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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - February 3, 2016
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Breaking news
- Sources close to Sen. Rand Paul say he will drop out of the presidential race. (Politico)
Wednesday's Leading Stories
- On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton was officially declared the winner of the Iowa caucuses. According to The New York Times, “Mrs. Clinton was awarded 700.59 state delegate equivalents, the terminology used in Iowa to represent candidates’ share of the total caucus vote. Mr. Sanders was awarded 696.82 delegates, and former Gov. Martin O’Malley received 7.61 delegates. Based on these results, Mrs. Clinton is set to receive 23 of Iowa’s delegates and Mr. Sanders will earn 21 delegates.” During a campaign event at Nashua Community College, Clinton said, “I can tell you, I’ve won and I’ve lost there — and it’s a lot better to win.” (The New York Times)
- On Tuesday, Ben Carson accused Ted Cruz’s campaign of spreading false rumors that he was suspending his campaign during Monday night’s caucus. Carson said, “A culture exists within the Cruz camp that would allow people to take advantage of a situation like this in a very dishonest way.” Shortly after the voting began, Rep. Steve King, Cruz’s campaign co-chair, tweeted: “Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope.” In addition, a Cruz staffer sent an email that said, “Please inform any Carson caucus-goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz.” (The New York Post)
- Cruz apologized to Carson on Tuesday, and he released the following statement: “Last night when our political team saw the CNN post saying that Dr. Carson was not carrying on to New Hampshire and South Carolina, our campaign updated grassroots leaders just as we would with any breaking news story. That’s fair game. What the team then should have done was send around the follow-up statement from the Carson campaign clarifying that he was indeed staying in the race when that came out.” (Time)
- On Tuesday night, former Senator Scott Brown endorsed Donald Trump. Brown said, "I'm saying to myself, 'What's the biggest problem in Washington right now?' Well it's clearly the dysfunction in Washington, that they don't talk, they don't work together. Very rarely does anything get done. The one person who has the independence and can be the change agent to actually get Washington working again, it was very clear to me that that was Donald Trump. … When you're looking at someone who has actually had a real job in the private sector, who's actually signed the front of a check, not just the back of a check. Someone who can actually bring people together, put them in a room, shut the door, and actually negotiate some kind of agreement. ... Once again, it came back to Donald Trump.” (The Boston Herald)
Polls
- According to a Morning Consult analysis, Ben Carson could benefit the most from Mike Huckabee dropping out of the presidential race. The analysis found that “Twenty-four percent of Huckabee’s supporters had Carson as their second pick,” and “[e]ighteen percent of Huckabee’s supporters chose Donald Trump as their second choice.” (Breitbart)
- According to an American Research Group poll released on Tuesday, Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton 49 percent to 43 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire. (American Research Group)
- According to an American Research Group poll released on Tuesday, Donald Trump leads John Kasich 34 percent to 16 percent among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz follow with 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Jeb Bush comes in at 9 percent and Christie at 6 percent. (American Research Group)
- According to a UMass Lowell/ 7NEWS poll released on Tuesday, Sanders leads Hillary Clinton 63 percent to 30 percent among likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire. (UMass Lowell/ 7NEWS)
- According to a UMass Lowell/ 7NEWS poll released on Tuesday, Trump leads Cruz 38 percent to 14 percent among likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. Rubio follows with 10 percent, and Kasich and Bush are tied at 9 percent. (UMass Lowell/ 7NEWS)
Democrats
- According to CNN, Bernie Sanders will not debate Hillary Clinton on Thursday night at the University of New Hampshire if she does not commit to a debate in Brooklyn, New York. Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver released the following statement: "Why does the Clinton campaign object to a debate in New York City? Wasn't Secretary Clinton the senator from New York? Why is her campaign dissing the Big Apple?" (CNN)
- Clinton commented on the situation, saying, "This is really hard to follow because when we said we would do the debate, they came back with conditions. We met the conditions. Then they said they want different conditions. We've tried to be very accommodating, but we have agreed with everything they have asked us to do."
- Sanders senior adviser Tad Devine also commented on the debate situation, saying, "We'd like to be there, Wolf. One thing we don't like is the Clinton campaign dictating all the rules."
