Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - January 11, 2016
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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
- To qualify for the next Democratic presidential primary debate on January 17, a candidate “must reach an average of 5 percent either nationally or in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina in the five most recent polls recognized by NBC News” three days prior to the event. Based on this criteria, Martin O’Malley is unlikely to qualify for the debate. (The New York Times)
- Poll: According to a survey of likely Democratic voters released on Friday by Mercury Analytics, nearly 20 percent of respondents said they would cross party lines to vote for Donald Trump. Ron Howard, the CEO of Mercury Analytics said, “The challenge to Hillary, if Trump is the nominee and pivots to the center in the general election as a problem-solving, independent-minded, successful 'get it done' businessman is that Democrats will no longer be able to count on his personality and outrageous sound bites to disqualify him in the voters' minds." (U.S. News & World Report)
- Poll: Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump by four points with 28 percent, according to an NBC News/WSJ/Marist poll of likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers released on Sunday. Marco Rubio and Ben Carson follow with 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively. In New Hampshire, Trump has a 16-point lead with 30 percent. Rubio comes in second with 14 percent. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders in Iowa, 48 percent to 45 percent. In New Hampshire, Sanders retains his leads with 50 percent support. Clinton follows with 46 percent. (NBC News)
- Poll: In general election matchups from Sunday’s NBC News/WSJ/Marist poll, Sanders performs better than Clinton, defeating Trump by 13 points in Iowa and 19 points in New Hampshire. He also beats Cruz by five points in Iowa and 19 points in New Hampshire. Rubio performs best against both Sanders and Clinton, leading or tying the Democratic candidates in three of the four matchups. (NBC News)
Democrats
- Although it was rumored last year that President Obama was considering making a primary endorsement if Vice President Joe Biden ran for president, White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough said on Sunday that Obama will wait until the general election to support a candidate. “We’ll do exactly what has been done in the past, which is when the nominee will be set, then the President will be out there,” McDonough said. (Complex)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton released “Incredible” on Friday, a new ad set to broadcast in New Hampshire and Iowa. It features clips of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Chris Christie making aggressive or inflammatory statements. A narrator concludes, “They’re backward, even dangerous. Who’s the one candidate who can stop them? Hillary Clinton. Tested and tough. To stop them, stand with her.” (The New York Times)
- In response to Donald Trump calling former President Bill Clinton “one of the great abusers of the world,” Clinton said on Sunday, "Didn't work before, won't work again." She added, “He can say whatever he wants to about me. Let the voters judge that, but I am not going to let him or any of the other Republicans rip away the progress that women have made. It's been too hard fought for and I'm going to stand up and make it clear there's a huge difference between us." (CBS News)
- Clinton said on Sunday that she never requested classified information be sent to her private email account while secretary of state. The Huffington Post reported, “Clinton said she was engaging in communication practices that are widespread across the government. She said that those looking into the issue and have yet to come up with any evidence that she broke the law.” (The Huffington Post)
- Gun control advocate and former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) endorsed Clinton on Sunday. (CNN)
Martin O’Malley
- Martin O’Malley said over the weekend that his failure to qualify for the Ohio ballot last week “was a big ball to drop.” He continued, “[B]ut we are going to be on the ballot in all of the other states and fortunately that state is late in the process that this race is going to be shaped by Iowa as it always is.” (KIMT 3)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders has begun to present himself as the Democrats’ most electable candidate. He said on Sunday, “If people are concerned about electability -- and Democrats should be very concerned because we certainly don’t want to see some right-wing extremist in the White House -- Bernie Sanders is the candidate.” (ABC News)
- Following Hillary Clinton’s recent criticism of his 2005 vote in favor of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act from, Sanders defended his vote on Sunday in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. He said, “Look George, if you have a small gun shop owner in Northern Vermont who sells a gun legally to somebody and then, you know, something happens to that guy, he goes nuts or something, and he kills somebody, should the gun shop owner be held liable? I think not.” He added, however, “I am absolutely willing, as I've said for many, many weeks, if not months, to take another look at that piece of legislation.” (CNN)
Republicans
- Commenting on the current state of Republican field on Friday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said, "I hope we can give some momentum to someone other than Sen. Cruz and Mr. Trump. Fine folks, but I think Hillary Clinton would clean their clock.” He added, “Don’t write Jeb Bush off.” (The Hill)
Jeb Bush
- In an interview with Newsmax on Friday, Jeb Bush said that legal restrictions were compromising the military’s ability to defeat the Islamic State. “To me, it is outrageous because it endangers the troops. You cannot have lawyers on top of the war fighters of this extraordinary military force. Of course, the military should apply the standards of war fighting that are the international norms,” he said. Bush added that the U.S. should not "worry about the civil liberties of an ISIS sympathizer. We're at war and we should treat it accordingly." (Newsmax)
