Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - March 15, 2016
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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
- Super Tuesday III has arrived in what may be a pivotal day for both the Democratic and Republican primary contests. According to Ballotpedia senior writer Jim Barnes, Bernie Sanders will look to a victory in Ohio, Illinois or Missouri to prove that his Michigan upset over Hillary Clinton was not an anomaly. Delegate-rich Florida and Ohio are the main events for Republicans where Donald Trump is looking to cement his lead with a win in both states. (Ballotpedia)
Polls
- In a poll released on Monday, Quinnipiac University found Donald Trump leading Marco Rubio in his home state of Florida by 24 points with 46 percent. Monmouth University measured Trump’s lead over Rubio at 17 points. Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said, “It seems that Rubio’s supporters registered their preferences at the beginning of the early voting period, but the Trump faction has more than caught up in the past few days. As in past contests, we see rock solid support in the Trump vote, which means Rubio needs an eleventh hour effort to both lock in his own vote and convince Cruz and Kasich supporters to get behind him.” (Quinnipiac University, Monmouth University)
- In Ohio, Trump is tied with home state favorite John Kasich, according to Quinnipiac University. Monmouth University gave Kasich a five-point advantage over Trump. “The Ohio race is tight, but with Rubio floundering in Florida, Kasich could potentially bolster his standing as the establishment’s alternative to Trump and Cruz with a win here,” Murray said. (Quinnipiac University, Monmouth University)
- In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by 26 points with 60 percent in Florida, according to Quinnipiac University. In Ohio, her lead is far narrower with 51 percent to Sanders’ 46 points. Monmouth University places Clinton ahead of Sanders more comfortably, 54 percent to 40 percent. (Quinnipiac University, Monmouth University)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- Secretary of Labor Tom Perez has increasingly been named as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton. “To Perez’s fans, he’s the under-the-radar choice who checks every box Clinton’s going to need if she is the nominee: progressives, unions, African-Americans, Obama loyalists, Latinos. Even some senior Democrats who think the idea is a long shot acknowledge it’s a unique marriage of message and moment,” Politico reported on Monday. (Politico)
- During a televised town hall on Monday, Clinton accused Donald Trump of using “dangerous” rhetoric to incite violence. She continued, "When you are inciting mob violence, which is what Trump is doing, there's a lot of memories that people have. They're in the DNA. People remember mob violence that lead to lynching, people remember mob violence that lead to people being shot, being grabbed, being mistreated. And it's something that has a deep, almost psychological resonance to people who have ever been in any position of feeling somewhat fearful, somewhat worried." (NBC News)
- Equality PAC, the political action arm of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, endorsed Clinton on Monday. “Secretary Clinton has made LGBT equality a top priority in her campaign and can be trusted to make equality a top priority when she is president. She has committed to fighting hard for comprehensive federal nondiscrimination protection, and we look forward to the day she signs the bipartisan Equality Act into law,” said Equality PAC managing director Roddy Flynn. (Advocate.com)
Bernie Sanders
- The Amalgamated Transit Union endorsed Bernie Sanders on Monday. In a statement, Larry Hanley, the president of the 190,000-member union, said, “The sincerity of Bernie Sanders and his long standing fidelity to the issues that are so important to working people are what convinced us that standing with Bernie is standing with the 99% of America that has been left out of the mainstream public debate, cheated out of our jobs and denied the true meaning of the American dream.” (The Huffington Post)
- Sanders issued a new plan on Monday to address the affordability of drugs for individuals with HIV and AIDS. Its foundation would be a $3 billion “Prize Fund for HIV/AIDS” to support innovation in drug research. “The Prize Fund would reward medical researchers and developers of medicines based primarily upon the added therapeutic value a new treatment offers and the number of people it benefits. Instead of a system where the market is manipulated to keep out all competition, companies would be rewarded for their innovation with a cash prize for their medical innovations, rather than through the grant of a monopoly. Under Bernie’s plan, drugs would have generic competition immediately after FDA approval,” according to a white paper posted to Sanders’ campaign website. (Fortune, Bernie Sanders for President)
Republicans
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz said on Monday that he would support Donald Trump as the Republican nominee even though he has previously said that Trump "encourages violence" and "disrespects voters." He explained, “I know it is a shocking concept to members of the media. A shocking concept that an elected official actually does what he said. At the outset of this campaign, I committed I will support the Republican nominee. I honor my word.” (NBC News, ABC News)
