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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - July 27, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee for president, making her the first woman to win the nomination of a major American political party. To view the Democratic National Convention delegation roll call votes, visit Ballotpedia. (NBC News, Ballotpedia)
- At the end of the state-by-state roll call vote, Sen. Bernie Sanders said from the convention floor, "I move that all votes cast by delegates be reflected in the official record, and I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States.”
- Some Sanders supporters walked out of the convention chanting, “Walkout! Walkout! Walkout!” According to The Washington Post, “most of the seats in delegations from Maine, Kansas, Alaska and Oklahoma — all states Sanders won against Clinton — were empty. Several Oregon delegates, meanwhile, wrapped black cloth around their jaws, as gags, and headed into the hallway of the Wells Fargo Center.” (The Washington Post)
- At the end of the night, Clinton appeared at the convention via satellite to thank her supporters. She said, "What an incredible honor that you have given me. And I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet. This is really your victory, this is really your night. If there are any little girls out there who stayed up late to watch, let me just say I may become the first woman president but one of you is next." (ABC News)
- Democrats who spoke on day two of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) continued to stress the importance of party unity and attempted to reintroduce Clinton to the American people. The second night’s program was titled, “Fights of Her Life,” and featured many celebrities and the following speakers: Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.), former President Jimmy Carter (D), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), “Mothers of the Movement,” former Attorney General Eric Holder, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards, former Governor Howard Dean (D-Vt.), Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and former President Bill Clinton. Highlights from some of the speeches appear below:
- Former President Bill Clinton: Bill Clinton spoke about his relationship with Hillary Clinton and how she turned him down two times before she finally agreed to marry him. He spoke about her accomplishments as a public servant, saying, “She’s the best darn change-maker I ever met in my entire life. This woman has never been satisfied with the status quo on anything. She always wants to move the ball forward. That’s just who she is.” (NPR, The Washington Post)
- Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: Madeleine Albright went after Donald Trump in her speech saying, “Many have argued that Donald Trump would harm our national security if he were elected president. The fact is he has already done damage, just by running for president. He has undermined our fight against ISIS by alienating our Muslim partners. He has weakened our standing in the world by threatening to walk away from our friends and our allies — and by encouraging more countries to get nuclear weapons. Donald Trump also has a strange admiration for dictators.” (The Los Angeles Times)
- “Mothers of the Movement”: Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida, said, “Hillary is one mother who can ensure our movement will succeed.” According to The Washington Post, “Chants of ‘Black Lives Matter!’ could be heard in the convention arena as the women, who call themselves ‘The Mothers of the Movement,’ made their emotional presentations.” (The Washington Post)
- In the second part of a three-part series, Senior Editor at Ballotpedia and veteran congressional reporter Rich Cohen examines the possibility of Democrats regaining control of the Senate. (Ballotpedia)
Polls
- On Tuesday, The New York Times’s Josh Katz explained why their presidential forecast model shows Hillary Clinton with a 68 percent chance of becoming president and Donald Trump with a 32 percent chance, despite recent polls and models that have Trump leading Clinton. The Times’ model focuses on long-term trends, factors in the polling bounce that occurs around the conventions, and “cares more about state polling than national polling.” Katz wrote, “Polling two to three weeks from now, once the convention bounces have stabilized, should be far more predictive. The model will be in wait-and-see mode for a few weeks, but history suggests uncertainty will decrease rapidly once the convention period ends and parties begin to coalesce (or not) around their respective candidates.” (The New York Times)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said that he thought Hillary Clinton will support the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal as president if the agreement is revised in some ways. He said, “I worry that if we don’t do TPP, at some point China’s going to break the rules -- but Hillary understands this. Once the election’s over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy.” When asked if he thought Clinton would support TPP, McAuliffe said, “Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed.” (Politico)
- McAuliffe’s spokesman issued the following statement clarifying what the governor told Politico: “While Governor McAuliffe is a supporter of the TPP, he has no expectation Secretary Clinton would change her position on the legislation and she has never told him anything to that effect.”
- Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta weighed in on McAuliffe’s statement, writing in a tweet, “Love Gov. McAuliffe, but he got this one flat wrong. Hillary opposes TPP BEFORE and AFTER the election. Period. Full stop.”