- On Saturday, Bush commented on Donald Trump’s ability to dominate media coverage of the election. He said at a town hall, “I just envision him in Trump Tower, on the 54th floor, whatever beautiful apartment, calls to Fox and Friends, Morning Joe, and morning CNN, sitting there with a great bathrobe and nice slippers and he's just, he consumes the space. He has an extraordinary ability to get a lot of press coverage.” (RealClearPolitics)
- Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and former Director of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency Michael Hayden co-wrote an op-ed in USA Today detailing Bush’s four national security principles and highlighting his leadership. “Jeb Bush has clearly articulated a vision not only to defend America and protect our citizens, but once again to make us a trusted leader and important voice in ensuring we stabilize harmful situations that threaten human freedom,” they concluded. (USA Today)
Ben Carson
- Barry Bennett, who served as campaign manager for Ben Carson until last week, discussed his experience working on Carson’s campaign in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch published on Saturday. Bennett expressed frustration at “avoidable errors” Carson made and said he “disagreed on what was important” with him throughout the campaign. Carson also described Carson’s long-time friend and business manager Armstrong Williams as “a problem I can’t fix.” (The Columbus Dispatch)
- Ed Brookover, a former national field director for the Republican National Committee, has replaced Bennett as Carson’s new campaign manager. (The Columbus Dispatch)
- During an anti-poverty forum on Saturday, Carson opposed earned income tax credits, calling them a “manipulation of the tax system.” He said, “I think we need to make the income tax system very simple and extremely fair and stop having all these different variations, because what those things do is they create bureaucracies and the need for this agency and this agency, and it just feeds the system.” (The Hill)
- In New Hampshire, five paid staffers of the 2016 Committee, a super PAC supporting Carson, have left the organization to volunteer for Ted Cruz’s campaign. (WMUR Manchester)
Chris Christie
- On Saturday, Chris Christie advocated for doubling the earned income tax credit while speaking at an anti-poverty forum. "If people decide to go out there, they're going to be making more money working than they're going to be sitting on their couch. That's where you have to do these things. Give work incentives so the people get back to work,” he said. (CBS News)
- Christie denied donating to Planned Parenthood on Sunday, in response to Marco Rubio alleging last week that he had. A spokeswoman again denied the accusation after the campaign was asked about a quote from Christie in the 2012 book, Chris Christie: The Inside Story of His Rise to Power, saying, “I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Christie also denied supporting Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on Sunday. In July 2009, it was reported he said, “After watching and listening to Judge Sotomayor’s performance at the confirmation hearings this week, I am confident that she is qualified for the position of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.” (BuzzFeed)
- After Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) received backlash for making racially tinged remarks about drug dealers traveling to his state and impregnating “young, white” girls, Christie remained steadfast in his support for LePage. “It doesn’t change a bit for me my affection for him, my respect for him, as a leader and as a person, and he’s a good man. And he’s apologized,” he said. (Boston.com, MSNBC)
Ted Cruz
- Discussing the potential systems that can be used to deport undocumented immigrants on Sunday, Ted Cruz said, “You put in place a strong E-Verify system, that means people can not get employment without proving they are here legally. You implement a strong biometric entry-exit system for visas, so that we know the instant someone overstays their visa. 40% of illegal immigrants are visa overstays.” (RealClearPolitics)
- Over the weekend, New York Times columnist David Brooks said during a panel appearance on PBS that Ted Cruz and his father employ “dark and satanic tones” in their speeches. He continued, “If you watch a Cruz speech, it’s like, we have got this enemy, we have got that enemy, we’re going to stomp on this person, we’re going to crush that person, we’re going to destroy that person. It is an ugly world in Ted Cruz’s world, and it’s combative, and it’s angry, and it’s apocalyptic.” (National Review)
- Cruz said he would not repeal Obamacare on his first day in office because he would not have the constitutional authority to do so. “The only way to end it is to repeal that statute … we will repeal Obamacare, but unlike Obama, I don’t intend as president to be — to use his word — an emperor,” Cruz said. (Politico)
- In response to reports that his mother is Canadian because her name appeared on a Canadian voter roll in 1974, Cruz released his mother’s U.S. birth certificate over the weekend. He said on Sunday, “My mother didn’t [vote in a Canadian election] because she was a U.S. citizen. And my mother -- look, the Internet has all sorts of fevered swamp theories, but the facts are simple. My mom was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She was an American citizen by birth. She’s been an American citizens [sic] all 81 years of her life. She’s never been a citizen of any other place.” (The Kansas City Star)
- Cruz said on Friday that voters should send a message to Clinton about her conduct during the 2012 Benghazi attack. “Was Secretary Clinton awake or asleep when four Americans were being murdered? We don't know to this day. We do know Hillary told her daughter Chelsea, 'Well gosh, I knew it was a terrorist attack,' while we were out telling the American people it wasn't. You know, I'll tell you, in my house, if my daughter Catherine, the 5-year-old, says something she knows to be false, she gets a spanking. Well, in America, the voters have a way of administering a spanking,” Cruz said.
