Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - December 18, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Friday's Leading Stories
- Democracy for America (DFA), a progressive organization with more than 1 million members, endorsed Bernie Sanders on Thursday. Charlie Chamberlain, DFA’s executive director, said in a statement, “Bernie Sanders is an unyielding populist progressive who decisively won Democracy for America members’ first presidential primary endorsement because of his lifelong commitment to taking on income inequality and the wealthy and powerful interests who are responsible for it.” (Politico, The Wall Street Journal)
- The Washington Post reported on Thursday night that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has revoked Sanders’ access to its voter database after it was discovered on Wednesday that a Sanders staffer improperly viewed Hillary Clinton’s private voter lists due to a software error. “We are working with our campaigns and the vendor to have full clarity on the extent of the breach, ensure that this isolated incident does not happen again, and to enable our campaigns to continue engaging voters on the issues that matter most to them and their families,” said Luis Miranda, a DNC spokesman. The New York Times also reported, “The Sanders campaign said that it had fired a staff member who breached Mrs. Clinton’s data. But according to three people with direct knowledge of the breach, there were four user accounts associated with the Sanders campaign that ran searches while the security of Mrs. Clinton’s data was compromised.” (The Washington Post, The New York Times)
- Mike Huckabee has reduced the salaries of his senior campaign staffers and refocused his resources on campaigning in Iowa, according to his campaign manager and daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders. This news follows the departure of Alice Stewart, Huckabee’s communications director, earlier this week. “The campaign is being run by the family and it's going nowhere. It's a dead campaign. And my sense is Alice is at a place in her life where she doesn't want to work for the fees that she got eight years ago,” said Republican strategist Ed Rollins. (Politico)
- Poll: In a Morning Consult poll released on Friday, Donald Trump held steady at 36 percent, just two points down from a poll conducted a few days prior to the Republican debate. Ben Carson and Ted Cruz followed with 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively. (Morning Consult)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, endorsed Hillary Clinton on Thursday. Writing an op-ed in La Opinión, Sanchez said, “On everything from the economy, to health care, to education, she has been a passionate ally of the Latino community, in part because she recognizes how all of these issues are actually connected. She knows that building a stronger country means we'll need a stronger workforce.” (NBC News)
- Clinton said on Thursday that she supported a $2 billion settlement between the federal government and New Orleans to boost the city’s economy and infrastructure. “My infrastructure plan will support projects like these in not only New Orleans, but around the country, as well as invest in structures such as dams and levees to help prevent disasters like Katrina from happening in the first place,” Clinton said in a statement. (NOLA.com)
- On Thursday, Clinton released a policy paper on LGBT discrimination. She expressed support for the Equality Act, ending the use of “conversion therapy” on minors, and guaranteeing “adequate funding” for homeless LGBT youth. (Advocate, Hillary Clinton for President)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders was endorsed by the Communication Workers of America (CWA), a union with 700,000 members, on Thursday. Sanders responded, “What I know about the CWA is that your endorsement is not a just paper endorsement, it's not just a press release endorsement. We're going to have thousands of people on the ground, knocking on doors, making phone calls and helping us as we do what needs to be done in this country and that is create a political revolution.” (CNN)
- According to Politico, “Bernie Sanders has spent the equivalent of three full weeks less than Hillary Clinton on the campaign.” She has also visited nine more states than Sanders. Although Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire have questioned his absence, Sanders spokesman Tad Devine said it was the product of his commitment to the Senate. “Bernie, first of all, takes his responsibilities as a sitting U.S. Senator seriously. That obviously cuts down on it. It has affected the amount of time [on the road.] He wants to be [in the Senate] as much as he can. If ever there were a vote where his vote would be the deciding vote, he would drop everything to the there,” said Devine. (Politico)
Republicans