Hillary Clinton
- On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton praised officials in Jackson, Mississippi, for their effort to fix the excessive lead levels in some of the city’s homes. She also called for national infrastructure improvements. In a statement, she said, “I’m heartened that Jackson city officials are taking the right steps to fix the problem, including repeated testing and openness with the results, so families can stay informed. As the emergency in Flint, Michigan, has made clear, cities and states must treat these situations with the utmost seriousness, and do everything in their power to ensure that families – especially children – have access to safe, clean drinking water. We as a nation must make urgent investments to modernize our utilities and infrastructure, to keep families and communities safe and healthy.” (The Clarion-Ledger)
- State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday that Secretary of State John Kerry “used a ‘non-official account’ to send a May 19, 2011, message to Clinton and then-national security adviser Tom Donilon” when Kerry was serving in the Senate. According to The Washington Times, “Portions of the message were classified as ‘secret’ last week and censored when it was released along with about another 1,000 of Clinton’s emails.” (The Washington Times)
- At a campaign event in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Bill Clinton said, "Barack Obama is not Bernie Sanders, let's not play cheap games here.” Noting that some of Sanders’ policy positions are different from some Democratic voters, he continued, "[Hillary Clinton] and President Obama had enormous overlap on what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it.” (NBC News)
- The ad titled “25 Years,” which highlights Clinton’s relationship with former Attorney General Eric Holder, will begin airing in South Carolina. In the ad, Holder “endorses Clinton’s stance on tightening gun laws and increasing police accountability and says that she has ‘fought her whole life for children, to protect civil rights, voting rights,’” according to Time. (Time)
Bernie Sanders
- On Tuesday, during a campaign event in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders discussed his near-win in Iowa and the upcoming New Hampshire primary. He said, "We did extraordinarily well in Iowa. We took on the most powerful political organization in the country.” He added that the New Hampshire primary is "not going to be an easy race...But I believe if we reach out to our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers — if we bring out large numbers of people, we are going to win next Tuesday." (NBC News)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush will release the ad, “Turn off Trump,” in New Hampshire on Wednesday. The ad highlights a series of controversial remarks made by Donald Trump. Jeb Bush says, "I'm sick and tired of politicians that find ways to disparage people to make themselves look strong. It is not strong to insult women. It is not a sign of strength -- it is not a sign of strength -- when you say that a POW is a loser because they got caught. John McCain is a hero. It is not a sign of strength disparaging the disabled in this country. It is not, it is a sign of deep insecurity and weakness." According to The Washington Post, “Bush has allotted roughly $4.5 million to spend on advertising in the Granite State.” (The Washington Post)
- On Tuesday, Lindsey Graham campaigned with Bush in New Hampshire and praised his ground game. He said, "You'll be talking about Jeb Bush's ground game next Wednesday. I've seen it with McCain - it's better than McCain's. They've knocked on 60,000 doors. They have a ground game up here - phonebanking and door knocking - that just blows me away." Graham also criticized Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, saying, "People here in new Hampshire will look for people with a sense of maturity, temperament, and experience. … Look at the three people running for the president of the United States -- the top three -- and what's their biggest success in government?” (CBS News)
- Graham On Cruz: “I don't hate Ted Cruz, I just don't respect Ted Cruz's approach to government. When he says he's not for legal status, he's absolutely lying. I was sitting by him in the Judiciary Committee. His amendment would have given legal status not citizenship."
- Graham on Trump: “I can't think of a worse nominee than Donald Trump. … Whatever problems we had in 2012 with women and Hispanics - Trump's taken a gasoline and poured it on.”
- On Rubio: Rubio "did well because he ran pretty hard to the right.” Graham also criticized Rubio for abandoning the "Gang of Eight immigration bill" and “his opposition to an abortions even in the case of rape an incest -- a position that Graham considers ‘an outlier to the nation’ -- as disqualifying.”
