Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - December 28, 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
- After The Washington Post and Associated Press published reports on Wednesday that Ben Carson planned to make major changes to his campaign staff following an interview with the candidate, Carson dismissed the stories as “sensationalism.” He said, “The Washington Post, quite frankly, had their story already written before they talked to me. And they were convinced that I was gonna fire everybody and we were going to just go in a completely different direction, and that's absolutely not true.” Carson noted, however, that he was “asking members of [his] team to making sure that all of their salaries are alignment with what would be normal for the job functions they had." (CNN)
- In response to Hillary Clinton saying Donald Trump has “demonstrated a penchant for sexism,” Trump said on Sunday that Clinton was “playing the woman’s card” and that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was “fair game [for attack] because his presidency was really considered to be very troubled because of all the things that she's talking to me about." Trump also tweeted on Monday morning, “If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong!” (CNN)
- A recent advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission stated that a candidate or campaign official may meet with donors one-on-one to solicit contributions for super PACs. The Washington Post reported, however, that “the FEC, which is riven by a deep ideological divide, deadlocked on several other significant questions, including whether a super PAC can spend money on behalf of an individual who helped form the group before becoming a candidate. The commission also could not agree whether an individual can share information about the needs of their prospective candidacy with a super PAC before officially entering a race.” (The Washington Post)
Democrats
- Bloomberg speculated on Saturday that former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) may launch an independent presidential campaign after he tweeted criticism of Hillary Clinton’s involvement in Libya and the Arab Spring as secretary of state and posted articles about a potential independent run to his still-maintained presidential campaign website. (Bloomberg)
Hillary Clinton
- In response to reports of planned raids on undocumented refugees from Central America, Hillary Clinton’s campaign released the following statement on Thursday: "Hillary Clinton has real concerns about these reports, especially as families are coming together during this holiday season. She believes it is critical that everyone has a full and fair hearing, and that our country provides refuge to those that need it. And we should be guided by a spirit of humanity and generosity as we approach these issues.” (Reuters)
- Last week, Clinton issued a list of “7 things Hillary Clinton has in common with your abuela” in an effort to connect with Latino voters. The article received a mixed response, with many Latinos taking to Twitter to highlight the the ways Clinton was dissimilar from their grandmothers. In response to accusations that Clinton was “Hispandering,” a campaign official told NPR that the list had been written by a Latina staffer “because Clinton reminded her of her own deceased abuela.” (NPR, The New York Times)
Martin O’Malley
- Martin O’Malley tweeted on Thursday his opposition to a planned raid on undocumented immigrants from Central America, writing, “A Christmas Refugee Roundup sounds like something @realDonaldTrump would concoct. Remember: Jesus was a refugee child who fled death gangs.” (The Hill)
Bernie Sanders
- In response to reports that refugees from Central America would be deported following raids, Bernie Sanders released a statement on Thursday, saying, “I am very disturbed by reports that the government may commence raids to deport families who have fled here to escape violence in Central America. As we spend time with our families this holiday season, we who are parents should ask ourselves what we would do if our children faced the danger and violence these children do? How far would we go to protect them?" (The Hill)
- Sanders said on Sunday that he could appeal to Donald Trump supporters with his message about income inequality. He said, “Many of Trump’s supporters are working-class people and they are angry. What Trump has done successfully, I would say, is take that anger, take that anxiety about terrorism and say to a lot of people in this country, look, the reason for our problems is because of Mexicans…or he says about the Muslims, they are all terrorists, and we got to keep them out of this country.” Sanders continued, “We can make the case that if we really want to address the issues that people are concerned about, why the middle class is disappearing, massive income and wealth inequality in this country, that we need policies that bring us together, that take on the greed of Wall Street, the greed of corporate America, and create a middle class that works for all of us, rather than an economy that works just for a few.” (CNN)
Republicans
- A study released by Media Matters on Wednesday found that Donald Trump appeared more than twice as long as any of his Republican rivals on FOX News between May 1, 2015, and December 15, 2015. He was featured on the channel for nearly 23 hours over that period of time. The next candidate, Chris Christie, only appeared for approximately 10 hours. (Media Matters)