- Chris Christie, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum did not submit full delegate slates in Ohio and Tennessee. Jim Gilmore and George Pataki also failed to file to appear on Ohio’s ballot before this week’s deadline. (AJC.com, National Journal)
- Following a pointed exchange at the Republican debate on whether to grant legal status to undocumented immigrants, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio continued commenting on the other’s immigration policies on Thursday. “I oppose amnesty. I oppose citizenship. I oppose legalization for illegal aliens. I always have and I always will. And I challenge every other Republican candidate to say the same thing or if not, then to stop making silly assertions that their record and my record on immigration are the same,” Cruz said while campaigning in Nevada. Rubio, appearing in Iowa, said that Cruz has “not told the truth about his position in the past on legalization and up until the other night at the debate, he had never said what he said." (NBC News)
Jeb Bush
- In a new ad from Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Jeb Bush, Donald Trump’s mocking statement during Tuesday night’s debate that Bush was a “tough guy” was used as the central theme. “One candidate tough enough to take on the bully [Trump]. … One candidate tough enough to take on ISIS,” the ad’s narrator says over a clip of Bush defending himself against Trump’s negative remarks. (Politico)
- When Bush refused to directly answer a question on whether Hillary Clinton would make a better president than Trump on Thursday, he explained, “I've learned not to answer questions. That's one of the things you do now in political discourse. You answer what you want to say.” (CNN)
Ben Carson
- On Thursday, Ben Carson announced he had canceled his planned tour of three African nations and Israel due to “significant security concerns.” Carson continued, "It's classified information so I'm just going to say it's too dangerous." Campaign adviser Armstrong Williams elaborated that Boko Haram, a terrorist organization in Kenya and Nigeria, “had an interest in Dr. Carson.” (CNN, The New York Times)
- Carson criticized President Obama for “not inspiring any confidence” with his ISIS strategy in an interview on Thursday. “The fact of the matter is our military is actually quite competent. If you gave them a mission and you didn't tie one hand behind their back, believe me, if you give them what they need, they'll get it done,” said Carson. (Newsmax)
Chris Christie
- After filing paperwork to qualify for the Kansas Republican caucus on Thursday, Chris Christie is now set to appear on 33 primary ballots in 2016. (NJ.com)
- Christie said in an interview on Thursday that he believed the final three Republican contenders will be Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and himself. Citing his performance in this week’s debate, he said, "I think what folks saw on the stage on Tuesday night was that I am prepared to be the commander-in-chief of the United States military." (Washington Examiner)
Ted Cruz
- Unlike other presidential candidates who are focusing on Iowa and New Hampshire to close out the year, Ted Cruz began a week-long tour of seven southern states on Thursday. Jeff Roe, Cruz’s campaign manager, said, “You hunt where the ducks are. On March 1, there will be more votes cast and more delegates awarded than at any time in modern Republican history.” (The Dallas Morning News)
- James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, endorsed Cruz on Thursday. He said in a statement, “Ted Cruz's record on religious liberty, life and marriage is second to none in this Republican field. I have met with the senator on multiple occasions: He is brilliant, articulate and informed. Shirley and I have been praying for a leader such as this, and we are confident that Ted Cruz has the moral and spiritual foundations to lead our nation with excellence. Speaking as private individuals, we urge conservatives and people of faith to join us in supporting his race for the presidency." (Washington Examiner)
Carly Fiorina
- In response to Steve Deace, a conservative talk radio show host and Ted Cruz supporter, tweeting that she went “full vagina” at the fifth Republican debate, Carly Fiorina questioned Cruz’s judgment to use Deace as a surrogate. “What's amazing to me is I told an American story last night in my opening comments. I told my story, just like every other candidate has told their story. So it's inexplicable to me why this major surrogate of Ted Cruz thought that was playing the ‘V’ card. But the more important point is this, this gentleman is more than a radio show talk host. He is a major surrogate for Ted Cruz and a major endorser, and this is why Ted Cruz cannot possibly beat Hillary Clinton,” she said. (Media Matters for America)
- The super PAC CARLY for America released a digital ad on Thursday comparing Fiorina to former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Interspersed between clips of Fiorina speaking at the fifth Republican debate, the ad reads, “Thatcher was the original Iron Lady. Say hello to America’s Iron Lady.” (The Des Moines Register)
