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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - November 13, 2015
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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
- The second Democratic presidential debate will be held on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET. The two-hour event will air on CBS and its affiliates and stream for free online. According to principal moderator John Dickerson, the debate will focus on the economy, wages and income equality. (Politico)
- Poll: In a survey of Texas voters conducted by the University of Texas and The Texas Tribune, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz tied for first place with 27 percent each. Ben Carson and Marco Rubio followed with 13 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Jeb Bush topped the list of candidates likely voters would not support with 25 percent saying they would not vote for him. (The Texas Tribune)
- Poll: In the same poll, Hillary Clinton topped the Democratic field with 61 percent to Bernie Sanders’ 30 percent in Texas. Martin O’Malley registered 1 percent support. (The Texas Tribune)
- Poll: A Florida poll released by The Florida Times-Union on Thursday found Donald Trump and Ben Carson leading in the state with 23 percent and 22 percent, respectively. Marco Rubio followed with 18 percent support. (The Florida Times-Union)
- Poll: In Georgia, however, Ben Carson has a slight lead over Donald Trump with 26 percent to Trump’s 24 percent, according to a poll from Morris News on Friday. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio came in third and fourth with 14 percent and 9 percent, respectively. (Savannah Morning News)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton announced on Thursday a $30 billion proposal to assist coal-dependent communities in adjusting to declining demand and a greener economy. Appalachia and similar communities would receive support to improve infrastructure and develop broadband access. Low-income residents would also be granted more tax credits and companies encouraged to invest in these locations through tax breaks. (The Wall Street Journal, Politico)
- Republicans have begun to question Clinton’s statement that she attempted to join the Marines but was turned away because of her age in the 1970s. According to CNN, “The story raised questions about why a young lawyer, known for her anti-war views, would try to join the Marines, despite having a new job as a law professor and an upcoming marriage with law school sweetheart Bill Clinton.” The Republican National Committee sent an email asking, “G.I. Hillary? Clinton’s claim that she tried to join the Marines doesn’t add up.” A friend of Clinton’s, Ann Henry, said she recalled discussing how to test the military for its treatment of women with Clinton at the time. “Hillary was somebody, she was fearless, she would go and do things just to test it out and I can totally see her doing that just to see what the reaction was,” Henry said. (The New York Times, CNN)
- Clinton released a video on Thursday criticizing Republican presidential candidates for advocating for the repeal of Obamacare. Beginning with a clip of Marco Rubio saying, “This election is about the future,” the video aims to present the Republican field as “backward-looking and out of touch” for its focus on undoing existing policies. (TIME)
Martin O’Malley
- Martin O’Malley confirmed this week he would attend the Iowa Brown and Black Presidential Forum in January 2016. Hillary Clinton is also set to appear at this forum focused on minority issues. (The Des Moines Register)
- O’Malley criticized Clinton on Thursday for using different rhetoric around immigration depending on her target audience. “Before one audience, she will talk about immigration reform and the need for it. Before another audience, she’ll use the term illegal immigrants and boast about having voted to build a wall and barbed-wire fence,” said O’Malley. He added he preferred the term “new American.” (TIME)
Bernie Sanders
- Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, formally endorsed Bernie Sanders on Thursday after promoting Hillary Clinton for several months. Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver said, "We are extremely, extremely humbled by the support of Sen. Nina Turner. She is nationally known as a voice for voting rights, for workers' rights and for marginalized people. The support of someone with that record of standing up for middle-income and working people is tremendously important." (Cleveland.com)
- Democratic strategists David Axelrod and Joe Trippi said Sanders must win Iowa if he is to later claim the Democratic presidential nomination. Axelrod said, “He has no chance if he doesn’t win Iowa. Even if he were to win New Hampshire, it could be written off as a home-state victory because he’s from across the border.” (The Washington Post)