Jim Gilmore
- Jim Gilmore will appear on Wisconsin’s primary ballot after a state panel vote last week determined Gilmore and the other 11 Republican candidates qualified. (The Dunn County News)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee criticized Hillary Clinton on Sunday for accepting Planned Parenthood’s endorsement. He tweeted, “#PlannedParenthood harvests human organs like they were fan belts for a Buick, but @HillaryClinton is 'honored' to have their endorsement?” (Twitter)
- Huckabee also used Twitter and Facebook to condemn the Obama administration’s plan to resettle refugees in the U.S. He pointed to allegations of sexual assault in Europe by refugees as a “shocking sneak preview” of what will occur in the U.S., adding, “I’m sorry, but American women should not have to wear burkas to protect themselves from sexual attacks.” (Twitter, Facebook)
John Kasich
- U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who previously worked in George W. Bush’s administration, endorsed John Kasich on Saturday. Portman said in a statement, “I have decided to endorse Governor John Kasich for President because he is a leader who has a proven record of delivering results. John turned Ohio around at a tough time and I believe he can do the same for our country.” (CNN)
- On Friday, Kasich said he opposed paid maternity leave, recommending instead flexible working arrangements. “The one thing we need to do for working women is to give them the flexibility to be able to work at home online. The reason why that’s important is, when women take maternity leave or time to be with the children, then what happens is they fall behind on the experience level, which means that the pay becomes a differential,” he said. (The Columbus Dispatch)
Rand Paul
- Commenting on whether Ted Cruz was eligible to be president because he was born in Canada, Rand Paul said on Sunday, “He would be the first president not born in the United States. And so that alone would be extraordinary. And so people have to decide for their own minds whether it makes a difference where someone is born.” He added that he believed Democrats would challenge Cruz’s eligibility if he became the Republican nominee. (CBS News)
- Paul co-wrote an op-ed in TIME to promote his bill requiring the Federal Reserve be audited. He criticized the lack of transparency in the agency, calling it “a political, oligarchic force, and a key part of what looks and functions like a banking cartel.” (TIME)
Marco Rubio
- During an anti-poverty forum on Saturday, Marco Rubio was heckled several times by immigration protesters. “Rubio does not represent the Hispanic community. He wants to deport our families,” one said as he was escorted out. Others held signs saying, “Rubio wants to deport me!" Rubio was the only candidate appearing at the forum interrupted by protesters. (CNN)
- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) endorsed Rubio on Saturday. “Marco and I have shared, similar values, such as working for a smaller federal government and putting an end to wasteful spending,” he said in a statement. (Politico)
- Rubio called actor Sean Penn’s interview with fugitive Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera “grotesque” on Sunday. “If one of these American actors who have benefited from the greatness of this country who have made money from our free enterprise system, want to go fawn over a criminal and drug trafficker in their interviews, they have a Constitutional right to do it,” Rubio said. (Variety)
- When asked on Sunday if he genuinely believed President Obama wanted to “take away our guns,” as Rubio claimed in an ad last week, he said, “Well, if he could, he would. Obviously he knows he’s contained by the Second Amendment so what he tries to do is chip away at it every chance he gets." (Talking Points Memo)
Donald Trump
- While campaigning in Iowa on Saturday, Donald Trump criticized Iowans for choosing caucus winners who ultimately do not win the Republican Party’s nomination. “You haven't been good. In fact, some people say, 'Oh, it doesn't matter if you win Iowa.' Now don't let them talk to you that way. Don't let them talk to you that way,” Trump said. He continued, “You have not picked a lot of winners. And that will make me feel good only if I don't make it with Iowa." (Business Insider)
- It was reported on Saturday that Trump’s Massachusetts headquarters was vandalized with graffiti featuring profanity and the word “Nazi.” (CBS Boston)
- While defending his movement away from liberal positions on abortion rights and the Clintons, Trump invoked former President Ronald Reagan on Sunday. He said, “You know, Ronald Reagan was a liberal Democrat. And he became a fairly conservative ... Republican. And as he grew older — and I've seen things and I've watched things." He continued, “I mean, we change.” (Politico)
- After it was announced on Sunday that The New Hampshire Union Leader had been removed as a sponsor of ABC’s upcoming Republican debate, Trump took credit for the separation on Twitter. (CNN)
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
