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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - August 31, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Monday's Leading Stories
- According to a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll released on Saturday, Bernie Sanders has gained significant ground against Hillary Clinton in Iowa. He now trails behind her 30 percent to 37 percent. Joe Biden was in third place with 14 percent. (The Wall Street Journal, Poll)
- A new Monmouth University poll released on Monday has Donald Trump and Ben Carson tied for first among likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers with 23 percent each. Carly Fiorina came in third with 10 percent and Ted Cruz followed with 9 percent. (Politico, Monmouth University)
- In that poll, Donald Trump also showed an unprecedented reversal in his favorability numbers from earlier this year. In the last Register poll in May, Trump was viewed favorably by 27 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers and unfavorably by 63 percent. Now, Trump is viewed favorably by 61 percent and unfavorably by 35 percent. (The Washington Post)
- Trump attacked Hillary Clinton’s longtime aide, Huma Abedin, for potentially sharing secrets with her husband and former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) on Friday night. “Who is Huma married to? One of the great sleezebags of our time: Anthony Weiner. … So she's married to Anthony Weiner. Do you think there is even a 5 percent chance she is not telling Anthony Weiner — now of a public relations firm — what the hell is coming across?” Trump said. The following day, Trump maintained his criticism of Abedin and Weiner, saying, “I think it's a very fair statement that I made and a lot of people have congratulated me.” (Politico, CNN)
Democrats
- After the Democratic National Committee endorsed the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement over the weekend, the BLM responded by posting a statement on its Facebook page. It said, in part, “While the Black Lives Matter Network applauds political change towards making the world safer for Black life, our only endorsement goes to the protest movement we’ve built together with Black people nationwide – not the self-interested candidates, parties, or political machine seeking our vote." (Facebook, The Huffington Post)
Joe Biden
- According to The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, a Joe Biden presidential run would have a “narrow” path to the White House. It would begin with a strong showing in Iowa where Hillary Clinton has 37 percent support. Tom Henderson, the Democratic chairman in Polk County, Iowa, said, “There are a number of people here in Iowa that are still waiting to find out if he’s going to run, who will commit to him if he runs. On the other hand, I don’t understand why there’s a continued delay in the decision. When you’re setting up a statewide organization, it’s really important to get that started.” Scott Huffmon, a political scientist and pollster, also noted South Carolina could be a difficult state for Biden because it has a large black population, a demographic that Clinton “has much stronger connections” with. (The Wall Street Journal)
- National Review reported on Saturday that the Draft Biden super PAC failed to kindle excitement for a potential Biden run at the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee. One Virginia delegate and Clinton supporter said she was not even aware of Draft Biden’s efforts. “He’s kind of behind the eight ball at this point, trying to raise money. … He’ll have to pick up a lot of folks. Most people have already committed,” she said. (National Review)
- Biden made an unannounced visit to an annual Democratic Party fundraiser in Delaware over the weekend. (ABC News)
Lincoln Chafee
- Speaking at the Iowa Corn Feed on Sunday, Lincoln Chafee highlighted his years of public service without scandal. “All through those 30 years of public service, I haven’t had any scandals. I haven’t had any ethical problems in over 30 years. I’m very, very proud of that,” he said. (KCCI)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton has shifted her campaign strategy to more aggressively attack Republicans, according to The Hill on Saturday. “The more the discussion is about the differences between her and the Republican field on women’s health or immigration, that’s far better turf for her to be fighting on than another news cycle on the emails or the server,” Joe Trippi, a Democratic strategist, said. (The Hill)
- U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) will publicly endorse Clinton next Saturday at a “New Hampshire Women for Hillary” event. (The New York Times)
- Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Clinton for her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state. “I think it was sloppy and unprofessional, that it reflects a lack of understanding about how easy it is for adversaries to tap into communications. She’s an intelligent woman. She spent a lot of time in the White House. You should not operate in the way she did,” Cheney said in an interview with CNN. (The New York Times)
- On Monday, Clinton co-wrote an op-ed in The Huffington Post with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) promoting a new bill that would prohibit employers in the private sector from offering bonuses to departing employees who join the government. (The Huffington Post)
- More than 6,000 pages of Clinton’s emails are expected to be released on Monday. (Politico)
Martin O’Malley
- Speaking at the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee on Friday, Martin O’Malley again questioned the number of debates sanctioned by the party. “Four debates. Four debates? Four debates, and four debates only we are told, not asked before the voters in our earliest states make their decision. This is totally unprecedented in our party history. This sort of rigged process this has never been attempted before,” O’Malley said, before noting that a debate in New Hampshire was scheduled around the holiday season when there would likely be fewer viewers. (The Washington Times)
- A state ethics commission may investigate whether O’Malley followed proper procedure when he left the governor’s mansion and purchased $62,000 worth of its furniture for less than $10,000 from the state. (The Baltimore Sun)
Bernie Sanders
