Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - May 23, 2016
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Monday's Leading Stories
- The National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Donald Trump on Friday. Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said in a statement, “If Hillary Clinton gets the opportunity to replace Antonin Scalia with an anti-gun Supreme Court justice, we will lose the individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. … So the choice for gun owners in this election is clear. And that choice is Donald Trump.” During his speech at the NRA-ILA forum in Kentucky on Friday, Trump made a similar allegation, stating that Clinton “wants to abolish the Second Amendment.” (Fox News)
- Clinton responded to Trump on Saturday, calling his policy to eliminate gun-free zones in schools “dangerous.” She continued, “Parents, teachers and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms. Just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels by the way.” (ABC News)
- Trump partially denied the charge on Sunday during an interview. “I don’t want to have guns in classrooms. Although, in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms,” he said. (The Huffington Post)
- Over the weekend, Bernie Sanders said that he supported Tim Canova's Democratic primary challenge to Debbie Wasserman Schultz for her congressional seat in Florida. Sanders added that if he were elected president, Wasserman Schultz would not retain her position as the chair of the Democratic National Committee. (The Hill, CNN)
Polls
- In a Fox News Latino national poll released on Saturday, Hillary Clinton leads Trump among registered Latino voters by nearly 40 points, 62 percent to 23 percent. Both candidates have high unfavorable ratings. “About 72 percent of Latino voters believe Trump is running for president for himself and not for his country. About 42 percent of Latino voters believe Clinton wants to be president to benefit herself and not the country,” the pollsters found. (Fox News Latino)
- Moody’s Analytics, which has correctly predicted every presidential election since its inception in 1980, has forecasted Clinton will win the general election with 332 electoral votes to Trump’s 206 in its latest model. (The Hill)
- In NBC News/Wall Street Journal general election matchups released on Sunday, Clinton leads Trump, 46 percent to 43 percent. Sanders holds a double-digit lead over the presumptive Republican nominee, 54 percent to 39 percent. (NBC News)
- According to a CBS News/Washington Post battleground tracker poll released on Sunday, Clinton has a slight advantage in two key general election states. She leads Trump 43-42 in Ohio and 44-39 in Florida. (CBS News)
Democrats
- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both raised approximately $26 million in April, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Clinton surpasses Sanders for cash on hand with $30 million. Sanders has been spending at an aggressive rate and reported only $5.8 million on hand at the end of last month. (The Washington Post)
Hillary Clinton
- Maya Harris, a policy adviser to Hillary Clinton, said on Friday that Clinton opposed the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. Heller. Harris said, "Clinton believes Heller was wrongly decided in that cities and states should have the power to craft common sense laws to keep their residents safe, like safe storage laws to prevent toddlers from accessing guns. In overturning Washington D.C.'s safe storage law, Clinton worries that Heller may open the door to overturning thoughtful, common sense safety measures in the future." (Bloomberg)
- Clinton released a statement on Friday in support of the U.S. House bill proposed last week to address the debt crisis in Puerto Rico. “While I have serious concerns about several provisions in this bill, including the creation of an oversight board that would exert substantial control over Puerto Rico, I believe that we must move forward with this legislation. Otherwise, without any means of addressing this crisis, too many Puerto Ricans will continue to suffer,” she said. (The Hill, Hillary Clinton for President)
- Univision chairman Haim Saban and his wife donated $3 million to the pro-Clinton Priorities USA super PAC in April. (Politico)
- U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) endorsed Clinton on Friday. He said in a statement that he was “confident that Hillary is fully committed to the comprehensive immigration reform that is so important for our nation's future.” (NJ.com)
- When asked to comment on billionaire Mark Cuban being open to serving as her vice president, Clinton said on Sunday, “I think we should look widely and broadly. It's not just people in elective office. It is successful businesspeople. I am very interested in that. And I appreciate his openness to it.” (NBC News)
- Clinton labor campaign director Nikki Budzinski said in a statement on Friday that Clinton opposed Norwegian Air International being permitted to use airports in the United States. "Too many questions have been raised about NAI's practices and plans,” Budzinski said. (The Hill)
