Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - March 7, 2016
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Monday's Leading Stories
- On Saturday, the Democratic Party held primary elections or caucuses in Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska. Bernie Sanders won Kansas and Nebraska, and Hillary Clinton won Louisiana. The Republican Party held primary elections or caucuses in Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Maine. Ted Cruz won Kansas and Maine, and Donald Trump won Kentucky and Louisiana. For state-by-state overviews of Saturday’s primaries, visit Ballotpedia. (Ballotpedia)
- On Sunday, Marco Rubio won Puerto Rico's Republican primary. According to NPR, Rubio “will net all of its 23 delegates. With all votes reporting, the Florida senator took 71 percent of the vote, followed by Donald Trump at 13 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz at 9 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich with just 1 percent. Because Rubio topped 50 percent of the vote, he will net all 23 delegates up for grabs.” (Ballotpedia, NPR)
- On Sunday, Sanders won the Democratic caucuses in Maine. In a statement, Sanders said, "I thank the people of Maine for their strong support. With another double-digit victory, we have now won by wide margins in states from New England to the Rocky Mountains and from the Midwest to the Great Plains. The pundits might not like it but the people are making history." (Ballotpedia, NPR)
- During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Ben Carson announced that he is "leaving the campaign trail." He said, "There's a lot of people who love me, they just won't vote for me.” (NBC News)
- On Sunday, former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed John Kasich for president in a Snapchat video. In the video, he said, “I want John Kasich to be the next nominee of the Republicans and also to be the next president of the United States. Here he is.” Schwarzenegger handed the phone to Kasich who said, “Thank you, Arnold. Love you, man.” (Time)
- On Friday, The Orlando Sentinel endorsed Clinton and Rubio. In their endorsement of Rubio. They wrote that Rubio could be "the last chance for party voters to throw up a roadblock in billionaire businessman Donald Trump's march to the GOP nomination” and that unlike Trump, Rubio "has the knowledge and judgment to be president. (Trump) has maligned Mexican immigrants and Muslims. He has mocked people with disabilities and prisoners of war. He has disparaged and degraded women.” In their endorsement of Clinton, they wrote that she is more qualified than Sanders, while also acknowledging that she is a "polarizing figure. … She has made some big mistakes, such as using a private email server as secretary of state. But there might be no more battle-tested presidential candidate than Clinton. She is much better prepared than Sanders to be an effective commander in chief, and has a far more realistic set of goals.” (CNN)
Polls
- Ted Cruz won the Conservative Political Action Conference’s straw poll on Saturday. He defeated Marco Rubio 40 percent to 30 percent. Donald Trump earned 15 percent support, and John Kasich earned 8 percent. According to The Hill, “South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Kasich were tied for top vice presidential pick.” (The Hill)
- According to an American Research Group poll released on Saturday, Kasich leads Trump among likely Republican primary voters in Michigan 33 percent to 31 percent. Cruz and Rubio follow with 15 percent and 11 percent, respectively. On the Democratic side, Clinton leads Sanders 60 percent to 36 percent. (ARG, ARG)
- A CBS News/YouGov poll released on Sunday shows Clinton leading Sanders 55 percent to 44 percent among likely Michigan Democratic primary voters. On the Republican side, Trump leads Cruz 39 percent to 24 percent. Rubio and Kasich follow with 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively. (CBS News)
- An NBC/WSJ/Marist poll released on Sunday shows Trump and Clinton leading in Michigan. Trump leads Cruz 41 percent to 22 percent. Rubio has 17 percent, and Kasich has 13 percent. Clinton leads Sanders 57 percent to 40 percent. (NBC/WSJ/Marist)
Democrats
- The following comments from last night’s Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, are from a transcript prepared by The New York Times.
Hillary Clinton
- On holding firearms distributors legally responsible for how their product is used: “I also believe, so strongly Gene (ph), that giving immunity to gunmakers and sellers was a terrible mistake. Because it removed any accountability from the makers and the sellers. And it also disrupted what was a very promising legal theory, to try to get makers to do more to make guns safer for example. To try to give sellers more accountability for selling guns when they shouldn’t have. So that is an issue that Senator Sanders and I differ on, I voted against giving them immunity, but I think we should very seriously move to repeal that and go back to making sure gun makers and sellers are like any other business. They can be held accountable.”