- Asked to speak about his rising poll numbers in Iowa on Sunday, Bernie Sanders said, “I don’t know if [Clinton’s] campaign is in trouble, but our campaign is doing great. You know, it’s not just in Iowa. It’s in New Hampshire. It’s all across this country. I think people are responding to our message.” (ABC News)
- Sanders defended his record on gun control on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I do not accept the fact that I have been weak on this issue. In fact, I have been strong on this issue. And, in fact, coming from a rural state which has almost no gun control, I think I can get beyond the noise and all of these arguments and people shouting at each other and come up with real, constructive gun control legislation which, most significantly, gets guns out of the hands of people who should not have them,” he said. (CNN)
Jim Webb
- Jim Webb did not attend the summer meeting of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) this weekend due to a family commitment. According to BuzzFeed and the Independent Journal Review, Webb’s absence was also done partly in protest of Hillary Clinton’s relationship with the DNC. “It’s been obvious for a while now that reaching out to the DNC is about as useful as sticking one’s hand into a wood chipper,” Craig Crawford, Webb’s spokesperson, said. (BuzzFeed, Independent Journal Review)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Three Florida fundraisers, Kris Money, Trey McCarley and Debbie Aleksander, left Jeb Bush’s campaign on Friday. Although they claim they voluntarily quit, others have said they were let go because they were no longer needed. One source said, “They were glad to go. This wasn’t a shock to anybody. There were just some personality problems. It happens when you have a big organization like this, a big campaign. Some of the national people are tough to work for.” Money, McCarley and Aleksander will continue to support Bush by working with the Right to Rise super PAC. (Politico)
- Bush criticized Donald Trump’s immigration policy in a radio interview on Sunday. He called Trump’s deportation plan “unconstitutional” and suggested he fundamentally misunderstood the immigration problem by fixating on a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border when there were more crossings from Central Americans. (CNN)
- U.S. Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) suggested on Sunday he was leaning towards endorsing Bush. (Newsmax)
- Steve Schmidt, a Republican strategist who worked for U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)’s presidential run in 2008, said Donald Trump was “emasculating” Bush. Schmidt said, “Look, Jeb Bush was a very successful governor, he's a thoughtful man, he was a good, conservative governor. But every day, Donald Trump is emasculating Jeb Bush, and Republican primary voters are not going to default to the establishment candidate who is being weakened by these attacks that go unresponded to." (Politico)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson was second to Donald Trump in the last Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll with 18 percent support. He also had the highest favorability rating of any Republican candidate with 79 percent. (Bloomberg)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie continued his attack against Hillary Clinton at a town hall on Saturday. He said, “The real story is this – I believe in my heart – that Hillary Clinton doesn't want us to know what she's doing. She believes we don't have a right to know. When I'm president of the United States, you have a right to know what your president is doing, and we have the obligation to be held accountable for what we're doing,” Christie said. (CNN)
- On Saturday, Christie recommended tracking immigrants on visas with a system similar to FedEx. “At any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is. It’s on the truck. It’s at the station. It’s on the airplane. Yet we let people come to this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of them. … We need to have a system that tracks you from the moment you come in,” he said. (The New York Times)
Ted Cruz
- Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz’s father, marched in a 20,000-person rally and led a prayer on Saturday to promote the message that “all lives matter.” (AL.com)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina spoke about agricultural issues at the Iowa Corn Growers Association's annual meeting on Saturday. She said, “I have seen the agriculture industry almost destroyed in the state of California. By bad policies and bad politics. We have seen industry after industry after industry decimated, we are seeing the most productive agricultural land in the world – in the Central valley of California – being destroyed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Fiorina added, “Let us establish 2022 as the end point, let’s have a level playing field from now until 2022. But in 2022, the government needs to get out of all this. Fossil fuels, sugar, corn subsidies – government needs to get out of all it.” (The Des Moines Register)
Jim Gilmore
- Jim Gilmore released a statement on Friday saying he would challenge Donald Trump to a debate on immigration. “His comments are irresponsible, offensive to Latinos and a threat to the U.S. Constitution,” Gilmore said. (The Roanoke Times)
Lindsey Graham
- Lindsey Graham criticized John Kasich on Friday for his support of sequestration. “If the next president doesn’t understand that these cuts are killing us, in terms of defending ourselves, you’re not ready to be Commander in Chief. … This is a cocktail for disaster,” Graham said. (TIME)
Mike Huckabee
- On Friday, Mike Huckabee said he would support a law “to abrogate birthright citizenship” because of the growth “birth tourism.” (Daily Caller)
- Huckabee responded to Hillary Clinton’s suggestion that Republicans’ view on women’s issues were similar to that of terrorist groups. He said, “I’ll tell you what terrorists do. Terrorists cut people’s heads off, and that’s what they do in the Planned Parent[hood] clinics. And if she wants to talk about protecting women, what about protecting the women who thought they were going in for a procedure to remove a mass of tissue, and in fact, a baby with a heartbeat, arms, legs, toes, and eyeballs, was hacked to death, and the parts sold, without that woman understanding that she had been exploited, she had been used, and somebody had made money off of her grief? If that’s Hillary’s definition of taking care of women, then I certainly hope I’m the one who gets an opportunity to stand on the stage and debate here about a year from now.” (Breitbart)