- Jennifer Palmieri, communications director for Hillary for America, told reporters on Tuesday that “The WikiLeaks leak was obviously designed to hurt our convention. I don’t think they’re done. That’s how they operate. We can’t know, but it’s part of the reason that we wanted people to understand our belief that the Russians are behind this. People need to understand — when these leaks happen — what they’re designed to do.” (The Hill)
- According to The Hill, “Clinton is open to working with lawmakers on a tax on carbon dioxide emissions if Congress wants it.” On Tuesday, Clinton’s energy advisor Trevor Houser said, “Democrats believe that climate change is too important to wait for climate deniers in Congress to start listening to science. And while it’s always important to remain open to a conversation about how to address this issue with Congress, we need a plan that we can implement day one, because it’s too important to wait, and we need to focus on those things as well.” (The Hill)
- Reuters reported on Tuesday that Clinton told United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams that she would renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if she is elected president. Williams said, “She’s committed to me that not only would (she) dig into NAFTA but she made every indication that she would sit down and try to redo NAFTA.” According to Reuters, “Her campaign on Tuesday declined to comment on the meeting with Williams.” (Reuters)
Republicans
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump promised to “root out government corruption, overturn the ‘rigged’ system, improve VA health care and establish a 24-hour hotline in the White House for veterans to call and voice complaints about the service” during a campaign speech on Tuesday at the VFW convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. (ABC News 11, The Charlotte Observer, The Hill)
- Trump on fixing the VA: “Our politicians have failed you. Our most basic commitment to provide health and medical care has been violated completely. Many died waiting for care that never came. … We're going to bring honesty back to government and that starts with the VA." Trump “promised a new VA leader and punishment for employees who risk the safety, health, and well-being of veterans.” Trump also said, "The VA system will remain a public system because it is a public trust.” He added that “veterans should have the choice of going to the private doctor or hospital of their choice if there are delays.” When speaking about his proposal to create a hotline for veterans to call to complain about problems with the VA system, Trump said, “This could keep me very busy at night, folks. This could take the place of Twitter.”
- Trump on ISIS: “We need to change our foreign policy to focus on defeating and destroying ISIS — a word you didn’t hear last night at the Democrat convention. You didn’t hear it. They don’t want to talk about it, because in a very true way, they really established ISIS — because of weakness.”
- Trump called North Carolina a must-win state while campaigning in there on Tuesday. He told supporters, "I'm going to be in North Carolina so much that you're going to get so sick and tired of me. … We've got to win North Carolina." Trump also discussed how trade deals have hurt the state’s manufacturing, textile, and tobacco industries. According to the USA Today, Trump “attributed the state's lost manufacturing jobs to ‘incompetent’ federal officials negotiating poor trade deals, and allowing China to get away with unfair practices.” (USA Today)
- On Monday night, after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) delivered his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Trump tweeted: “If Cory Booker is the future of the Democratic Party, they have no future! I know more about Cory than he knows about himself.” When asked about the tweet on CNN's New Day, Booker said, “Let me tell you right now: I love Donald Trump. I don't want to answer his hate with hate. I’m going to answer it with love. I’m not going to answer his darkness with darkness. I love him. I know his kids, I know his family. They're good, the children especially, good people. … I love you, Donald. I pray for you. I hope that you find some kindness in your heart, that you’re not going to be somebody that spews out insults to your political opposition, that you’re going to start finding some ways to love. … I’m going to elevate him. I love you, I just don't want you to be my president. I don't want to you have the White House to be spewing that kind of mean-spirited hate that doesn’t even belong on a playground sandbox.” Booker added, “I finally feel like I’m important enough [to be a Trump target].” (USA Today)
- Arizona State Treasurer Jeff DeWit endorsed Trump and will chair Trump’s campaign in Arizona. On Tuesday, DeWit said, "As I said when I was a candidate and still say in my speeches, our government needs less politicians and more business leaders who understand the economic principles that can put our country's finances back on a sustainable path. Mr. Trump and I share a deep love for America and a strong desire to see that our children and all future generations have the same freedoms and opportunities for a bright and prosperous future." (The Arizona Republic, DonaldJTrump.com)
- Trump also received endorsements from former Arizona State Attorney General and NRA President Bob Corbin, former Arizona State Senator Lori Klein Corbin, former Arizona State Senator Robert Blendu, former Arizona State Republican Chairman Tom Morrissey, former Maricopa County Republican Chairman Lyle Tuttle, former National Committeewoman Lori Urban, and former State Treasurer of Arizona Carol Springer.
- Jeff Popick, the father behind the pro-Donald Trump girl group, “USA Freedom Kids,” is planning to sue Trump for “for violating its agreement with the group.” Popick “claims the campaign made promises to the group in exchange for their performances, including a booth at a rally to promote the girls’ albums, which never materialized,” according to Time. Popick said, “There is a legal issue here, but there also is a morality issue. It’s important that I, as a role model for the group, hold their feet to the fire. … I’ve asked and asked them for many months to make it right, and they haven’t, and if that means going the legal route, then so be it.” (Time)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- On Tuesday, Quartz reported that “Bernie or bust” supporters are flocking to Jill Stein’s campaign instead of Hillary Clinton’s because they see Stein an option to “‘vote their conscience,’ saying her liberal positions align more with theirs than Clinton’s.” (Quartz)
- On Tuesday, International Business Times published an article profiling Jill Stein, noting that she “is performing well among voters who are dissatisfied with the establishment and faced with choosing between Trump and Clinton.” (International Business Times)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Former Governor of Massachusetts and 2012 Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney said he is considering voting for Gary Johnson in November. Romney said, "If Bill Weld were at the top of the ticket, it would be very easy for me to vote for Bill Weld for president. So I'll get to know Gary Johnson better and see if he's someone who I could end up voting for. That's something which I'll evaluate over the coming weeks and months." (International Business Times)
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