- On her “racial blind spot”: “Well, Don, if I could, I think being a white person in the United States of America, I know that I have never had the experience that so many people, the people in this audience have had. And I think it’s incumbent upon me and what I have been trying to talk about during this campaign is to urge white people to think about what it is like to have “the talk” with your kids, scared that your sons or daughters, even, could get in trouble for no good reason whatsoever like Sandra Bland and end up dead in a jail in Texas. And I have spent a lot of time with the mothers of African-American children who have lost them, Trayvon Martin’s mother. And I’ve gotten to know them. I’ve listened to them. And it has been incredibly humbling because I can’t pretend to have the experience that you have had and others have had. But I will do everything that I possibly can to not only do the best to understand and to empathize, but to tear down the barriers of systemic racism that are in the criminal justice system, in the employment system, in the education and health care system. That is what I will try to do to deal with what I know is the racism that still stalks our country.”
- On whether “unions protect bad teachers”: “You know, I am proud to have been endorsed by the AFT and the NEA, and I’ve had very good relationship with both unions, with their leadership. And we’ve really candid conversations because we are going to have to take a look at — what do we need in the 21st century to really involve families, to help kids who have more problems than just academic problems? A lot of what has happened and honestly it really pains me, a lot of people have blaming and scape-goating teachers because they don’t want to put the money into the schools system that deserve the support that comes from the government doing it’s job. … You know what - I have told my friends at the top of both unions, we’ve got take a look at this because it is one of the most common criticisms. We need to eliminate the criticism. You know, teachers do so much good, they are often working under most difficult circumstances. So anything that could be changed, I want them to look at it. I will be a good partner to make sure that whatever I can do as president, I will do to support the teachers of our country.”
- On fracking: “You know, I don’t support it when any locality or any state is against it, number one. I don’t support it when the release of methane or contamination of water is present. I don’t support it — number three — unless we can require that anybody who fracks has to tell us exactly what chemicals they are using. So by the time we get through all of my conditions, I do not think there will be many places in America where fracking will continue to take place. And I think that’s the best approach, because right now, there places where fracking is going on that are not sufficiently regulated. So first, we’ve got to regulate everything that is currently underway, and we have to have a system in place that prevents further fracking unless conditions like the ones that I just mentioned are met.”
Bernie Sanders
- On whether firearms distributors should be held legally responsible for how their product is used: “Well, this is what I say, if I understand it — and correct me if I’m wrong. If you go to a gun store and you legally purchase a gun, and then, three days later, if you go out and start killing people, is the point of this lawsuit to hold the gun shop owner or the manufacturer of that gun liable? If that is the point, I have to tell you I disagree. I disagree because you hold people — in terms of this liability thing, where you hold manufacturers’ liability is if they understand that they’re selling guns into an area that — it’s getting into the hands of criminals, of course they should be held liable. But if they are selling a product to a person who buys it legally, what you’re really talking about is ending gun manufacturing in America. I don’t agree with that.”
- On his “racial blind spot”: “Well, let me just very briefly tell you a story. When I was in one of my first years in Congress, I went to a meeting downtown in Washington, D.C. And I went there with another congressman, an African-American congressman. And then we kind of separated during the meeting. And then I saw him out later on. And he was sitting there waiting and I said, well, let’s go out and get a cab. How come you didn’t go out and get a cab? He said, no, I don’t get cabs in Washington, D.C. This was 20 years ago. Because he was humiliated by the fact that cabdrivers would go past him because he was black. I couldn’t believe, you know, you just sit there and you say, this man did not take a cab 20 years ago in Washington, D.C. Tell you another story, I was with young people active in the Black Lives Matter movement. A young lady comes up to me and she says, you don’t understand what police do in certain black communities. You don’t understand the degree to which we are terrorized, and I’m not just talking about the horrible shootings that we have seen, which have got to end and we’ve got to hold police officers accountable, I’m just talking about everyday activities where police officers are bullying people. So to answer your question, I would say, and I think it’s similar to what the secretary said, when you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor. You don’t know what it’s like to be hassled when you walk down the street or you get dragged out of a car. And I believe that as a nation in the year 2016, we must be firm in making it clear. We will end institutional racism and reform a broken criminal justice system.”
- On fracking: “My answer — my answer is a lot shorter. No, I do not support fracking. And by the way — by the way, Anderson, I’m glad you raised the issue of climate change, because the media doesn’t talk enough about what the scientists are telling us, and that is, if we don’t get our act together... the planet that we’re gonna leave our children may not be healthy and habitable. I have introduced the most comprehensive climate change legislation in the history of the Senate, which, among other things, calls for a tax on carbon, massive investments... in energy efficiency, wind, solar and other sustainable energy.”
