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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - March 18, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Friday's Leading Stories
- A group of leading conservatives met on Thursday to discuss ways to prevent Donald Trump from obtaining the Republican presidential nomination. Among the options discussed were a “unity ticket” featuring Ted Cruz and John Kasich and working with "an existing third party instead of trying for ballot access” to compete with Trump for the conservative vote. (CNN)
- On Thursday, Hillary Clinton was declared the winner of the Missouri Democratic primary by a margin of approximately 1,500 votes. Bernie Sanders said that he would not request a recount. The Missouri Republican primary has yet to be called, although Trump has tentatively received 37 delegates from the state to Cruz’s 15 delegates. (The Washington Post, The Hill, CBS News)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- The New York Times reported that President Barack Obama told Democratic donors in Texas last Friday that the party should begin coalescing around Hillary Clinton. According to the newspaper’s sources, he was careful to say that he was not endorsing Clinton or calling for Bernie Sanders to withdraw from the presidential race. However, he reportedly “went on to lavish praise on Mrs. Clinton, describing her as smart, tough and experienced, and said that she would continue the work of his administration.” (The New York Times)
- Priorities USA Action, a super PAC backing Clinton, released an anti-Trump ad on Thursday featuring a clip of Trump saying that he gets foreign policy advice by “speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- In a radio interview in Phoenix on Thursday, Clinton discussed border security and immigration. She said, “I think we've done a really good job securing the border. I think that those who say we haven't are not paying attention to what was done the last 15 years under President Bush and President Obama." Clinton also said that "immigration from Mexico has dropped considerably, it's just not happening any more." (CNN)
- The Latino Commission on AIDS, Latinos in the Deep South, OASIS-Latino LGBTS Wellness Center and the Hispanic Health Network joined together in an open letter to Clinton earlier this week requesting that she commit to a platform to end the AIDS epidemic by 2025. (Latin Post)
Bernie Sanders
- The New York Times came under scrutiny Thursday for publishing an article on Bernie Sanders’ legislative victories earlier this week that was significantly modified several times in the hours after it was published. The changes, made to provide more context according to Times editors, put into question whether Sanders would be able to achieve his campaign proposals. (The New York Times, Medium)
- While campaigning in Arizona on Thursday, Sanders criticized the law enforcement tactics used by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, calling them "un-American and uncivilized.” (The Washington Post)
Republicans
Ted Cruz
- After Ted Cruz announced his national security advisers on Thursday, some progressive advocacy organizations condemned the inclusion of Frank Gaffney, a former senior member of the Reagan administration and the founder of the think tank, Center for Security Policy. “It’s a terrible mistake for anyone to seek advice from Frank Gaffney on matters of foreign policy or much of anything else for that matter. His world is one of conspiracy, where the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the highest reaches of our government and our country is on the verge of adopting Shariah law,” said Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. (The New York Times, The Huffington Post)
- On Wednesday night, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) reportedly told his supporters on a conference call that Cruz was “the only conservative left in the race.” When asked by reporters on Thursday if he was planning to endorse Cruz, Rubio said, "I don't have any announcement on that." (The Hill, NBC News)
- Although U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has previously disparaged Cruz, he announced on Thursday that he was “going to raise money for him in the pro-Israel community.” He added that he would encourage any voter who disliked Trump to vote for Cruz. (ABC News)
- Cruz’s campaign released two ads on Thursday in Utah and Arizona. The first features the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). In the second ad, “Grant,” a father describes the murder of his son by an undocumented immigrant. He continues, “I trust Ted Cruz, he believes in our Constitution. He believes in the rule of law. It’s time we put somebody in office who puts the American people first.” (The Dallas Morning News)
John Kasich
- John Kasich condemned Donald Trump’s prediction that there would be riots if he did not win the Republican presidential nomination. “It’s completely outrageous. For somebody running for president of the United States to say – to even imply – that there could be violence if he doesn’t get his way – you know, he’s not running for the presidency of WWE, he’s running for president of the United States,” said Kasich on Thursday. (ABC News)
- Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R) endorsed Kasich on Thursday. He said in a statement, “I trust his temperament and the tone of his campaign. I worked closely with Governor Kasich over many years and I have witnessed his ability to bring people together to get things done. I think he has the best opportunity to beat Hillary Clinton." (Politico)
Donald Trump
- In an interview with TIME published on Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked to comment on Donald Trump’s call for a boycott of Apple products because the company refused to unlock the iPhones of the San Bernardino shooters. Cook said, “I haven’t talked to him so I don’t know what he thinks. The way I look at it is, Apple is this great American company that could have only happened here. And we see it as our responsibility to stand up on something like this and speak up for all these people that are thinking what we’re thinking but don’t have the voice. We don’t see it as our role as the decision maker. We understand Congress sets laws. But we [see] it as our role not to just let it happen. I mean too many times in history has this happened, where the government over reached, did something that in retrospect somebody should have stood up and said ‘Stop.’” (TIME)
- The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump claimed $39.1 million in deductions on his 2005 federal tax return through a conservation easement on his New Jersey golf course. “Trump is not a rare bird in this. This is a common practice. From a public-policy viewpoint of ‘we want to preserve public space, we want to preserve farmland, we want to preserve habitat,’ that’s where you kind of wince a little bit,’” said Dean Zerbe, a former Republican Senate staffer who previously investigated the use of conservation easements. (The Wall Street Journal)
- Hacktivist group Anonymous allegedly released Trump’s Social Security and telephone numbers on Thursday. (ABC News)
- Club for Growth spent $200,000 on anti-Trump advertising set to air in Utah before the state’s primary next Tuesday. (USA Today)
- CNN reported that 300 Jewish religious leaders and professionals are expected to boycott Trump’s participation in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on Monday. “This is not about policies, this is not about parties, this is about one particular person, Donald Trump, who has encouraged and incited violence at his campaign rallies. We are against the hatred, the incitement of hatred, the ugliness that has engulfed this political season,” said Rabbi David Paskin, who has organized one of the planned protests. (CNN)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein issued a press release on Thursday warning that the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, is a symptom of “an economy that puts profit over people, endangering low income and communities of color first and worst.” She continued, “As a first step in restoring clean water and accountable government, I support the call by the people of Flint for both Governor Snyder and EPA director Gina McCarthy to be removed from office and face any appropriate charges for overseeing this health disaster.” (Green Party of the United States)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Bill Redpath, the former chairman of the National Libertarian Party, endorsed Gary Johnson on Thursday. (Examiner.com)
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