- The New York Times reported on Bernie Sanders’ debate preparation this week. According to the paper, he has “boxed himself into a corner somewhat on a central issue: He memorably said at the last debate that he did not want to talk about Mrs. Clinton’s ‘damn emails,’ then found himself shaking her outstretched hand after dismissing the issue. In fact, Mr. Sanders believes it is fair game for him to talk at Saturday’s debate about the federal investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state, his advisers said. But he plans to discuss the issue only if he is asked about it, the advisers added.” (The New York Times)
Republicans
- Rumors of Mitt Romney entering the presidential race have resurfaced after Philip Rucker and Robert Costa of The Washington Post reported on Friday that Republican Party leaders are concerned that the nomination of Donald Trump or Ben Carson “would have negative ramifications for the GOP ticket up and down the ballot, virtually ensuring a Hillary Rodham Clinton presidency and increasing the odds that the Senate falls into Democratic hands.” They added, “According to other Republicans, some in the party establishment are so desperate to change the dynamic that they are talking anew about drafting Romney — despite his insistence that he will not run again. Friends have mapped out a strategy for a late entry to pick up delegates and vie for the nomination in a convention fight, according to the Republicans who were briefed on the talks, though Romney has shown no indication of reviving his interest.” (The Washington Post)
- With the filing deadline for the Alabama primary now passed, neither George Pataki nor Jim Gilmore will appear on the ballot. Lindsey Graham, Chris Christie and Bobby Jindal have also failed to name any delegates in the state. “Candidates do not need to file their own delegates in most states because RNC rules bind delegates to vote for the results of the primary or caucus on the first ballot,” countered a spokesman for Jindal. (The Washington Post)
Jeb Bush
- NBC News reported on Thursday that the Right to Rise super PAC supporting Jeb Bush has outspent its nearest competition by nearly $10 million on TV advertising. It spent $17.5 million to the pro-Marco Rubio Conservative Solutions Project’s $7.8 million. (NBC News)
- During a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Bush gave a “chest bump” to a supporter who said he had previously backed Ted Cruz. Speaking to reporters after, Bush said, “I do that for every convert. Anytime you guys want to try a chest bump, I’m all in." (The Washington Post)
Ben Carson
- In his 2013 book, America the Beautiful, Ben Carson said people convicted of healthcare fraud should be punished with “no less than ten years in prison, and loss of all one's personal possessions." In 2008, however, he argued for leniency at the sentencing hearing of his close personal friend, Alfonso Costa, who confessed to the healthcare fraud of dozens of dental patients. Carson made the following statement on Thursday, “Al Costa is my best friend. Al Costa is my very best friend. I know his heart. I am proud to call him my friend. I have always and will continue to stand by him. That is what real friends do!" MSNBC reported that Carson has also earned between $200,000 and $2 million annually through real estate investments with Costa. (CNN, MSNBC)
- National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on Thursday she did not understand Carson’s statement on Tuesday that China had become involved in the Syrian conflict. She said at a White House press briefing, “I really can’t speak to what [Carson] was referring to, but unless you’re talking about having a diplomatic presence, I’m not sure what he was referring to. I have not seen any evidence of Chinese military involvement in Syria." Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes added, “China makes it a practice to not get extended into military conflicts in the Middle East. Their policy over years, if not decades, is to not be overextended in military exercises." (Business Insider)
- Carson said he would secure the U.S.-Mexico border “in less than a year” during a telephone town hall on Thursday. (ABC News)
Chris Christie
- America Leads, a super PAC supporting Chris Christie, is set to release a radio ad on Friday in Iowa representing Christie as “a true conservative outsider.” According to Politico, this is the first ad buy in Iowa by a pro-Christie group. (Politico)
- Discussing Donald Trump’s lack of political experience on Thursday, Christie warned, “If you don’t have experience and haven’t done it before, you’re not going to want to see what’s next. You think things are bad now? Just wait. It will get worse. So we’ve got to be careful about that.” (The Washington Times)
- Christie said on Wednesday that he had no intention to meet with Black Lives Matter activists. “When a movement like that calls for the murder of police officers...no President of the United States should dignify a group like that by saying anything positive about them, and no candidate for president, like Hillary Clinton, should give them any credibility by meeting with them, as she's done. … I want the Black Lives Matter people to understand: Don't call me for a meeting. You're not getting one,” he said. (NJ.com)