- On whether he believes God is relevant: “Well, I think — well, the answer is yes, and I think when we talk about God whether it is Christianity, or Judaism, or Islam, or Buddhism, what we are talking about is what all religions hold dear. And, that is to do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. I am here tonight, and I’m running for president. I’m a United States Senator from my great state of Vermont because I believe that, because I believe morally and ethically we do not have a right to turn our backs on children in Flint, Michigan who are being poisoned, or veterans who are sleeping out on the street. What I believe as the father of seven beautiful grandchildren, I want you to worry about my grandchildren, and I promise you I will worry about your family. We are in this together.”
Republicans
Ted Cruz
- During a speech on Saturday night, Ted Cruz asked for Marco Rubio and John Kasich’s supporters to back his campaign. He said, "What is becoming more and more clear is if you want to beat Donald Trump we have to stand united as one. That is happening in Idaho and across the country. And if you were supporting someone else, let me tell you we welcome you to our team. We welcome you and embrace you because if we stand united that's how we win this primary. It's how we win the general, it's how we turn the country around."
- Rubio responded to Cruz’s request, saying, "Everybody who's running asked for somebody to drop out, except for me. I've never asked for somebody to drop out. But here's the bottom line: There will be more delegates awarded in Florida than basically every state that voted tonight combined, because it's a winner-take-all state." (CBS News)
- During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Cruz offered several reasons for why he thought Trump decided not to attend. Cruz said, “So Donald Trump is skipping CPAC. I bet somebody told him Megyn Kelly was going to be here. Or even worse, he was told there were conservatives that were going to be here. Or even worse, he was told there were libertarians who were going to be here. Or even worse, they were told there were young people who were going to be here.” (The Washington Times)
- During a campaign stop in Maine on Friday, Cruz discussed the possible result of a brokered convention and why Donald Trump’s supporters should shift their support to his campaign. Cruz said, “If the Washington deal-makers try to steal the nomination from the people, I think it would be a disaster. It would cause a revolt. Instead, the answer is real simple. We’ve got to win this nomination. ’m the only candidate who has the delegate count, who has the state wins, who is in a position to beat Donald Trump. And if you want to beat Donald Trump, the way to do it is to come together behind this campaign. … Let me speak for a minute to the Donald Trump supporters. I get that people are angry. We are so frustrated. We are so furious because we’ve been lied to. We’ve been lied to over and over and over again. … But Donald Trump embodies that Washington corruption that we are angry about. The answer to that corruption is not go with someone who has been funding liberal Democrats for decades, who has been enmeshed in that corruption.” (The Washington Times)
John Kasich
- On Saturday night, John Kasich told reporters that he would not go negative to win votes. He said, "If I were to just attack Donald Trump now and call him a name, boy it would be just 'Kasich has resorted to the negative.’ I'm with Harry Potter. We're not going to the dark side. … I have two choices. I can continue to follow the path that I'm on, and give people the vision and the hope, or I can call names. Now, if I don't call names and I don't win, I will have won anyway, because that's what really matters to me: raising the bar in politics, showing that vision counts.” (CNN)
- Blake Waggoner, Kasich’s deputy digital director, was fired on Saturday when a report from The Cincinnati Enquirer featured a police report showing that “Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a report of Blake Waggoner punching and choking a woman.” Waggoner “was charged with simple assault domestic violence, which is a misdemeanor with a maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000.” He pleaded not guilty on Nov. 13. Kasich campaign manager Beth Hansen said in a statement, "Obviously, this kind of behavior is abhorrent and completely unacceptable. We were unaware of the incident concerning Blake, and he is no longer an employee of the campaign.” (The Cincinnati Enquirer, Politico)
Marco Rubio
- During his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, Marco Rubio criticized Donald Trump without ever directly naming him. Rubio said, “Being a conservative can never be about simply an attitude. Being a conservative cannot simply be about how long you’re willing to scream, how angry you’re willing to be, or how many names you’re willing to call people. I think there’s a growing amount of confusion about what conservatism is. And it is time for us to understand that conservatism is not built on personalities. Conservatism is not simply built on how angry you might seem from time to time.” He added that those in attendance at CPAC, “might not have a chance to leave their immediate mark on the country ‘if the conservative movement is hijacked by someone who is not a conservative.’” After his speech he told CNN’s Dana Bash, “I don’t want us to have a president that we constantly have to be explaining to our kids, look, ‘I know this is what the president did that but you shouldn’t do that.’ I don’t want that.” When asked why he decided to personally attack Trump, Rubio explained, “Donald Trump, he might have grown up the way he did, with a lot of money and going to boarding schools. I can tell you this, where I grew up, if someone keeps punching people in the face, eventually someone is going to have to stand up and punch them back.” (The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post)
