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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - February 9, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Tuesday's Leading Stories
- Former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg (R) confirmed on Monday that he was considering launching a presidential bid. “I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters,” he said in an interview with Financial Times. Bloomberg acknowledged that he would need to begin working on ballot access by the beginning of March. Regarding when he would make a final decision, he said, “I’m listening to what candidates are saying and what the primary voters appear to be doing.” (Financial Times)
- Politico reported on Monday that Hillary Clinton is considering making major staffing and strategy adjustments directly following her expected loss in New Hampshire on Tuesday, rather than wait until the four February primaries have taken place. In an interview following the initial story on Monday night, Clinton said, “We’re going to take stock but it’s going to be the campaign that I’ve got. I’m very confident in the people that I have. I’m very committed to them; they’re committed to doing the best we can. … We’re moving into a different phase of the campaign. We’re moving into a more diverse electorate. We’re moving into different geographic areas. So, of course it would be malpractice not to say, OK, what worked? What can we do better? What do we have to do new and different that we have to pull out?’” (Politico)
- The first votes in the New Hampshire primary were reported from Dixville Notch, Millsfield and Hart’s Location early Tuesday morning. Although the results are not necessarily predictive, there was a three-way tie between Donald Trump, John Kasich and Ted Cruz. Sanders beat Hillary Clinton by a nearly 2:1 margin. (The New York Times)
Polls
- A CNN/WMUR poll released on Monday found Donald Trump leading Marco Rubio in New Hampshire, 31 percent to 17 percent. Ted Cruz was a close third with 14 percent. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders held a 26-point lead over Hillary Clinton with 61 percent support. (CNN)
- Emerson College released its final poll before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday. Like the CNN/WMUR poll, it also placed Trump in first place with 31 percent. A surging Jeb Bush followed with 16 percent. Sanders also led Clinton by a relatively smaller margin of 54 percent to 42 percent. (Emerson College)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- After being an open secret for several months, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed in a letter made public on Monday that it was conducting an investigation related to Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. General counsel for the FBI, James Baker, wrote that the FBI could not say more “without adversely affecting on-going law enforcement efforts.” (MSNBC)
- Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reaffirmed on Monday her belief that young women should be supporting Clinton. “I said that I think that people need to understand who has been really fighting on their behalf on issues that are of interest to women and clearly Hillary Clinton has and I have said there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women a lot—it’s so famous that it ended up on a Starbucks cup—because I do think that just generally, we are very judgmental of each other,” she said. (TIME)
- Clinton noted on Monday that Bernie Sanders had taken $200,000 from Wall Street through the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). “You know, there is nothing wrong with that. It hasn’t changed his view, well it didn’t change my view or my vote either,” Clinton said. Sanders spokesman Jeff Weaver responded, “Bernie appreciates the help he has gotten from the DSCC, whose funds come from millions of Americans’ individual contributions, labor organizations, environmental groups, women’s organizations and others. To say that every nickel that Bernie received came from Wall Street is beyond preposterous.” (ABC News)
Bernie Sanders
- On Monday, Bernie Sanders rejected sexist attacks against Hillary Clinton that have been made by his supporters. He said, “Anybody who supports me who is engaged in sexist attacks is unacceptable. I don’t want that support. But you know, we have millions of people out there and we cannot control every single person, but I don’t want anybody, anybody to be supportive of me who is engaged in sexism.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Sanders signed a pledge on Monday “to power America with more than 50 percent clean energy by 2030.” (NextGen Climate)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush shifted his position on Citizens United in an interview on Monday, expressing frustration that super PACs were able to raise large amounts of money without accountability. “If I could do it all again I’d eliminate [this] Supreme Court ruling. This is a ridiculous system we have now where you have campaigns that struggle to raise money directly and they can’t be held accountable for the spending of the super PAC that’s their affiliate,” Bush said. He continued, “We have unlimited monies for super PACs, and then restrictions for campaigns. It doesn’t make sense to me.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- While campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Bush launched several final attacks against his opponents before the state’s primary on Tuesday. He said, “Donald Trump organizes his campaign around disparaging people, as a sign of strength. It’s not strong to insult women. It’s not strong to castigate Hispanics. It’s not strong to ridicule the disabled.” Bush also warned that “something is going to happen” akin to the September 11 terrorist attacks. “What kind of person do you want to have in this unforeseen, dynamic world where you don't know exactly how it all plays out. And I hope you want to have someone that actually has had some proven skills of leadership through life,” Bush said. (The Tampa Bay Times, The Wall Street Journal)