Jeb Bush
- During a campaign stop on Wednesday, Jeb Bush discussed the different cultural attitudes some Americans have towards the Confederate flag. “I moved all of the flags off the state premises, into the Florida museum, where they would be honored, because it was part of our heritage, but it would not be a visible sign of what Florida is about,” Bush said, calling the debate over its meaning “a 20th century issue.” He continued, “It doesn’t have to define who we are either. Because that symbol — the problem with the Confederate flag isn’t the Confederacy, the problem with the Confederate flag is what it began to represent later. And that’s what we have to avoid to heal those wounds.” (Salon)
- Bush and his super PAC, Right to Rise, have purchased $14 million of ad buys in New Hampshire and Boston markets in the coming weeks. The ad buy includes spots during the Super Bowl, NHL Winter Classic and the Golden Globes. (The Boston Herald)
Ben Carson
- During a discussion of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in police custody, Ben Carson said on Sunday, “I think we also have a tendency to inject race into everything anytime that there are people of different races involved in a conflict." He added, “Having said that, there's no question we need to be looking at some of the things going on in the justice department to make it more sensitive to people." (CNN)
- Carson said in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that his campaign planned to respond to criticism more directly in the future. “We have kind of taken a nonchalant attitude. That’s the wrong thing to do, so you will see much more aggressiveness in that region,” he said. (Bloomberg)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie defended his record as a prosecutor after it was determined he has not appeared before the Foreign Intelligence Services Court as he claimed during the first Republican presidential debate in August. Christie said on Wednesday, “We absolutely work in coordination with the Justice Department to provide them with the information that allows them to make the application. I never said that I personally appeared before the FISA court. I said we appeared, as the Justice Department.” The New York Times noted, “A close examination of Mr. Christie’s record as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor from 2002 to 2008 shows that he did acquire greater counterterrorism experience than his current rivals. But it also shows that he has, at times, overstated the significance of the terrorism prosecutions he oversaw...and appears to have exaggerated his personal role in obtaining court permission for surveillance of terrorism suspects.” (The New York Times)
- On Wednesday, Christie pardoned U.S. Marine Sgt. Joshua Velez of Massachusetts, who was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of hollow point bullets while in New Jersey. NJ.com reported, “In August, at a campaign stop in Iowa, the governor had vowed to pardon those out-of-state residents who became unwittingly ensnared in New Jersey's tough gun transport laws, and he soon made good on the promise.” (NJ.com)
Ted Cruz
- In a letter to The Miami Herald, Manny Roman, a Republican leader in Miami, Florida, endorsed Ted Cruz over local favorites Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush. Roman wrote on Friday, “I had every reason to support Senator Rubio instead — he is a well-liked local Republican and my colleague on the faculty at Florida International University … However, even in an environment where there is overwhelming indirect pressure to get behind one of the local candidates, Ted Cruz’s story and platform break through all the noise.” (The Miami Herald)
- Cruz’s father and frequent surrogate Rafael Cruz will release a book, A Time for Action: Empowering the Faithful to Reclaim America, on Friday. According to The Washington Post, “Cruz writes that there is no such thing as separation of church and state and it is not enshrined in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. The Ten Commandments, he writes, are the foundations for these documents. If the commandments were taken literally, he said, tax rates would drop because more people would be caring for their aging parents, divorce rates would drop, families would strengthen, ‘circumventing violent crime, gang activity and drug use,’ and retail prices would plummet because fewer people would steal and bankruptcies would slow.’” (The Washington Post)
- In a new ad, “Victories,” set to broadcast in Iowa, Cruz offers “red meat to social conservatives by portraying himself as a champion on God and guns.” (The New York Times)
Mike Huckabee
- In a radio ad released on Wednesday by Pursuing America’s Greatness, a super PAC backing Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz is presented as someone who raises funds “from liberals who don't share our conservative Iowa values” by saying fighting same-sex marriage was not a “top-three priority.” In the full audio edited for the ad, Cruz said “defending the Constitution is a top priority,” including “defending religious liberty” and “stopping courts from making public policy issues that are left to the people.” When asked if the ad was misleading, Huckabee said, “There's nothing selective, there's nothing deceptive.” (The Washington Post, CNN)