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson leads all of the presidential candidates in donations from Montanans. Residents of the state have spent more than $600,000 on the race, and $166,985 has gone to Carson. Will Deschamps, an unofficial in-state contact for the candidate and former Montana GOP chairman, said, “Carson was here at least once, and that was last year up in Kalispell for a religious meeting that he had. I was told he had 1,100 people there.” According to the Billings Gazette, Carson was also in Billings in 2014 to campaign for Republicans U.S. Sen. Steven Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke.” (Billings Gazette)
Chris Christie
- After finishing 10th in the GOP Iowa caucus, Chris Christie said at a campaign event on Tuesday, “We’ve got a lot of institutional advantages here that we just never had in Iowa and we weren’t going to be able to make happen in Iowa. So, I’m a realist and that’s why I never looked you in the eye and said, ‘Oh, watch out, big surprise in Iowa.’” Christie also criticized Marco Rubio for supporting the “Gang of Eight” immigration reform. During a radio interview with Laura Ingraham, Christie said, “Marco Rubio’s never run a thing in his life. This guy's run a 30-person Senate staff, and he barely showed up to do that. Why we would ever turn over our party and our government to a first-term United States senator like the Democrats did seven years ago is beyond me. Why the rush to all this? Because Marco Rubio came in third last night? He spent $5 million more than Ted Cruz to come in third, and that's some kind of triumph? I don't know, I don’t see it.” (Asbury Park Press)
- Christie continued to criticize Rubio on Tuesday, saying, "It's time for him to man up and step up and stop letting all of his handlers write his speeches and handle him, because that's what they do, that's what you have to do for somebody has never done anything in their life. … Let's get the boy in the bubble out of the bubble and let's see him play for the next week in New Hampshire. I'm ready to play. I hope he is because I'll be ready to see him on stage on Saturday night. … Maybe he'll answer more than two or three questions in a town hall meeting. And do more than 40 minutes on a little stage you know telling everybody his canned speech that he's memorized. This isn't an a student council election." (CNN)
- Rubio responded to Christie’s attacks, saying, “Chris has had a tough couple of days. He's not doing very well, and he did very poorly in Iowa. And sometimes when people run into adversity they don't react well and they say things they maybe will later regret." (Politico)
Ted Cruz
- On Tuesday, the Illinois Board of Elections ruled that Ted Cruz is a citizen and will appear on the state's primary ballot. The board said, "The Candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth," and added that Cruz "did not have to take any steps or go through a naturalization process at some point after birth." (The Huffington Post)
- At a campaign event in New Hampshire on Tuesday, a voter who has Spina bifida asked Cruz what he thought about Donald Trump mocking a reporter who had a physical handicap. Cruz said, "Well listen. I'm a big believer you convey a lot about your character in how you conduct yourself. How you treat others. One of the greatest tests of character is how do you treat people you don't have to be nice to. Listen, everyone knows how to kiss up, everyone knows how to kiss up to their boss, to whoever has direct control over their lives. But how do you treat the clerk at the convenience store? How do you treat the cab driver? How do you treat people who you don't have to be nice to? There's no meaningful consequence in your life. That shows a lot about your character. Every candidate has to chose how they conduct their campaign. … Every morning I pick up the phone and look at my iPhone to see whatever the latest insult is from Donald. And I give him credit, the guy has some creative insults, they are a lot of mornings I wake up cracking up laughing and go 'that's pretty good.'" (CBS News)
Carly Fiorina
- Instead of speaking at her caucus party on Monday night, Carly Fiorina went to the airport. Citing “weather concerns and lower-than-expected results,” Anna Epstein, Fiorina’s campaign press secretary, wrote in an email, “We are definitely headed to (New Hampshire) on Wednesday (morning) for a full schedule of events before the primary.” (USA Today)
Jim Gilmore
- After getting 12 votes in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, Jim Gilmore said, “I obviously understand what 12 votes means in Iowa. Don’t think I don’t understand that. Here’s the point: What I was trying to communicate, and I’m gonna communicate it you again, was that I chose strategically not to participate in Iowa. I’m not surprised it was 12. We did not recruit any representatives. We did not go out in the community. We did not ask for the vote. To the contrary, in the debate I actually made it clear to everybody in America that I was not participating in Iowa. So I don’t feel bad getting 12 votes because I wasn’t trying to get 12 votes. … Of course, if you’re in the race, obviously, then people want to list you and say, ‘Golly gee willikers, you must not be acceptable because you only got 12 votes.’ We weren’t trying to get 12 votes in Iowa.” He added that he is “trying to win votes in New Hampshire.” (BuzzFeed)
John Kasich