- Bush’s campaign released a new ad on Monday called “No Comparison.” It contrasts Bush with John Kasich on gun control, the Affordable Care Act and military strength. (The Washington Post)
Ben Carson
- In an interview with The Washington Post following Saturday’s Republican debate, Ben Carson said that Ted Cruz apologized to him during a commercial break for his campaign falsely informing voters that Carson was going to suspend his campaign. Cruz also expressed interest in having a meeting to “clear the air.” Nevertheless, Carson noted that the “evidence is there" that Cruz’s campaign intended to mislead. "Tapes, written communications, it's all out there. People have to decide whether this kind of behavior is acceptable to them,” Carson said. (CBS News)
- Alabamans gave nearly $500,000 to Carson’s campaign in 2015, placing him far ahead of the Republican field for fundraising totals in the state. (AL.com)
Chris Christie
- About 30 protesters for the New Jersey Amalgamated Transit Union traveled to New Hampshire on Monday to protest Chris Christie at one of his final campaign events in the state prior to Tuesday’s primary. They chanted, “Chris Christie, bad for New Jersey, bad for you.” Christie dismissed them as his “favorite Democrats.” (USA Today)
- Christie said on Monday that he intended to travel to South Carolina after the New Hampshire primary regardless of election night results. “I'm going to South Carolina. My flight is booked for South Carolina on Wednesday morning from here. And, listen, I think what – there was a march among some of the chattering class before Saturday night that Marco Rubio – it was down to a three-person race, this was it and it was over. I think after Saturday night no matter what the results are on Tuesday, no one thinks that anymore. No one now looks at any of those three guys and says they are inevitable. They're not,” Christie said. His campaign also released a schedule of South Carolina campaign events on Monday. (RealClearPolitics, Politico)
- Christie said he has been “tested” more than John Kasich as a governor on Monday. He said, “I've known Kasich for a long time. I can tell you, his fellow governors call him lots of things. 'The prince of sunshine and light' is not one of them, all right? That's OK. John's in the midst of reforming himself – you know, reinventing himself. ... It's about being tested, though. John's had a Republican legislature this entire time. I mean, it's like Candyland in Ohio.” (Cleveland.com)
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz announced endorsements from six state representatives in New Hampshire on Sunday who previously supported Rand Paul. One of these reported endorsers, J.R. Hoell (R), said his previous praise for the candidate did not constitute an endorsement. “It’s just frustrating. That should never have happened. It looks like a full-blown endorsement,” Hoell said. (The New York Times)
- Progress Texas, a liberal political group, has filed a complaint with the Texas attorney general’s office regarding Cruz’s use of a mailer that says “check enclosed” on the envelope to describe a dummy check indicating that any donation the recipient makes would be matched. Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for Cruz, said that “these match-type fundraising mailers are common to both campaign and nonprofit solicitations.” (The Dallas Morning News)
Carly Fiorina
- In an interview with The Huffington Post published on Monday, Carly Fiorina rejected the assertion she was playing “the gender card” when discussing her life. She said, “All the words that I have been called as a secretary, as a CEO, I'm being called as a presidential candidate – you know, 'bimbo,' 'b****.’ People have said that when I tell my story I'm playing the gender card. No, I'm not. I'm just telling my story." (The Huffington Post)
Jim Gilmore
- Jim Gilmore has been campaigning in New Hampshire since last Tuesday, including discussing his politics with Quinnipiac University students late on Sunday. According to The Boston Herald, “As Sunday night turned to Monday morning, Gilmore continued to take questions and debate the dozen or so students surrounding him in the small lobby. He argued with them over trickle-down economics, supply and demand and the minimum wage. He expressed his frustration over the lack of media attention his campaign has received, called President Obama’s Iran deal a ‘tremendous gamble,’ and railed against socialism.” (The Boston Herald)
John Kasich
