used as a back up to Senator Paul’s hopeless attempt to become President of the United States,” Trump's statement read, in part. (The Washington Post)
- Although Trump has previously asserted Mexico would pay for a wall along the border, a representative for Mexican President Peña Nieto said, “Of course it’s false. It reflects an enormous ignorance for what Mexico represents, and also the irresponsibility of the candidate who's saying it.” (Bloomberg)
- In an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Trump suggested he would compete well against Joe Biden if he were to enter the race. “I think I’d match up great. I’m a job producer. I’ve had a great record. I haven’t been involved in plagiarism. I think I would match up very well against Biden,” Trump said. (Hugh Hewitt)
Scott Walker
- Scott Walker is expanding an upcoming visit to Iowa on Monday to include two additional campaign stops. His visit to the state comes after several recent polls from Suffolk University, CNN and Public Policy Polling, show he has lost his lead in Iowa. (The Hill)
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