- According to the International Business Times, Rubio “is selling apparel and stickers with the hashtag #NeverTrump on his campaign website, despite his promise during the debate to support Trump if he is the party's nominee.” His campaign also “posted a #NeverTrump instagram before the debate and tweeted a photo of its #NeverTrump offerings during the debate. Rubio’s campaign store sells stickers, signs and bracelets emblazoned with #NeverTrump, as well as a hat in the style of Trump’s signature ‘Make America Great Again’ caps.” (International Business Times)
Donald Trump
- Donald Trump said that Marco Rubio should drop out of the race in his speech after Saturday night’s primary elections. Trump said, "I think Marco Rubio had a very, very bad night and personally I call for him to drop out of the race. I really think so, I think it’s probably time. I don’t think he can get up and rant and rave. You got to be able to win." Trump then congratulated Ted Cruz on his victories in Kentucky and Maine, while also criticizing the senator for being born in Canada. Trump said, "He should do well in Maine because it’s very close to Canada, let’s face it.” (The Hill)
- On Friday, Trump announced that he would not speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), instead opting to campaign in Kansas. His campaign said in a statement: "Because of this, he will not be able to speak at CPAC as he has done for many consecutive years. Mr. Trump would like to thank Matt Schlapp and all of the executives at CPAC and looks forward to returning to next year, hopefully as president of the United States." CPAC’s organizers said, "We are very disappointed Donald Trump has decided at the last minute to drop out of CPAC. This comes at a critical time in our movement's history. His decision sends a clear message to grassroots conservatives. … CPAC is the heart and soul of the conservative movement and will be, with or without Mr. Trump. Since we invited him several months ago—and Mr. Trump accepted our invitation and terms —we made it clear all candidates would follow the same format. And now he is backing out." (CNN)
- The conservative nonprofit American Future Fund recently released ads in Florida that feature “Afghanistan Special Forces Commander Lt. Col. Michael Waltz and retired Vietnam pilot and prisoner of war Lt. Col. Tom Hanton criticizing Trump for dodging the draft in Vietnam, ‘serving only himself,’ and for criticizing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for being captured during the Vietnam War,” according to The Hill. The group plans to release new ads today. (The Hill)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein joined a group of activists, including “scholar Noam Chomsky...journalist Naomi Klein, [and] Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis,” in a letter to the United States Senate expressing their opposition to President Obama’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education, John King. They asked the Senate not to confirm King because the policies that he as supported “have been ineffective and destructive to schools, educators, and most importantly students. … The American public deserves a Secretary of Education who will advocate for their interests, not those of the testing corporations who profit from the Common Core.” (Alternet.org, The Washington Post)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- On Friday, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Gary Johnson told The Daily Caller that “the reaction here has been terrific, I mean I can’t even walk without people wanting their picture taken with me.” He also criticized Trump, saying, “if he’s the nominee, its the end of the Republican Party.” When asked if he thought he would take votes from the eventual Republican nominee, Johnson said, “I think I take a lot more votes from Hillary. … libertarians are so much closer aligned to Bernie Sanders than people realize, not socialist, not giving the farm when it comes to fiscal policies, but on the social side we look pretty darn close to Bernie Sanders, so I’m believing ultimately this takes more votes from Hillary.” (The Daily Caller)
- During an interview with MSNBC, Johnson criticized Donald Trump but said that Trump’s divisiveness could be good for the Libertarian Party. Johnson said, “I think Donald Trump wholly alienates more than half of Republicans. If nothing comes of this election with regard to the Libertarian Party, then nothing is going to ever come of it, I don’t think.” He also criticized Trump for his “‘racist’ comments; his anti-immigration position, which Johnson strongly disagreed with both as a libertarian and a former border state governor; and his opposition to free trade,” according to MSNBC. (MSNBC)
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