- In an interview with Black Enterprise published on Monday, John Kasich discussed a range of issues from minority entrepreneurship to reforming healthcare. He expressed support for requiring at least 15 percent of government contracts be awarded to minority-owned business and the “ban the box” policy, which allows non-violent felons to apply for state jobs without initially indicating their conviction. Kasich also expressed opposition to certain more stringent voting requirements such as a photo ID. “We don’t to to [sic] be in a position where we force on them [minorities and low-income voters] the extra cost in order to vote. I just don’t believe that’s what we ought to do. I think it’s important we don’t let people think that they’re being disenfranchised,” Kasich said. (Black Enterprise)
- Kasich’s out-of-state security expenses have increased from $17,000 per year to $350,000 per year since he first took office. An Ohio state senator, Charleta Tavares (D), said, “Certainly, we want him to have security when he's acting as a representative of our state, and certainly we want his family and him to be protected on the personal travel. But when it's truly campaigning, I don't believe the taxpayers should pick up that cost." Ohio Auditor Dave Yost (R) said, “The bottom line is that the people of Ohio have the same interest in not having a dead governor regardless of whether he's on vacation or at work, regardless of what he's doing.” (Cleveland.com)
Marco Rubio
- U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) defended Marco Rubio’s performance in the last Republican debate on Monday by insulting Chris Christie’s weight and stating that Rubio was “Reaganesque” in how he handled Christie’s attacks. “If he’d been asked a question he’d answer it, he choose not to take the bait of an attack and, you know what, I respect that. I respect his being Reaganesque and instead of attacking back his opponent and berating him he started talking about what he thought mattered,” Issa said. (BuzzFeed)
- Rubio announced support from several Georgia state senators and party leaders on Monday. “The momentum behind Marco’s campaign is undeniable, and we are excited to add an impressive list of Georgia leaders to the team today,” U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) said in a statement. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- While campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Rubio was confronted by a New Hampshire man over his position on gay rights. "Why do you want to put me back in the closet?" the voter, who is married to another man, asked. Rubio responded, “I don’t. You can live any way you want. I just believe marriage is between one man and one woman." The voter then suggested Rubio did not believe gay people mattered. “No, I just believe marriage is between one man and one woman. I think that’s what the law should be. And if you disagree you should have the law changed by a legislature," Rubio said in reply. (The Huffington Post)
Donald Trump
- Trump unleashed several insults against Jeb Bush on Monday morning, describing him as "lightweight," "not a smart man," "stiff" and a "spoiled child." Trump said, “Here's a guy, honestly, if he weren't in government, you wouldn't hire him to do anything, okay? If you had a company you wouldn't even hire him." (Mother Jones)
- Trump said that he would be comfortable personally telling Syrian refugee children they were not permitted to come to the U.S., during a town hall meeting on Monday. "I can look at their faces and say, 'Look, you can't come here.’ … Their parents should always stay with them. But we don't know where their parents come from. We have no documentation whatsoever. There's absolutely no way of saying where these people come from,” Trump said, before recommending a “safe zone” be created in Syria for refugees. (CNN)
- During a rally on Monday evening in New Hampshire, an attendee screamed out that Ted Cruz was a “p****.” After asking her to say it again, Trump said, "Okay, you're not allowed to say and I never expect to hear that from you again. She said – I never expect to hear that from you again! – she said: 'He's a p****.' That's terrible." As the crowd laughed and cheered, Trump seemed to jokingly scold her but said she was permitted to stay. “For the press, this is a serious reprimand," Trump added. (The Washington Post, The Hill)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- In an interview with The Huffington Post on Monday, Jill Stein discussed the state of U.S. relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. She said, “I actually do talk about Israel quite a bit. And I often talk about it in the same breath as Saudi Arabia, because we need a consistent policy where we are not carving out exceptions for certain kinds of war criminals and tyrants, whether they're Saudis or whether it's Netanyahu. We need an international policy based on international law and human rights and diplomacy. So that means we don't supply Israel with $8 million a day to conduct its war crimes against, you know, against Palestine. Period. And same thing for Egypt; you know, they don't get $3 billion a year either, and we don't sell weapons to the Saudis. So you know, we need a consistent policy; this is what's generating the crisis that we cannot spend enough or throw enough weapons into in order to fix.” (The Huffington Post)
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
