Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - May 25, 2016
From Ballotpedia
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- Donald Trump won Washington’s Republican presidential primary last night with more than 70 percent of the vote. He picked up 40 delegates. (Ballotpedia)
- Hillary Clinton won Washington’s Democratic presidential primary last night, but she did not pick up any delegates. Delegates were awarded during the state’s Democratic caucuses, which took place on March 26, 2016. Bernie Sanders picked up 65 delegates, and Clinton picked up 18. (NPR, Ballotpedia)
- On Wednesday, the State Department released a report concluding that Hillary Clinton “did not comply with the agency’s policies on records” and specifically cited Clinton’s use of a private email server as a violation. The report also revealed that “her top aides chose not to cooperate with the review.” The report states, “Secretary Clinton should have preserved any Federal records she created and received on her personal account by printing and filing those records with the related files in the Office of the Secretary. At a minimum, Secretary Clinton should have surrendered all emails dealing with Department business before leaving government service and, because she did not do so, she did not comply with the Department’s policies that were implemented in accordance with the Federal Records Act." (Politico)
Polls
- According to a Fairleigh Dickinson poll released on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are leading Donald Trump in potential general election matchups in New Jersey. Sanders leads Trump 57 percent to 33 percent, and Clinton leads Trump 48 percent to 37 percent. (Fairleigh Dickinson)
- According to a Morning Consult survey released on Tuesday, Clinton leads Trump 38 percent to 35 percent in a potential general election matchup. Gary Johnson earned 10 percent support. (Morning Consult)
- The poll also “found that 67 percent – and 60 percent of Republicans – think presidential candidates should have to disclose their returns.”
Democrats
- Democrats are considering whether Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should continue serving as Democratic National Committee chairwoman during the Democratic National Convention in July. Some worry that her poor relationship with Bernie Sanders and her divisive image will prevent her from unifying the party to defeat Donald Trump. A pro-Clinton Democratic senator said, “There have been a lot of meetings over the past 48 hours about what color plate do we deliver Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s head on.” Another lawmaker said, “I don’t see how she can continue to the election. How can she open the convention? Sanders supporters would go nuts.” (The Hill)
Hillary Clinton
- On Wednesday, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. Menendez wrote, “Only one person running to lead our nation has the experience, the interest, and the demeanor to lead and protect our nation: Hillary Clinton. … Hillary understands the importance of stability and consistency – particularly as they impact our most important allies.” (Philly.com)
- While campaigning in California on Tuesday, Clinton questioned whether Trump has ever paid federal income tax, and she urged him to release his tax returns. She also criticized Trump for comments that he made before the “Great Recession.” Clinton said, “He actually said he was hoping for the crash that caused hard-working families in California and across America to lose their homes, all because he thought he could take advantage of it to make some money for himself.” (The New York Times)
- Trump responded to Clinton’s attacks, saying, "Yeah, if it goes down I'm gonna buy. I'm a businessman, that's what I'm supposed to do. If it goes down it goes down. I feel badly for everybody. What am I going to do? It's business!" (CNN)
- During a campaign event on Tuesday, Clinton discussed her plan to increase wages and create jobs. She said, "We've got to get incomes rising. We've got to get more good jobs. And here's how we're going to do it: We're going to do it by investing -- investing in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy. Because some country is going be the clean-energy superpower. It's going to be either Germany, China or us. I want it to be us." (Patch.com)
Bernie Sanders
- On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders requested a recanvass in Kentucky's presidential primary. According to the Associated Press, “The Sanders campaign said it has asked the Kentucky secretary of state to have election officials review electronic voting machines and absentee ballots from last week's primary in each of the state's 120 counties.” Sanders' spokesman Michael Briggs said Sanders is “in this until every last vote is counted and he's fighting for every last delegate.” The process to recount the votes will begin on Thursday. (Associated Press)
- On Tuesday, Sanders released a television advertisement that he plans to run in California. In the ad, Sanders says, “What choice do Californians have in this election? The biggest one of all. You have the power to choose a new direction for the Democratic Party.” (The New York Times)
- During a campaign rally in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, Sanders “repeated his support for a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in California,” according to The New York Times. He also discussed the low wages the Disney corporation pays its workers at Disneyland. He said, “I’m probably the only politician to come to Anaheim and say this. Disney pays its workers wages that are so low, that many of them are forced to live in motels because they can’t afford a decent place to live. Meanwhile, Disney made a record-breaking profit of nearly $3 billion last quarter.” (The New York Times)
- During an interview on Tuesday, Sanders pushed back against the belief that Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. He said, “We don’t live, thank God, in an authoritarian country. People dissent. If we take your assumption and Clinton’s supporters’ assumption of the logical conclusion, you know what we should do? We should go back to a monarchy and not have any elections at all.” (The Hill)
