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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - May 24, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Tuesday's Leading Stories
- The Democratic National Committee announced on Monday that Bernie Sanders will be permitted to name five members to the platform committee at the Democratic National Convention; Hillary Clinton will choose six. The chair of the DNC, who typically selects all 15 members, will only name four members. “This year, in an effort to make this the most representative and inclusive process in history, the DNC Chair elected to allocate 75% of the committee’s seats to the presidential campaigns, awarding the slots proportionally according to the current vote tally,” the DNC said in a statement. (The Washington Post, The Huffington Post)
- U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), a Clinton supporter, will chair the platform committee.
- Sanders said in a statement, “We believe that we will have the representation on the platform drafting committee to create a Democratic platform that reflects the views of millions of our supporters who want the party to address the needs of working families in this country and not just Wall Street, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry and other powerful special interests.” He is expected to name James Zogby, a Palestinian rights activist, to the committee.
Polls
- In a survey of Asian American voters sponsored by Asian Americans Advancing Justice and conducted in April and May, Donald Trump has a favorability ratio of 19 percent to 61 percent. Consistent with the larger trend of Asian American voters leaning towards the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton’s favorability ratio was 62 percent to 26 percent. (New York Magazine, Asian Americans Advancing Justice)
- In a national poll released on Monday by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, Clinton leads Sanders for the Democratic nomination, 53 percent to 45 percent. The pollsters also found that 61 percent of Americans “have some reservations” or are “very uncomfortable” with Trump’s lack of government or military experience. (The Wall Street Journal, NBC News)
- In California, Clinton has a double-digit lead over Sanders, 57 percent to 39 percent, according to a KABC/SurveyUSA poll released on Monday. (KABC)
Democrats
- After receiving an endorsement from Bernie Sanders over the weekend, Tim Canova, a Democratic primary challenger for Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s seat in Florida, raised more than $250,000. (The Daily Beast)
- Although former Vice President Al Gore declined to give an endorsement to either Democratic presidential candidate on Monday, he acknowledged having received “signals” from one or both of them seeking his support. (CNN)
Hillary Clinton
- Jess McIntosh will join the Clinton campaign at the end of this month in the newly created role of director of communications outreach. She previously worked as the vice president of communications for EMILY’s List. In her new position, she will “oversee messaging for media figures, social media influencers and other allies as they prepare to define Trump ahead of the Republican National Convention and beyond.” (Politico)
- While speaking to 3,000 SEIU members in Detroit on Monday, Clinton warned that “Trump economics is a recipe for lower wages, fewer jobs, more debt. He could bankrupt America like he’s bankrupted his companies.” She continued, “Ask yourself, how can anybody lose money running a casino, really?” (ABC News, The Washington Post)
- Clinton declined an offer to debate Bernie Sanders on Fox News prior to the California Democratic primary in June. “We believe that Hillary Clinton's time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands,” said campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri in a statement on Monday evening. (Politico)
- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) is the subject of a probe into whether contributions to his 2013 gubernatorial campaign violated federal law. The scope of the investigation covers McAuliffe’s time as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, but there is “no allegation that the foundation did anything improper,” according to CNN. (CNN)
- Marcel Lehel Lazar, the Romanian hacker known as “Guccifer” who first exposed Clinton’s personal email account, is expected to plead guilty to an unknown set of charges on Wednesday at a change of plea hearing. (The Hill)
Bernie Sanders
- On Monday, Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to his Democratic colleagues in the U.S. Senate to condemn the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, which was proposed last week to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis. “We must stop treating Puerto Rico like a colony and start treating the American citizens of Puerto Rico with the respect and dignity that they deserve,” he wrote. Sanders criticized the potential reduction of the hourly minimum wage in Puerto Rico to $4.25 for up to five years and the structure of the "unelected and undemocratic oversight board.” (CBS News, U.S. Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders)
- In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Sanders said that he expects the Democratic National Convention will be “messy.” He said, “I think if they make the right choice and open the doors to working class people and young people and create the kind of dynamism that the Democratic party needs, it’s going to be messy. Democracy is not always nice and quiet and gentle but that is where the Democratic party should go.” (Fortune)