- Although he has low poll numbers in New Hampshire, John Kasich said that he expects to do well in the state. During an interview on CNN on Tuesday, he said, "The campaigns are spending $4 million of negative ads against me. You think they're worried? They don't spend $4 million ahead of somebody at the bottom.” He added that the New Hampshire primary would be significant for his campaign. He said, "We will know on the morning of the 10th whether we are a story. And it's really going to be whether you're saying, 'Oh my goodness, this guy Kasich -- we sort of counted him out.’ And then all of a sudden you folks will be forced to shift a little bit of your attention away from the Trumper and you might have to talk about John Kasich.” Kasich also discussed Donald Trump, saying, "If I thought he was unstoppable, I'd go back to Ohio tomorrow. He's not unstoppable. It's a long way to the finish line.” (CNN)
- During a campaign event on Tuesday, a New Hampshire voter criticized Kasich for “supporting the federal process that led to the closure of New Hampshire’s Pease Air Force Base in 1991.” Kasich confronted the man and said, “You think that I’m going to tell you that I’m going to suck up to you? I’m not going to do that. You don’t have to vote for me. Nobody has to. I’m not going to tell you fables; I’m not going to tell you fairy tales. I’ve got two little girls at home. You know what I want them to do? I want them to respect and love their daddy.” (Politico)
Rand Paul
- On Monday, Kelley Paul, Rand Paul’s wife, recalled meeting Rand at a party in Atlanta in the summer of 1988. She said, “He asked for my number at that party and I remember giving it to him and he didn't write it down, and he said, ‘Don't worry, I'll remember it. He called me the next day.” They were later married in October 1990. Speaking about campaigning with Rand, Kelley said that although she is “more risk-averse,” campaigning “brought out that other side of me, and certainly opened up opportunities.” Kelley is “a speechwriter, a political consultant, and an author,” according to ABC News. (ABC News)
Marco Rubio
- On Tuesday, Marco Rubio tried to minimize Ted Cruz’s win in Iowa. He said, "Well, look, as we always said, Ted Cruz was the front-runner in Iowa, basically his entire campaign was in Iowa. For us, we've been involved in multiple states. We've been doing that in multiple states and despite that we came just a few thousand votes short of being in first place. I think Ted’s been very calculated. He'll say anything to get a vote, so you’ll see him take multiple positions. I do think he’s been very calculating, and I do believe he's willing to say just about anything to get a vote." (Politico)
- According to The New York Times, Rubio’s campaign expects to do well in New Hampshire because of their ground game. “Ryan Fattman, 31, a state senator from central Massachusetts, said that since July he had recruited about 350 volunteers from across his state to help campaign for Mr. Rubio in New Hampshire, part of a broader effort to mobilize state and local politicians from across New England. The result, he said, has been a volunteer-based network that has been working quietly for months. ‘I think their ground game has been kind of a hidden secret,’ he said. ‘Part of the campaign’s brilliance is not advertising everything it’s doing.’” (The New York Times)
Rick Santorum
- According to National Journal, Rick Santorum’s effort in Iowa did not pay off on caucus night. Santorum “spent 86 days campaigning in Iowa since the 2014 election, more than any candidate from either party,” and he finished 11th-place in a 12-candidate field. (National Journal)
- A Santorum precinct captain did not vote for Santorum on Monday night. MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes said to the man, “You didn’t vote for him?” He replied, “As I was writing down [his name], my pen ran out of ink. I was like, I can’t just ask somebody for a new pen while I’m doing this.” Hayes then said, “Buddy, you’re the Santorum dude.” The Santorum supporter replied, “I know, I know. Failure to launch, failure to launch.” (The Hill)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump entertained the idea that skipping the Fox News/ Google debate may have contributed to his second-place finish in Iowa. He told reporters on Tuesday, "That could've been with the debate. I think some people were disappointed that I didn't go into the debate." (CNN)
Third Party Candidates
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- On Monday night, Gary Johnson criticized the Democratic and Republican parties. He wrote in a post on Tumblr, “To no one’s surprise, the Republican who emerged from the Iowa Caucuses did so under a banner of social intolerance and carpet bombing. Just as predictably, the Democrats endorsed a candidate who has never seen a federal program, regulation or expenditure she doesn’t like. The pundits have become fond of talking about ‘lanes’ to electoral success. Where is the lane for the millions of Americans who are fundamentally conservative when it comes to the size and cost of government, but just as fundamentally tolerant when it comes to individual and civil liberties? Monday night’s caucuses proved once again that the two major parties are not going to nominate a candidate who represents the real majority in America – independents who are fed up with the partisan dance that has given us a $20 trillion debt, endless war and a government intent on eroding the very liberties it is supposed to be preserving.” (Gary Johnson Tumblr)
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