Republicans
- According to The Washington Post, John Kasich “is instructing the 161 delegates he won to remain bound to him through the party's July nomination convention.” According to a Kasich aide, the Ohio governor believes that “his delegates could become leverage to encourage Trump to be a more positive and unifying figure ahead of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.” (The Washington Post)
Donald Trump
- On Tuesday, Ben Key, the RNC platform committee’s executive director, told a group of business leaders that Donald Trump will have some say in the party’s platform, but he will not have the final say. “Ben said that as the presumptive nominee, Trump would have some influence on the platform, but it wouldn’t be determinative. And then he added … that the platform would not include some of the more controversial positions that Trump has taken” one source told The Hill. A second source said, “[Key] said that just because it’s a potential nominee doesn’t mean those ideas are going to find their way into the platform. He said the platform will be a decision that serves the whole party.” (The Hill)
- Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) endorsed Trump on Tuesday. When asked if he was supporting or endorsing Trump, Santorum said, "I'm 100 percent … That's endorse." Santorum’s decision to back Trump was based in part on the future of the Supreme Court. He said, "The most important issue is preserving the Constitution of this country and a liberal Supreme Court will destroy it.” (The Hill)
- After Trump was questioned on social media about whether or not he had donated $1 million to veterans’ causes as he had promised four months ago, Trump announced that he would donate the money to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. According to The Washington Post, “The charity aids families of fallen Marines and federal law enforcement officers.” When asked why he waited so long to donate the money, Trump said, “You have a lot of vetting to do.” On Friday, Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski led reporters to believe that Trump had already donated the money. Lewandowski said, “The money is fully spent. Mr. Trump’s money is fully spent.” (The Washington Post)
- Protesters turned violent outside of Trump’s rally in New Mexico on Tuesday night. According to CNN, “The protesters had broken a glass door to the convention center. Some taunted police and jumped on police vehicles as officers in riot gear and on police horses moved them away from the convention center's exits.” (CNN)
- During a speech on Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized Trump for “hoping the housing market would crash so he could profit from it.” Warren said, “Donald Trump was drooling over the idea of a housing meltdown because it meant he could buy up a bunch more property on the cheap. What kind of a man does that? Root for people to get thrown out on the street? Root for people to lose their jobs? Root for people to lose their pensions? Root for two little girls in Clark County, Nevada, to end up living in a van? What kind of a man does that? I’ll tell you exactly what kind. A man who cares about no one but himself. A small, insecure money-grubber who doesn’t care who gets hurt, so long as he makes some money off it. What kind of man does that? A man who will never be president of the United States.” (Huffington Post)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- During an interview with Truthout on Tuesday, Jill Stein explained the difference between her “Green New Deal” and Bernie Sanders’ platform. She said, “The difference between the Green New Deal that I'm talking about and the New Deal-type programs that Bernie is offering is one of scale, scope and time frame. So, my campaign is declaring an emergency of our economy and an emergency of our climate. We're calling for a plan of action that is as big as the crisis that is barreling down on us. We are calling for 20 million jobs. I think Bernie is calling for about 9 [million] last time I saw. It started out less than that, but it's been getting bigger. We're calling for 20 million jobs, which is enough jobs to put everyone to work in a full-time job, and those jobs are focused on creating a just and sustainable economy, with a just transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy, to a healthy and sustainable food system, to public energy efficiency, renewably powered transportation and to include restoring infrastructure, including ecosystems. So there is a green component here that is not addressed in Bernie's plan. The time frame of our plan is, like, now -- meaning, start now on an emergency basis, so that by 2030 we have achieved clean, renewable energy and fossil fuels and nuclear power are shut down by 2030. The reason for that is that is what science demands if we are going to get out of here alive. … The other piece of this is that we would declare an immediate ban on all new fossil fuel and nuclear infrastructure. I know Bernie talks about phaseout; I haven't heard about an immediate ban. So, I think those are the differences. Ours is really a survival plan. It is an emergency program with emergency implementation.” (Truthout)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- The Cato Institute posted the fiscal report cards of Gary Johnson and William Weld when they served as governor of New Mexico (1995-2003) and Massachusetts (1991-1997), respectively. Johnson received a “B” each year from 1996 to 2002, and Weld received an “A” in 1992 and a “B” in 1994 and 1996. According to the Cato Institute, the fiscal report “uses statistical data to grade the governors on their taxing and spending records — governors who have cut taxes and spending the most receive the highest grades, while those who have increased taxes and spending the most receive the lowest grades.” (The Cato Institute)
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
