Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - February 25, 2016
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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
- Donald Trump received his first congressional endorsements on Wednesday from U.S. Reps. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.). Collins said in a statement that Trump "understands the importance of American exceptionalism, and has the unique qualifications to make America great again." Hunter stated, “We don’t need a policy wonk as president. We need a leader as president.” (ABC News)
- Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) endorsed Hillary Clinton on Wednesday. “I think that my work with her over the years has been something that I have looked upon with awe. She was the first lady. She started the trend toward looking to do something about health care. She understood the issue well, she was the front on the health care during that administration," Reid said. He noted that he believed “the middle class would be better served by Hillary” than Bernie Sanders. (CNN)
Polls
- According to the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy’s Survey Research Center, Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump in Texas by 15 points, 35 percent to 20 percent. Nearly twenty percent of respondents said they were undecided in the poll released on Wednesday. (Houston Public Media)
- An Emerson College tracking poll released on Wednesday found Cruz and Trump in a much closer race, 29 percent to 28 percent. Marco Rubio followed closely behind with 25 percent. In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton led Bernie Sanders by 16 points with 56 percent. (Emerson College)
- Trump and Rubio are separated by eight points, 28 percent to 20 percent, in a poll of Oklahoma voters by The Oklahoman. Cruz dropped to third since the paper’s last poll with 20 percent. (The Oklahoman)
- Franklin & Marshall College released a poll on Thursday finding Trump ahead of the Republican field in Pennsylvania with 22 percent. Marco Rubio and John Kasich followed with 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively. On the Democratic side, Clinton registered a substantial lead over Sanders with 48 percent to Sanders’ 27 percent in the state. (Franklin & Marshall College)
- According to a poll released by The Austin American-Statesman on Thursday, Cruz maintains a generous lead in his home state of Texas with 38 percent. Trump follows with 26 percent. Clinton has an even larger lead in the Democratic race with 66 percent to Sanders’ 26 percent. (The Austin American-Statesman)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton criticized Senate Republicans for their resistance to any potential Supreme Court nominations by President Obama. She said, “The Senate Republicans’ refusal to hold hearings on any nominee by President [Barack] Obama is unprecedented, and it is an offense to the President and to the American people who elected him. What’s more, they are hindering the Court from doing its work — leaving it with only eight members for the remainder of this term and into the next. It’s time for the Senate to put statesmanship over partisanship, and live up to our constitutional principles.” (International Business Times)
- A Black Lives Matter activist was escorted out of a private fundraiser for Clinton on Wednesday after holding up a sign that read, “We have to bring them to heel,” in reference to a statement Clinton made in 1996 about at-risk youth. (The Huffington Post)
Bernie Sanders
- While campaigning in South Carolina on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders criticized Hillary Clinton for her support of the 1996 welfare reform bill, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. He said, “What welfare reform did, in my view, was to go after some of the weakest and most vulnerable people in this country. And, during that period. I spoke out against so-called welfare reform because I thought it was scapegoating people who were helpless, people who were very, very vulnerable. Secretary Clinton at that time had a very different position on welfare reform — strongly supported it and worked hard to round up votes for its passage.” (The New York Times)
- Latino activist group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) endorsed Sanders this week. Alejandra Gomez, the co-executive director of LUCHA, said, “Every day, we hear the stories of Moms working at fast-food restaurants for 11 years and only making $11 an hour and students who want to get more involved but their tuition is squeezing them. At every turn, our community is being squeezed, and the only candidate speaking for them is Bernie." (The Phoenix New Times)
- Foreign Policy reported on Wednesday that Sanders has called on Bill French, a policy analyst from the progressive National Security Network nonprofit, to help develop his foreign policy message. (Foreign Policy)
Republicans
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson will attend a Republican presidential forum hosted by the Christian television network NRB in Nashville on Friday. (Christian News Wire)
- Carson spoke at the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner in Texas on Wednesday evening where he noted divisiveness was dangerous for the country. He said, “If I were in charge of America and I wanted to destroy it from inside, I'll tell you what I would do. I'd drive wedges between all the people ... I would have a war on everything. Any resemblance to what's going on I'm sure is coincidental.” (The Houston Chronicle)
Ted Cruz
- U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a surrogate for Ted Cruz, said this week that Cruz’s campaign made a mistake when it apologized to Ben Carson for inaccurately telling Iowa caucus-goers that Carson had suspended his campaign. “When I see what happened with Ben Carson in Iowa, if Ted Cruz made any mistake there, it was hearing from Ben Carson that he wanted an apology and then giving it to him thinking Ben would accept it and that would be the end of it. If he made a mistake, that’s it. Other than that what came out of there was true. It was a reflection of what came out of the news. It wasn’t embellished,” said King. (The Dallas Morning News)