Lindsey Graham
- On Thursday night, Lindsey Graham criticized the complimentary exchange between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. “Just when you think it can’t get worse: A leading American candidate for President praising Putin,” he tweeted. In another tweet, he added, “I suggest Mr. Trump visit the Ukraine and Syrian refugee camps to see if Putin is really respected and deserves praise.” (Newsmax)
Mike Huckabee
- In an interview on Thursday, Mike Huckabee questioned why the U.S. government supported Syrian refugee resettlement outside of the Middle East. “It doesn't make sense as much as it would to get these areas safe again and let them get home. It doesn't mean we wouldn't be of assistance, whether it's to provide food, humanitarian aid, assistance to set up camps, but close to their region so that when they are ready to go back home, it's not an 8,000 mile journey. How does it help them if they don't speak our language, they don't have jobs, to be able to function in our schools? Let's give a grant, set up a genuine humanitarian effort to them,” Huckabee said. (Newsmax)
John Kasich
- While speaking at an editorial board meeting of The Des Moines Register on Thursday, John Kasich said he opposed banning “assault weapons” and favored, instead, greater enforcement of existing gun laws. “The governor also said he would ‘scrub’ a no-fly list and give people on the list due process, but he would then not permit them to purchase guns,” according to The Des Moines Register. (The Des Moines Register)
Rand Paul
- In light of Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiering this weekend, Rand Paul tweeted his supporters to “join the Rebel Alliance” by donating to his campaign on Thursday. (Newsweek)
- Paul announced he would oppose the omnibus budget bill scheduled for a vote on Friday. “Today Congress will vote on over a trillion dollars in new spending. It's an over 2,000 page deal, negotiated in secret. And virtually no one has read it. This is not why we were sent here. I am voting NO and will fight for balanced budgets and fiscal conservatism. Please call Congress today and urge them to reject this terrible deal for the American people,” Paul posted to Facebook on Friday. (Facebook)
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio wrote an op-ed in The Sioux City Journal on Friday to criticize Democratic calls for stricter gun control laws. “Since our nation’s founding, all 44 of our presidents have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Most have understood that this means the entire Constitution, not just the parts they like. But today, President Obama believes a key provision of our Constitution – the Second Amendment – does not apply to him. He believes the relevance of the right to bear arms has somehow changed since our founding, and that it is no longer his duty to uphold or defend it. This is not only a violation of his oath; it also represents a dangerous lack of judgment. If the relevance of the right to bear arms has changed in recent years, it has become more important rather than less,” Rubio wrote. (The Sioux City Journal)
- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Thursday that was “not a Rubio fan anymore” given his shifting position on immigration reform. “I just think what Rubio has done on immigration is one of the worst, worst machinations in politics that I’ve ever seen. It shows a lack of character in my opinion,” Reid said. (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump
- New York Sen. Daniel Squadron (D) and Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D) introduced legislation on Thursday to remove Donald Trump’s name from a state park that has been closed since 2010. “The rhetoric and discriminatory proposals we've seen from Mr. Trump don't belong in the presidential election, and don't belong in New York state parks. He has dishonored the state, and should not be honored with a state park named for him,” Squadron said, proposing that the park should be renamed for Peter Salem, a Muslim who served in the Continental Army. (CBS News)
- Responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin calling him “talented,” Trump said on Thursday, “It is always a great honour to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond. I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect." (BBC News)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Following her visit to Paris for the U.N. Conference on Climate Change, Jill Stein traveled to Moscow, Russia, this week. She posted a video to Facebook from Red Square on Thursday where she promoted a foreign policy of “working with each other across our histories of conflict to transcend that, and to actually sit down in respect and replace a U.S. policy of domination with a way forward based on respect, collaboration, international law and human rights.” (Facebook)
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