- Sanders appeared to express support for the Adult Use of Marijuana Initiative Act during a rally in East Los Angeles on Monday. He said, “I have introduced legislation and will implement as president, taking marijuana out of the federal controlled substance act. Now all you know, all you know, that the legalization of marijuana, that decision is made on the statewide level. You know that four states plus D.C. have already made that decision. You all know there's going to be a ballot item on in California in November. And I think it makes sense to legalize marijuana at this particular point. So if I were here in your state, I would vote yes on that issue.” (Reason)
Republicans
- Although Massachusetts Republican National Committeeman Ron Kaufman expressed admiration for Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld on Monday, calling him a “happy warrior,” he said that he did not believe a third party would impact the general election. "If you know a vote not for Trump is going to be a vote for Hillary, whether you stay home or vote for someone else, I don't think independents and Republicans are going to at the end of the day want Hillary Clinton to be president,” he said. (The Republican)
- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) denied reports that he was supporting Donald Trump and encouraging other Republicans “to get behind him.” Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop said, “There hasn't been any change in his position. He's been pretty upfront and outspoken." (CNN)
- Tuesday is the final day for mail-in Republican primary ballots to be received in Washington. Although Trump is the only candidate remaining in the race, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Ben Carson also appear on the ballot. There are 44 delegates at stake. (KCPQ, Ballotpedia)
Donald Trump
- On Monday, Donald Trump released a short video on Instagram featuring audio clips from Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick, two women who have accused former President Bill Clinton of sexual assault, discussing Clinton. The clip ends with audio of Hillary Clinton laughing over the text, “Here we go again?” (The Hill)
- Politico reported on Monday that Trump has filed an application to construct a sea wall to protect one of his golf course properties in Ireland from “global warming and its effects.” Trump has previously called climate change “a total hoax.” (Politico)
- U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, met with Trump for 90 minutes at Trump Tower in New York City on Monday to discuss domestic policy and foreign relations with Russia and China. After the meeting, Corker denied that he was in consideration to be Trump’s running mate. "To even offer conjecture about something that I have no reason to believe is even being considered is not even a responsible thing to do,” he told reporters. (CBS News)
- Trump clarified on Monday that he supported “school resource officers” and trained teachers to carry guns in schools. He said, “The problem with gun free zones is it's like offering up candy to bad people. They hear gun free zones and they go in there with their guns blazing." (CNN)
- Trump said on Monday that he “would have no problem” requesting a declaration of war against ISIS from Congress. “It wouldn’t bother me at all doing that. We probably should have done that in the first place. Look, we are at war with these people and they don’t wear uniforms. It’s not your traditional war where it’s a war against Germany, Japan, whoever. This is a war against people who are vicious, violent people that we have no idea who they are, where they come from. We are allowing tens of thousands of them into our country now so on top of wars on foreign land wait til you see what happens in the future, it’s probably not going to be pretty,” he said. (RealClearPolitics)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- During an appearance at the Left Forum on Sunday, Jill Stein said that she would be “horrified” if either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump were elected. She continued, “And I'm most horrified by a political system that gives us two lethal choices and says, 'Pick between them, and that's it.'" She added that support for her campaign could grow in the coming months as evidenced by the success of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. “We are right now in the polls where Bernie Sanders was about six months ago. So don't for a minute accept the propaganda that we are powerless, or irrelevant in this process or discussion,” she said. (VICE)
- Because the Green Party is not recognized by the Wyoming secretary of state, party members would need to collect 3,300 signatures by June 1 to be included on the primary ballot. Instead, Stein supporters will attempt to collect 3,302 signatures by August 29 to appear as an independent candidate on the general election ballot in November. (Casper Star-Tribune)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- Gary Johnson called Donald Trump’s immigration policy “insanity” on Monday. Discussing immigrants from Mexico, he said, “They’re not murderers and rapists. Statistically they commit far less crimes than U.S. citizens. They’re not taking jobs that U.S. citizens want. We should make it as easy as possible for someone who wants to come into this country to work to get a work visa.” (The Hill)
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