Ted Cruz
- Ted Cruz registered for the New Hampshire primary ballot on Thursday. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I’m the only candidate running who’s been a consistent conservative, who’s been a fiscal conservative, a social conservative, a national security conservative. And we’re seeing this in the debates. It’s starting to flesh out.” (Boston Herald)
- On Thursday, Cruz said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) should not be voted on during a lame-duck session. “No conservative would want a bunch of members who have just been defeated or [are] retiring passing big government liberal policies with Obama in office. TPP needs to be voted on when members are accountable,” Cuz said. (Breitbart)
- According to Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), Cruz’s tax plan would cost $31 trillion in lost revenue over a decade. CTJ questioned whether a regressive value-added tax (VAT) would adequately compensate for this loss as Cruz suggested. “Cruz’s math has a gigantic hole in it. He wouldn’t just make consumers pay his VAT, he would also make the government pay the tax (to itself) on all of its purchases, from warplanes to paper clips and the wages it pays to its employees. Cruz’s claim that the government can raise money by taxing itself accounts for a third of the alleged yield from his VAT. Without this sleight of hand, Cruz’s overall plan would cost more than $16 trillion over a decade and reduce total federal revenues by well over a third,” Bob McIntyre, the director of CTJ, noted. (Citizens for Tax Justice, The Guardian)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina addressed Hillary Clinton’s amused response to a supporter who said he wanted to “reach through the TV and strangle” Fiorina. She said, "I don't take umbrage with him. I don't even take umbrage with Mrs. Clinton. I do take umbrage with the clear double standard that exists in the media. If this happened with the conservative candidate the liberal media would be all over and asking to apologize and all the rest of it.” (Talking Points Memo)
- Former U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) endorsed Fiorina on Thursday. “Carly has a clear road map for our country. She is a proven leader, from outside of Washington, who knows how to implement a plan and get things done,” Buerkle said. (Syracuse)
- Fiorina wrote an op-ed for Fox News on Thursday to decry the government’s growth “in size, in power, and in complexity.” She promoted her plan to return to zero-based budgeting and reduce the number of government employees by not hiring replacements for retiring federal employees. She also expressed support for the REINS Act and engaging citizens through technology. (Fox News)
- On Thursday night, Fiorina responded to Donald Trump’s criticism of Ben Carson and his “pathological temper” in a post on Facebook. She wrote, “Donald, sorry, I've got to interrupt again. You would know something about pathological. How was that meeting with Putin? Or Wharton? Or your self funded campaign? Anyone can turn a multi-million dollar inheritance into more money, but all the money in the world won't make you as smart as Ben Carson." (International Business Times)
Jim Gilmore
- Michigan released its current presidential primary candidate list on Thursday. Jim Gilmore is the only Republican candidate yet to register with the deadline nearing next Tuesday. (WTVB)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee criticized students at the University of Missouri and Yale University protesting racism, calling them “tantrum throwers” on Wednesday. “I’m old enough to remember the sixties, when many adults couldn’t understand why students would pay a load of money for a college education, and then destroy their campuses. But at least they were protesting an actual war. Today they pay ten times as much tuition, then destroy their colleges’ reputations and protest over one drunken idiot, or someone else’s Halloween costumes,” Huckabee said. (BuzzFeed)
Bobby Jindal
- In a survey of likely voters in Louisiana conducted last week by the University of New Orleans, Bobby Jindal registered a 70 percent disapproval rating. (University of New Orleans)
John Kasich
- At a town hall meeting with seniors in New Hampshire, John Kasich expressed support for defunding Planned Parenthood in spite of resistance from his audience. After the crowd protested when he said Planned Parenthood’s actions were “very, very negative” and that he believed it was “[s]elling body parts,” Kasich said, “I think it is the truth. We can disagree on Planned Parenthood but what we agree upon, however, is this: Those family planning dollars are very important.” (The Columbus Dispatch)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul said on Thursday that he supported some form of punishment for Edward Snowden, stating, "Even he would end up accepting some if he could come home. And I have suggested, somewhat flippantly, that he and [Director of National Intelligence] James Clapper could share a cell together, maybe then they'd learn a little bit more from security and liberty." (Wired, The Hill)