- On Monday, Cruz described Marco Rubio and John Kasich as “talented, smart, serious leaders.” He said that he “could absolutely see a place for [them] in an administration.” (CNN)
- While campaigning in Illinois on Monday, Cruz questioned Trump’s political donation record. He said, “Rod Blagojevich — Donald Trump gave him $7,000. The Cook County Democratic Party — not exactly a bastion of integrity — Donald Trump gave then $12,500. Rahm Emanuel – Donald Trump gave him $50,000. Now, help me on this. Have you ever had a moment when you were sitting at home and you just have this incredible urge to give $7,000 to Blago?” (The Dallas Morning News)
- Keep the Promise II, a super PAC formed one year ago to support Cruz’s presidential run, has yet to spend any significant amount of money. Toby Neugebauer, who founded and contributed $10 million to the super PAC, claimed that he would spend money on advertising in February and March, but this has not yet happened. CNN reported that two insiders said Neugebauer was considering withdrawing his donation. (CNN)
John Kasich
- Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R), who endorsed John Kasich over the weekend, has been named the chair of Kasich’s campaign in Wisconsin. (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- Although he has not endorsed any candidate in the presidential race, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney campaigned for Kasich in Ohio on Monday. "Unlike the other people running, he has a real track record,” Romney said. (Bloomberg)
- Asked to comment on Russia’s plan to withdraw troops from Syria on Monday, Kasich said, “I've just heard some of it. I don't know what exactly it means. But it would be a good announcement, it would be something that would be very, very positive. So we'll see. You know, with Putin, they say one thing and do another. We'll see where it ends up.” (WCPO Cincinnati)
Marco Rubio
- Some coastal Florida residents have criticized Marco Rubio for his inaction following an environmental crisis of polluted waterways in the Indian River Lagoon. The Daily Beast reported on Monday that “the sentiment in and around the area seems to be that as Rubio criss-crossed the country in his presidential bid, he has been nearly absent from working to find a federal solution to the emergency many of his constituents are facing.” (The Daily Beast)
- In an interview on Monday, Rubio commented on the allegation that Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, had grabbed a reporter hard enough to bruise to pull her away from Trump. Rubio said, “If my campaign manager had done that, my campaign would be over. He would have had to resign, and my campaign may be over. I would have had to quit that very day.” (Politico, The Hill)
- Rubio again lamented the state of the Republican primary race on Monday while campaigning in Florida. He said, “We have a culture where what used to be considered wrong is considered right. My whole life I was told that being humble is a virtue. And now, being humble is a weakness and being vain and self-absorbed is somehow a virtue. My whole life I was told that no matter how you feel about someone, you respect them because we’re all children of the same God. And now, being respectful to one another is considered political correctness and therefore it goes too far." (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump said on Monday that “there's no violence, nobody's been hurt" at his rallies. He continued, "If one person gets up and starts shouting and the police walks that person out, they try and make it like it's a violent thing. It's not violent. It's a protester that stands up or probably a disruptor, because I think they're sent there by people on the other side.” (CNN)
- “Quotes,” an ad released by the anti-Trump super PAC Our Principles on Monday, features women reciting negative and derogatory statements Trump has made about women. (The Hill)
- Ben Carson said on Monday that the protests at Trump’s rallies could become more violent over time. “I think, certainly, if the protesters continue with their Alinksy-ite tactics, there is a real possibility of escalation, because those who are the victims of them have two choices: They can submit to them and meekly just do whatever those protesters want them to do, or they can fight back. And if they decide to fight back, there could be an escalation,” said Carson. (TIME)
- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) slammed protesters at Trump’s events while campaigning for him in Florida. She said, “What we don't have time for is all that petty, punk-a** little thuggery stuff that's been going on with these quote-unquote protesters who are doing nothing but wasting your time and trying to take away your First Amendment rights, your rights to assemble peacefully." (The Huffington Post)
- Hacktivist group Anonymous declared “total war” on Trump in a video posted two weeks ago, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. “Your inconsistent and hateful campaign has not only shocked the United States of America, you have shocked the entire planet with your appalling actions and ideas,” a masked spokesperson said in the clip. The anti-Trump operation is set to launch on April 1. (The Telegraph)
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