- Huckabee said on Wednesday that he would consider dropping out of the presidential race if he did not place first, second or third in Iowa. “If we can't come within striking distance of the victory or win it, then I think we recognise that it's going to be hard to take that onto the other states,” he said. (CBS News)
John Kasich
- In response to a potential ballot in Ohio that would allow the state to borrow $1 million over the course of a decade to improve the water quality of lakes and rivers, John Kasich said the state had already spent significant time and money on the issue. “I don’t see any reason to really do any more at this point,” he said. (The Journal Gazette)
- The Columbus Dispatch reported on Saturday that Kasich said there was “a need to eliminate gerrymandering” in Ohio. “I support redistricting reform dramatically. This will be something I’m going to do whether I’m elected president or whether I’m here. We carve these safe districts, and then when you’re in a safe district you have to watch your extremes, and you keep moving to the extremes,” he said. (The Columbus Dispatch)
- When asked if he would support Donald Trump for president if he became the nominee, Kasich said on Sunday, “I made a pledge. And I've been listening to him lately. And you notice he's toned down the rhetoric. I listened to your six minute coverage of him, and he's toning it down. And I'm just hoping that as we go forward he's going to be a unifier.” (ABC News)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul said in an interview on Wednesday that he would not participate “in any kind of second-tier debate” after Fox Business News released more stringent requirements for qualifying for the primetime Republican debate. “We’ve got a first-tier campaign. I’ve got 800 precinct chairman [sic] in Iowa. I’ve got a 100 people on the ground working for me. I’ve raised 25 million dollars. I’m not gonna let any network or anybody tell me we’re not a first-tier campaign. If you tell a campaign with three weeks to go that they’re in the second-tier, you destroy the campaign. This isn’t the job of the media to pick who wins. The voters ought to get a chance,” he said. (BuzzFeed)
Marco Rubio
- U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) is set to formally endorse Marco Rubio this week. “Marco is a rock solid conservative and a strong leader we can trust. I look forward to campaigning in Iowa with him, and introducing my good friend to voters across the state,” Gowdy said in a statement on Saturday. (The Hill)
- In an op-ed co-written with evangelical leader Russell Moore for The Washington Post on Thursday, Rubio said the U.S. should challenge religious persecution abroad. He wrote, “This starts with leaders who are unafraid to send a message to the world by meeting with embattled Middle Eastern Christians, political dissidents and former prisoners of conscience. Our political leaders should have the courage to hold adversaries and allies alike to a high standard. For example, China must be made to understand that its suppression of religious freedom will no longer be shrugged off as a mere ‘internal affair.’ And nations throughout the Middle East — including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — should be challenged on their blasphemy laws.” (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump took to Twitter to criticize Jeb Bush’s immigration stance on Christmas Day. He wrote, “Remember when failed candidate @JebBush said that illegals came across the border as AN ACT OF LOVE? He's spent $59 million and is at 3%.” The previous day, Trump attacked several journalists for being “very dishonest” and in the “Hillary circle of bias.” (Bloomberg, CNN)
- Trump said on Sunday that he “expected to win” the Republican nomination. He added, “I am winning. I am beating everybody and, in my opinion, beating Hillary is easier than beating these people.” (ABC News)
- On Sunday, Trump criticized U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) after it was revealed he would endorse Marco Rubio this week. "His hearings were a disaster. Everybody was looking forward to something that was going to be really productive. And he didn't win with those hearings. … I mean, beyond Republicans it was very bad for the country. So I hope he does a lot better for Marco than he did for the Benghazi hearings. Because they were not good. That was not a pretty picture." (International Business Times)
- Trump condemned the Republican Party of Virginia’s new requirement that voters sign a “statement of affiliation” before voting in the March 1, 2016, primary. He tweeted on Sunday, “R.P. Virginia has lost statewide 7 times in a row. Will now not allow desperately needed new voters. Suicidal mistake. RNC MUST ACT NOW!” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- In an interview with RT released on Monday, Jill Stein said superdelegates will destroy Bernie Sanders’ chances at winning the Democratic nomination. “Many of my supporters are supporting Bernie during the fight in the Democratic party. But he will be eliminated, his days are numbered, Hillary Clinton is running the show. Her husband, Bill, has already collected a huge number of so-called ‘superdelegates,’ so - Bernie will be a victim of what we call the ‘kill-switch’ inside the Democratic party for truly progressive candidates,” she said. (RT)
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