- On Thursday, Paul criticized President Obama for his administration’s unsuccessful $500 million project to develop a Syrian fighting force to combat the Islamic State. “What kind of idiot sends four people to war? … If you go to war, you don’t go with underwhelming force, you go to war with overwhelming force,” Paul said. (The Huffington Post)
- Speaking on Fox News Radio, Paul said Americans’ constitutional rights should always be respected with exceptions for the “battlefield.” He explained, “You do not get the Bill of Rights if you are fighting in a battlefield against America. However, if you are on the internet in France and we think you are communicating with people in the battlefield in Syria, we can’t just lock you up and kill you. We should arrest you and you should be tried for treason basically. If you get captured on the battlefield, I have no problem with you going to Guantanamo Bay and I don’t want there to be a danger that we are capturing people overseas and bring them here and affording them all their constitutional rights if they are captured in a battlefield. But we have to make sure we don’t say everywhere is a battlefield and we are clear where a battlefield is.” (Fox News Radio)
- In his latest “Waste Report” on Thursday, Paul focused on a Department of Defense project to construct a gas station in Afghanistan for $43 million. “These are the ingredients of waste: An unaudited bureaucracy flush with (your) cash, a rebuilding effort, and an environmental angle in a warzone halfway around the world,” Paul wrote in a press release. (U.S. Senator for Kentucky, Rand Paul)
Marco Rubio
- In a press release on Thursday, Marco Rubio opposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro being given permission to speak before a special meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council. He said, “Venezuela has rapidly descended into an abyss of repression and fundamental violations of human rights. The new norm in Venezuela is murder, political arrests, intimidation, harassments, detention and an overall disintegration of basic freedoms. The Maduro regime has systematically rejected every attempt by the Inter-American Commission and other UN inspectors to examine claims of human rights abuses made by dissenting and opposition leaders. The UN Human Rights Council should never have allowed Maduro to address this forum, which the world’s most notorious human rights violators have been trying to hijack and exploit for years.” (U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio)
- Rubio launched a campaign this week to fundraise $1 million in the 72 hours following Wednesday’s presidential debate. (Marco Rubio for President)
Rick Santorum
- On Thursday, Rick Santorum criticized President Obama’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline and current tax policies for destroying the middle class. “There is a hollowing out of the middle of this country. I think it's clearly because of the anti-growth policies of this administration,” he said, before advocating for investment in infrastructure on the state level and the institution of policies encouraging companies to invest in or distribute their products in the U.S. (CNBC)
Donald Trump
- On Thursday, Donald Trump said the University of Missouri’s former president and chancellor were “weak, ineffective people” for resigning following protests from student athletes regarding systemic racism at the school. “I think it's just disgusting. … When they resigned, they set something in motion that's going to be a disaster for the next long period of time." (CNN)
- Following a Wall Street Journal editorial criticizing his debate performance, Trump took to Twitter to respond. He called the editorial board “dummies” and added, “Why wouldn't the @WSJ call for comment or clarification before writing an editorial which is so totally wrong. No wonder it is doing poorly!” (TIME)
- Trump criticized Ben Carson on Thursday, stating Carson’s “pathological temper” was incurable like “child molesting.” He said, “You don't cure these people. You don't cure a child molester. There's no cure for it. Pathological, there's no cure for that." (NBC News)
- During a rally in Iowa on Thursday night, Trump continued his criticism of Carson. He said, "He hit the belt buckle. Anybody have a knife? Want to try it on me? Believe me, it ain't gonna work. You're going to be successful, but he took the knife and went like this and he plunged it into the belt and, amazing, the belt stayed totally flat and the knife broke. … How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?" (CNN)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein joined the Boston-area “Million Student March” on Thursday to demonstrate for “the right to a free college education.” (ThinkProgress)
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
