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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - October 22, 2015
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden announced he would not enter the 2016 presidential race. He said, “Unfortunately, I believe we're out of time -- the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. But while I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent. I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation.” (U.S. News & World Report)
- CNBC announced its lineup for the October 28 Republican presidential debate. Donald Trump will again take center stage, joined by Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Lindsey Graham, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki and Rick Santorum qualified for the undercard debate. (The Washington Post)
- Poll: In a poll of Massachusetts Republicans conducted by Emerson College, Donald Trump dominated with 47.8 percent support. His nearest competitor was Ben Carson with 13.9 percent. (The Hill)
- Poll: Ben Carson now leads Donald Trump 28 percent to 20 percent in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday. “Today's results show [Carson’s] appeal is especially strong among the state's sizeable white, evangelical Christian community, among whom Carson is receiving 36 percent, twice Trump's 17 percent," said Peter Brown, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. (Quinnipiac University)
- Poll: Without Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders by 7 points with 48 percent support in Iowa, according to a poll from Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register released on Thursday. In New Hampshire, Sanders leads Clinton 47 percent to 39 percent. (Bloomberg)
- Poll: The University of North Florida reported on Thursday that Hillary Clinton handily tops her Democratic rivals in Florida with 54.6 percent support. Sanders is a distant second, registering 15.9 percent support. (Jacksonville.com)
- Poll: In a Public Policy Polling survey of New Hampshire voters released on Thursday, Hillary Clinton won hypothetical matchups in the state against Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, by 4 to 16 points. Chris Christie trailed Clinton by 1 point and John Kasich tied her. When tested against three Republican candidates – Carson, Rubio and Trump – Bernie Sanders also won his general election matchups with a slightly better margin than Clinton had. (Public Policy Polling)
Democrats
- The Democratic National Committee has approved a candidate forum sponsored by MoveOn.org. All Democratic presidential candidates, including Lawrence Lessig, have been invited. The forum will be held in mid-November and aired online. (The Hill)
Lincoln Chafee
- In his financial report for the third quarter, Lincoln Chafee listed just 10 donors. After being contacted by NPR, one donor said, “I was very disappointed in how he appeared at the debate last Tuesday, and I think that will probably sink his candidacy — which wasn't really strong anyway.” (NPR)
Hillary Clinton
- On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton said she had “serious concerns” about Aetna’s planned acquisition of Humana and other mergers between health insurers. "As we see more consolidation in health care, among both providers and insurers, I'm worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers," Clinton said. (Reuters)
- Julian Zelizer, a professor at Princeton University, said on Wednesday that Clinton would charge her campaign forward after Joe Biden announced he would not run for president. Zelizer said, “She’s been waiting for the all-systems go. Without Biden running she can now concentrate all her firepower on co-opting Bernie Sanders’ message and focusing voter attention on the fact that she’s the one who can defeat the Republican nominee.” (USA Today)
- Correct the Record, a super PAC supporting Clinton, released a 140-page book on Wednesday of opposition research against the House Select Committee on Benghazi and its members. (CNN)
- In a national Monmouth University poll released on Wednesday, 52 percent of respondents said Clinton’s private email account was done for “convenience.” Another 33 percent said her behavior “suggests she has something to hide.” Although 48 percent said Clinton had been dishonest about the issue, 59 percent said the story was not something the media should continue to cover. (Monmouth University)
- The mother of Sean Smith, an officer killed during the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack, accused Clinton of lying about what led to the violence and said Clinton had never contacted her as she promised. (Daily Caller)
- Clinton is scheduled to testify before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Thursday. Committee member and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said, “They’ll try to attack the secretary on emails, question her server, feign righteous indignation. They’ll hope to wear the secretary down.” (The New York Times)
Lawrence Lessig
- After Hillary Clinton appeared on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” three weeks ago, Lawrence Lessig’s campaign requested equal time – 3 minutes and 12 seconds – from the network and its affiliates. NBC responded by asking for proof that Lessig was a legitimate candidate. On Wednesday, Lessig’s attorney submitted evidence to demonstrate “a substantial showing of bona fide candidacy,” including the campaign’s number of donors and volunteers and Lessig’s appearances on other channel’s news programs. (Variety)