Bobby Jindal
- On Sunday, Bobby Jindal said assimilation must be an important element of immigration. “We need to insist people that want to come to our country should come legally, should learn English and adopt our values, roll up their sleeves, and get to work. We need to insist on assimilation. You know, in Europe they're not doing that. They've got huge problems. Immigration without assimilation is invasion. That can weaken our country,” he said. (CBS News)
- Jindal suggested Donald Trump’s surge in the polls was a result of early campaign politics. "I think after we get past the summer of silliness and insults, the voters are going to begin to look at who is prepared to do the job. I believe I am the candidate best able to do this job on the first day,” Jindal said. (ABC News)
George Pataki
- Asked to comment on former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.)’s endorsement of John Kasich last week, George Pataki said, “I'm not surprised - he's done many things politically like endorse Democratic candidate for governor that I didn't agree with. But politics is politics.” (CBS News)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul, an ophthalmologist by trade, said he would continue to provide eye surgery even if he were elected president. (CNN)
- On Saturday, Paul posted a photo of himself in front of the National Security Agency’s data center in Utah. He captioned it: “I'm on my way to the airport, but we decided to stop by the NSA facility in Utah. When I become President, we'll convert it into a Constitutional Center to study the Fourth Amendment! Bulk data collection must end! What would you turn it into?” (Facebook)
- Paul is scheduled to campaign in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine this week. (The Keene Sentinel)
- Paul said the Republican Party would likely suffer its worst loss since 1964 if Trump won the GOP nomination. “There is a lot of bluster and anger on Trump’s part, but a lot of his solutions are big government solutions. I think eventually people are going to come to their senses and say ‘oh my God, I liked his angry vitriol, but I didn’t realize he was for gun control, Obamacare, increasing taxes, and taking private property.’” (Boston Herald)
Rick Perry
- Along with Ted Cruz, Rick Perry attended the Pro-Family Rally in South Carolina on Saturday to engage with conservative religious voters. Perry connected Jesus’ “outsider” status to his own, saying, "[Jesus] saw corruption in the temple, and he got angry about it and he did something about it. He went in there and he overturned the tables of the money changers. He saw corruption, just like today we need somebody that’s got the backbone to go to Washington, D.C., and turn over the tables of the money changers, of the corruption, of the greed, that we see in Washington, D.C.” (The Texas Tribune)
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio is expected to campaign in Nevada this week. (The Tampa Bay Times)
- In an interview with conservative radio host, Hugh Hewitt, on Thursday, Rubio said Joe Biden “would be a disaster as commander-in-chief.” Rubio pointed to Biden’s “personal friendship with the president of China that he brags about,” his opposition to the bin Laden raid and his support of a “reset with Russia.” (Hugh Hewitt)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum appeared on “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday night where he disputed the causes of climate change. “There was a survey done of 1,800 scientists and 57 percent said they don't buy off on the idea that CO2 is the knob that's turning the climate. There's hundreds of reasons the climate's changed,” Santorum said. (The Huffington Post)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump won a straw poll in Nashville at the National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) on Saturday with 52 percent support. (MSNBC)
- The New York Times obtained emails late last week sent by Sam Clovis, Rick Perry’s former Iowa chairman and Trump’s current national co-chairman, regarding Trump’s “moral center.” In them, Clovis criticized Trump for not seeking forgiveness from God and for suggesting U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was “not a war hero.” (The New York Times)
- Speaking in Nashville at an NFRA event over the weekend, Trump stated that undocumented immigrants were treated better than veterans. “[I]llegal immigrants, in many cases–not in all cases, but in many cases–are treated better than our veterans, who are the greatest people we have,” he said. (Breitbart)
Scott Walker
- Scott Walker said on Sunday that a wall along the U.S.-Canada border should be considered as a legitimate issue. (International Business Times)
- Walker promoted “unleashing” the power of American military in Iraq rather than increasing the number of ground troops during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He said, “We have people in Iraq right now in the military, over 3,000 troops. It’s not a question of sending more in. It’s about empowering them to unleash the power of the United States military.” (The Washington Times)
- The Chicago Tribune posted a profile of Walker’s evolving campaign on Sunday in the wake of his third-place performance in The Des Moines Register poll. “As Trump has continued to gain momentum, Walker's campaign in the last two weeks launched a concerted effort to win over Trump's supporters, many of them frustrated with traditional politicians. Even though Walker is a career officeholder who has spent most of his adult life campaigning, he has pitched himself as a Washington outsider who can use his political experience to get more accomplished from the White House. As part of this reboot, Walker has adopted a more aggressive posture on the campaign trail, shouting back at protesters at the Iowa State Fair and sharpening his criticism of China, the media and members of his own party — even the Republicans back in Wisconsin who were instrumental to his rapid ascension,” the Tribune noted. (The Chicago Tribune)
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