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed Ted Cruz on Wednesday. He said in a video message, “After 8 years of relentless attacks on our values from this White House, it's our duty as Texas conservatives to support a leader we can trust to restore our values and move this country forward. That's why I'm supporting Ted Cruz for president.” (CNN)
- After Cruz filed papers to appear on the primary ballot in Pennsylvania in April, a local attorney filed a petition with the Commonwealth Court to determine if Cruz should be ineligible to run for president because he was born outside of the U.S. A hearing will be held on March 10. (CBS Pittsburgh)
- Cruz said on Wednesday that he would pardon David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist involved in the creation of undercover videos purporting to show wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood, if he were convicted of a federal felony for his actions. “I was deeply dismayed and disappointed to see the Harris County district attorney bringing criminal charges against someone who went undercover to expose what appears to be criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood. I think he performed an incredible public service,” Cruz said. (Talking Points Memo)
John Kasich
- Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (R) endorsed John Kasich on Wednesday. “There’s simply no substitute for executive experience. Gov. Kasich has proven himself to be a leader who can effectively balance a budget, open the door to job creation and bring people together to find solutions,” Otter said in a statement. (The Hill)
- Discussing his future in the presidential race on Wednesday, Kasich told a supporter, “I'm staying in because I think, at the end of the day, I'm going to accumulate enough delegates to win.” He continued, “We have 54 of these races all over and we've had four. So everybody just needs to chill out. You've got a long way to go.” (NBC News)
- On Thursday, Kasich released a new ad, “Progress,” focused on unemployment and Kasich’s record of job creation and taxes. (The Hill)
- Kasich announced his Delaware leadership team on Wednesday. It will be chaired by former U.S. Rep. Tom Evans (R-Del.), former White House spokesman Frank Ursomarso and businessman Michael Fleming. (Delaware State News)
Marco Rubio
- Jason Roe, a senior adviser to Rubio, responded to a memo circulated by John Kasich’s campaign arguing that Rubio provided a “disappointing” return on investment for donors. Roe said on Wednesday that Kasich was not going to be competitive on Super Tuesday. “I think anybody that invested in John Kasich right now is investing in Enron after its collapse. There’s just nothing there for him to compete with,” Rose said. (Politico)
- Former U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) endorsed Rubio on Wednesday. He said in a statement, “Marco Rubio is a true conservative with a proven track record. He communicates the conservative message in a way that will not only unite our party, but grow it, and gives us the best opportunity to win in November. I am proud to offer him my full support." (Cincinnati.com)
- Rubio also received an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla.) on Wednesday. Crenshaw called Rubio “the only candidate in this race who is ready to be commander-in-chief, and the only one who knows what needs to be done to rebuild our military and confront the growing threats against our people.” (Jacksonville.com)
- Rubio directly criticized Donald Trump and his foreign policy during a rally in Texas on Wednesday. He said, "The front-runner in this race, Donald Trump, has said he's not going to take sides on Israel versus the Palestinians because he wants to be an honest broker. Well, there is no such thing as an honest broker in that. Because the Palestinian Authority, which has strong links to terror, they teach little kids that it's a glorious thing to kill Jews." (NBC News)
Donald Trump
- In an interview on Wednesday, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said that there was “good reason to believe that there's a bombshell in Donald Trump's taxes.” Romney predicted, "Either he's not anywhere near as wealthy as he says he is, or he hasn't been paying taxes we would expect him to pay or perhaps he hasn't been giving money to vets or to the disabled like he's been telling us he's been doing.” (CNN)
- Trump responded in a tweet: “Mitt Romney, who totally blew an election that should have been won and whose tax returns made him look like a fool, is now playing tough guy.” (Twitter)
- Trump said that although it was “too early” to name vice presidential candidates on Wednesday, he expected to select someone “that's somewhat political.” (CNN)
- On Wednesday, Trump said that on his first day of office that he would work to secure the border, repeal Obamacare and some of President Obama’s executive orders and improve care for veterans. (CNN)
- Trump called Hillary Clinton “a marshmallow” on Wednesday because of her consistent support for President Barack Obama and his policies. He also argued that the Obama administration was protecting her in its investigation into her use of a private email server while secretary of state. Trump said, “I would instruct them to take a look at it because it’s not really our call to say indict, but you’d have to take a look at it. I would instruct my attorney general to please look at it if there’s something there, and there seems to be a lot there. They’re protecting her because she’s the number-one runner.” (Politico, The Hill)
Third Party Candidates
- After the Green Party of Oklahoma announced earlier this week that it was endorsing Bernie Sanders, the Green Party of Colorado clarified that it would only endorse a Green Party candidate. “We do agree that Sanders is the most progressive option available to registered Democrats, and we encourage them to do everything they can to skew the corporate Democratic Party leftward. It is no longer the party of the working class or the person of color. It no longer stands for people, planet and peace over profit, and if the Democratic Party is to survive, its voters must push leftward,” the organization said in a press release. (Green Party of the United States)
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein is scheduled to attend the Green Party Presidential Candidates’ Town Hall hosted by the Arizona Green Party on March 12. (Green Party of the United States)
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