Martin O’Malley
- Vincent Sheheen, a Democratic state senator from South Carolina, endorsed Martin O’Malley on Thursday. “Vincent is a big get. Not only is he the most popular Democrat in South Carolina, but he's a sitting state senator and has the most up to date and expansive voter file in the state,” said O’Malley’s new political co-chair in the state, Boyd Brown. (CNN)
Bernie Sanders
- During a press conference on Wednesday, Bernie Sanders said he would not refer to Republicans as his “enemies.” He explained, “Well, as the most progressive member of the United States Senate, I obviously have strong disagreements with the Republicans on every issue. There is no issue that we don't have fundamental disagreements, but I would not use the word 'enemies' to describe a fellow American. Strong differences in opinion, opponents, I wouldn't use the word enemies.” ABC News noted this statement could be a response to Hillary Clinton who named “the Republicans” as the “enemy” she was most proud of at the Democratic presidential debate last week. (ABC News)
- Sanders said he was “not unfavorably disposed to moving toward the legalization of marijuana” in an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Wednesday night. When asked if he believed in God, Sanders responded, “I am who I am, and what I believe in and what my spirituality is about is that we’re all in this together. We do our best as human beings — we fulfill our lives — when we work together rather than say ‘Hey, I want it all, and I don’t care about the hungry kid down the street.’” (The Washington Post)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- On Wednesday, Bush said he would relocate the Interior Department to a western city like Reno, Salt Lake City or Denver, where public land management issues were more common. He added that he would take a localized “states-first” approach to developing conservation and land use policies. (CNN, Jeb Bush for President)
Ben Carson
- In an interview with Glenn Beck on Wednesday, Ben Carson said he would use the Department of Education “to monitor our institutions of higher education for extreme political bias and deny federal funding if it exists.” (The Huffington Post)
- Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy organization promoting free market principles, published a white paper on Carson on Thursday. The organization stated that “the sum of Carson’s positions on matters of economic liberty raises considerable concern. At times, he seems to allow socialism and free market capitalism to stand on parallel planes. At other points he seems to show lack of understanding about how free markets operate. This philosophical fuzzy-mindedness becomes apparent in Carson’s own political preferences. As recently as last year, Carson said of himself: ‘I have been a Democrat, I mean quite a flaming liberal Democrat, and I have been a Republican, quite a very conservative Republican. And now I’m an Independent. I have voted for people in all different parties.’” (The Washington Times)
- On Wednesday, Carson said voter identification laws were not racist. “There’s not one single country anywhere -- first world, second world, it doesn’t matter -- that doesn’t have official requirements for voting. My question to those people who say we’re racist because we apply those standards: Are all the other countries of the world racist? I don’t think so. Voting is an important thing. Obviously, you want to make sure that it’s done by the appropriate people,” he said. (The Huffington Post)
Chris Christie
- Although Chris Christie has previously said that the U.S. “should play their role” in accepting Syrian refugees, he stated on Wednesday, “It's a real danger to take in any of these folks, that's why I've been advocating for the idea that what we need to do is incentivize our allies around the world, especially in the Middle East, for them to take these folks in." (NJ.com)
- At a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Christie said tax deductions should be eliminated except for home-mortgage interest and charitable contributions. He said, “Most people in this country now feel — they have a feeling, they don’t know for sure — but they feel like the tax system in our country is rigged for the rich. The reason they think that is because it is. The tax system is rigged for the rich. Only people with great lawyers and great accountants and a lot of money get to take advantage of it.” (Omaha.com)
Ted Cruz
- In an interview that will be published in full by The Jerusalem Post on Friday, Ted Cruz said the U.S. should not “dictate” how Israel interacts with Palestine. Cruz said, “In my view America has no appropriate role dictating the terms of a peace settlement. If Israel chooses to negotiate and reach a settlement with the Palestinian Authority, that is Israel’s right as a sovereign state and America can help provide a fair forum for negotiations. But it is not the role of the American government to attempt to lecture the Israeli people or dictate terms of peace.” (The Jerusalem Post)
Jim Gilmore