Bernie Sanders
- On Friday, Bernie Sanders criticized the U.S. House bill proposed last week to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis. “We cannot allow Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to determine the fate of Puerto Rico by handpicking a majority of the control board’s members, while the people of Puerto Rico would be in charge of choosing none. That may make sense to groups representing Wall Street, but it makes absolutely no sense to me. Among other efforts, what Congress should do is to act immediately to give Puerto Rico the same authority granted to every municipality in this country to restructure its debt under the supervision of a bankruptcy court,” he said in a statement. (The Hill, Bernie Sanders for President)
- Sanders said on Sunday that although Clinton has “a good chance” of defeating Donald Trump in the general election, he believes he is the best candidate. "I am the stronger candidate because we appeal to independents. People who are not in love with either the Democratic or Republican Party, often for very good reasons,” he explained. (The Hill)
- On Friday, Sanders supporters filed a federal lawsuit requesting that voter registration in California be extended to the day of the state’s primary, June 7. The lawsuit is partially motivated by confusion over party registration and mail-in ballots in the state, with many independent voters unaware that they must request a Democratic, Republican, or American Independent ballot if they want to cast a vote in the presidential primary of one of those parties. (The Los Angeles Times)
- Sanders visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Saturday where he promised action on immigration reform if elected president. “I would hope that the Republicans in Congress understand that we have a very, very broken immigration system and that it must be reformed and that they should in fact work with Democrats to pass comprehensive immigration reform. If not and if I am elected president of the United States, I will use the executive powers that the president has to do that the best that I can,” said Sanders. (Bernie Sanders for President)
Republicans
- The Republican National Committee is expected to reserve $150 million in ad buys for the general election. “The plan focuses on premium digital video, mobile video and high-impact placements that show up in prominent spots on web pages, some of which is in Spanish language media. It will be used to target Hispanics, women, millennials and independent voters in swing states throughout the general election season including during important periods such as around debates or when some states begin early voting,” according to Advertising Age. (Advertising Age)
Donald Trump
- On Friday, Donald Trump clarified comments he made earlier in the week that he would be willing to speak with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “I wouldn't go to North Korea, Joe, I wouldn't go there. The last thing I'd do is go. I would never go to North Korea,” Trump said. (The Hill)
- According to a summary of Trump’s tax returns from 1978 and 1979, Trump claimed a combined income of negative $3.8 million and paid no federal income tax over the two years. The disclosure was part of a 1981 New Jersey gambling commission report. (The Washington Post)
- Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told The Washington Post that Trump had raised $4.5 million — 75 percent of the $6 million claimed at the time — for veterans during a televised fundraising event that Trump held in lieu of participating in a Republican primary debate. Lewandowski attributed the shortfall to wealthy donors who failed to honor their pledges. (The Washington Post)
- Trump said on Friday that he intended to release more names of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees “prior to the convention” and called on Hillary Clinton to release a list of her own. (Washington Times)
- In April, Trump loaned his presidential campaign $7.5 million, bringing his total personal contributions to $43.5 million. He also received $1.7 million from donors. (Reuters)
- Former investment manager Foster Friess endorsed Trump on Saturday and said that he had donated to Trump's campaign. Friess previously contributed $2 million to support Rick Santorum’s 2012 presidential campaign. (USA Today)
- Fox News reported on Friday that Trump is expected to meet with up to 500 evangelical leaders on June 21 in New York City. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who is helping to organize the gathering, said there would not be an endorsement at its conclusion. Rather, Trump was making himself to available to answer questions. “Our goal is to be able to have a conversation that could lead to a better understanding of what Trump has to offer to the country. If we don’t try, the outcome is not going to be good,” Perkins said. (Fox News)
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