- In an interview with The Blaze on Wednesday, Jim Gilmore accused the mainstream media of “promoting certain candidates.” In reference to MSNBC’s morning news program, Gilmore said, “‘Morning Joe’ is really not ‘Morning Joe.’ It’s ‘Morning Trump.’” (The Blaze)
- Gilmore did not qualify for either the primetime or undercard Republican debate on CNBC next week. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Lindsey Graham
- Lindsey Graham declared his support for U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Wednesday. He posted on Facebook, “The lack of honesty and leadership surrounding Hillary Clinton and Benghazi is terrifying. I support chairman of the Benghazi Committee, Congressman Trey Gowdy, as he continues to work diligently to find answers.” (Facebook)
Mike Huckabee
- The American Christian Voting Guide gave Mike Huckabee an A for his “biblical qualifications” to be president. Only three other candidates – Rand Paul, Ben Carson and Ted Cruz – were given passing grades. (Christian Post, Christian Voting Guide)
- On Wednesday, Huckabee said the British proposal to close mosques would be problematic in the U.S. because of the Constitution. “You better have hard evidence, and then, you better take it through the judicial process, you just can’t make that arbitrary, unilateral decision to close down a place of worship, even if you find that what’s going on in that place of worship is absolutely repulsive to you,” Huckabee said. (Breitbart)
Bobby Jindal
- A federal judge ruled against Bobby Jindal on Wednesday in his lawsuit against the Obama administration alleging the Department of Education was “illegally coercing states to use” the Common Core education standards. (NOLA.com, Daily Caller)
George Pataki
- In an appearance on Fox Business on Wednesday, George Pataki said Joe Biden's decision not to enter the presidential race would be ethically detrimental to the process. He said, “I fear now the Democrats are going to rally around Hillary. And if she is their nominee, as is now overwhelming likely, I think we are looking a one of the most vicious, unethical campaigns we are ever going to see. We’re going to see it starting tomorrow with the Benghazi hearing. I think you’re just going to see a partisan effort to obstruct and avoid getting at the truth.” (Fox Business)
Rand Paul
- In an excerpt from Fusion’s interview with Rand Paul published on Wednesday, Paul explained why he believed bipartisan criminal justice reform was necessary. “I think we need to get away from the idea that incarceration is the answer for nonviolent drug crimes. I think we can save an extraordinary amount of money not putting people in jail, and I think some of that money can be spent on rehabilitation. But, really, I don’t think the answer is incarceration,” Paul said. (Fusion)
Marco Rubio
- U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) endorsed Marco Rubio on Wednesday. Duffy said, “There’s no other candidate running who has demonstrated a better understanding of the threats and challenges facing our country than Marco Rubio and it’s why I am proud to endorse him for President. Not only will Marco keep our country safe, he has a plan for a New American Century.” (Roll Call)
- On Tuesday, Rubio introduced the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015 to increase oversight of foreign aid. “Although it is less than 1 percent of our budget, foreign assistance plays an important role in advancing American interests in the world, but taxpayers have a right to see where and how American dollars are being used overseas. Foreign aid should be conditioned to advance our national interests and reflect our moral clarity as a nation. The programs we invest taxpayer dollars in must reinforce our alliances and support the spread of economic and political freedom around the world. Sharing more information about our assistance programs will provide much needed transparency and accountability to this useful foreign policy tool,” Rubio said. (U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio)
Donald Trump
- When asked by Fox Business’ Stuart Varney if the U.S. should adopt the British proposal to close mosques to combat Islamic extremism, Donald Trump said, “Absolutely. I think it’s great.” Varney then questioned if such a policy would be possible in the U.S. due to “religious freedom.” Trump said, “Well, I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don’t know. You’re going to have to certainly look at it.” (TIME, Mediaite)
- In an interview with USA Today published on Thursday, Trump said he did not understand why low-polling candidates remained in the presidential race. “Perhaps they think it's good for the brand but I don't think it's good for their brand, personally. I think they should get out. I could name a few, but I won't do that because I'm a nice person,” Trump said. He continued, “I think it's an embarrassment to the party when Bobby Jindal gets up on stage and when Pataki, who has zero. You look at Lindsey Graham; it's very sad. Lindsey Graham, he's a sitting senator. He's at zero. And you have a number of zeros and I would think they should get on with their life and go back home.” (USA Today)
- Trump said on Wednesday that Joe Biden “did the smart thing” by not running for president. He added, “Frankly, I really want to run against Hillary. That's the one we want to go against. You go against that record, you're just gonna win. We're gonna win." (CNN)
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
