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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - October 30, 2015
From Ballotpedia
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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
- Poll: Among registered Pennsylvania Democrats, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 52 percent to 18 percent, while 17 percent are undecided.
- Poll: Among registered Pennsylvania Republicans, Donald Trump leads with 23 percent followed by Ben Carson with 22 percent. Marco Rubio came in third with 13 percent. Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Rand Paul and Rick Santorum all received 1 percent.
- On Wednesday, Cruz released his “Simple Flat Tax” plan. Under Cruz’s plan, a family of four would pay “no taxes whatsoever (income or payroll) on the first $36,000 of income. Above that level, a 10% flat tax on all individual income from wages and investment.” Cruz’s plan eliminates the death tax, alternative minimum tax and ObamaCare taxes. He would replace the payroll tax and the corporate income tax with a “16% Business Flat Tax” that “would tax companies’ gross receipts from sales of goods and services, less purchases from other businesses, including capital investment.” He also proposed a “Universal Savings Account, which would allow every American to save up to $25,000 annually on a tax-deferred basis for any purpose.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Ballotpedia released a post-debate analysis after Wednesday's Republican debate.
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Friday morning, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed Hillary Clinton. He said, "The candidate who I believe can fundamentally address income inequality effectively, the candidate who has the right experience and the ability to get the job done is Hillary Clinton. I have seen her vision and her platform develop over five months. I'm extremely pleased with what she's put on the table but she has a history of fighting on issues that convinces me." (CNN)
- According to the Washington Post, “Clinton will unveil new specifics of her criminal justice platform in an Atlanta speech Friday by calling for legislation to ban racial profiling by law enforcement, and for eliminating the remaining distinction between crack and powder cocaine in drug sentencing.” (The Washington Post)
Lawrence Lessig
- Lawrence Lessig said that he would run for president if his campaign could raise $1 million by Labor day, but his October FEC filing showed that “the campaign raised at most $900,000 by that date,” according to The Washington Free Beacon. Lessig responded to the story on his website, calling it “wrong.” He wrote, “Our goal was to raise $1M in crowdfunding pledges — including amounts paid immediately and amounts pledged in advance — by September 7. We beat that goal by a day.” (The Washington Free Beacon)
Martin O’Malley
- In an interview with The Des Moines Register's editorial board on Thursday, Martin O’Malley said that capital punishment is "inconsistent with our principles as a nation. It's very hard to have any sympathy for mass murderers, for people like the Boston bomber or any of these individuals. But the principle is this: Capital punishment is not a deterrent." (The Des Moines Register)
- During the same interview, O’Malley criticized Hillary Clinton for changing her stance on a variety of issues. He said, "Secretary Clinton seems to have a default position to state's rights on many things. She was very much one who said marriage equality was a state's rights thing, and now she's saying (the death penalty) is a state's rights thing. She has said immigration issues like driver's licenses for new American immigrants was a state's rights issue. I think the way that we forge consensus and the way we get things done and the way we solve problems is being very clear about our principles, and I think that leaders who are effective don't wait for the polls to tell you that it's safe." (The Des Moines Register)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders met with Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday and “discussed campaign finance reform and a free education plan,” according to ABC News. Sanders did not ask Biden for his endorsement. (ABC News)
- After Sanders’ campaign manager said he would consider Hillary Clinton for vice president, Sanders said, “You know, I think that every campaign has statements come out which are inappropriate. That was inappropriate.” Sanders also said that he has “a lot of respect for Secretary Clinton.” (MSNBC)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- During an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Jeb Bush commented his relationship with Marco Rubio. He said, “We’ve had seven years with a divider in chief who was spectacular as a candidate, great speaker, he’s a very very good politician. Marco’s my friend. I admire him greatly. He is a gifted politician for sure. But I think we need to focus on who can lead, who can forge consensus, who can solve problems.” (The New York Times)
- After what many called a poor debate performance, Bush had to defend his campaign. He said, “It’s not on life support. We have the most money. We have the greatest organization. We’re doing fine.” (The Wall Street Journal)
Ben Carson
- On Thursday, Ben Carson criticized CNBC’s debate moderators and suggested that a new format should be considered. He said, “Debates are supposed to be established to help the people know the candidates… what their philosophy is. What it’s turned into is a ‘gotcha’ opportunity to cast candidates in a negative light. That’s silly. That’s not really helpful.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- Citing a Wall Street Journal article, CNN wrote, “Despite Carson's denial in the debate, he admitted that he did paid speeches for Mannatech, and credited the company's products for his cancer symptoms disappearing and his image appeared on the firm's website as recently as 2014 -- so it appears he was very much involved with the company even after its 2009 settlement over false advertising.” (CNN)
Chris Christie
- On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday, Chris Christie criticized CNBC’s debate moderators. He said, “Well, listen, first of all, the moderators just didn’t do their job last night in a number of areas. Not only were the questions snarky and divisive and non-substantive, they were just biased. The questions were biased. But on top of that, they didn’t do their job in terms of controlling the debate, either. And it became somewhat of a free-for-all that everybody had to jump in when you could jump in. In the end, Republican voters know this. We’re not going to go on to that stage and get a fair shake. And you know what, we’re not going to get a fair shake from Vladimir Putin, either. So if you’re not tough enough to handle those moderators, then you’re not tough enough to be President of the United States.” (Mediate)
Ted Cruz
- According to NBC News, Ted Cruz’s campaign has “seen a fundraising spike of nearly one million dollars” since the debate. (NBC News)
- During the GOP debate, Cruz said, “Under Barack Obama and the big government economy, the median wage for women has dropped $733.” Politifact wrote, “That's wrong. Wages actually have risen for women since Obama took office. Cruz's spokesperson said Cruz intended to use a different phrase. But at PolitiFact, we say words matter. The statement is not accurate and we rate it False.” (PolitiFact)
- Cruz criticized this election’s debate moderators, and said that “conservative talk radio hosts Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh should be tapped to host a Republican debate since they actually care about issues GOP voters are concerned with,” according to Newsmax. (Newsmax) Cruz said, "In the Democratic debate, they get a ton of love from the moderators and it's all praising the different candidates, avoiding too much clash. On the Republican side, you look at an awful lot of the media interviewers, their object is whoever the Republican nominee is, to beat up on them, and to have people either stay home or vote for Hillary Clinton." (Newsmax)
Carly Fiorina
- During Wednesday night’s debate, Carly Fiorina said, "92% of the jobs lost during Barack Obama's first term belonged to women." According to CNN, Fiorina is incorrect. “There were actually more women working at the end of Obama's first term than when he started.” (CNN, The New York Times)
Jim Gilmore
- According to the Washington Post, Jim Gilmore cannot get verified by Twitter. Once a public figure’s Twitter account is verified by Twitter, a blue checkmark is placed by the individual’s name so that other users know the account is legitimate. (Washington Post)
Lindsey Graham
- Lindsey Graham received praise from several media outlets for his debate performance. (The New York Post, The Daily Beast, Fox News)
- On Thursday, Graham criticized the Republican National Committee’s handling of the debate process. He said, "I think the Republican Party is becoming the loser here. We've got talented candidates. The process is not bringing out the best in the party. The RNC is trying to correct the last cycle's problem of too many debates. They've overdone it. They're micromanaging the process. I don't think the RNC could run a one-car funeral. This is getting pretty bad." (Politico)
- After the debate, Graham proposed the following format for future debates: "Why not have two tranches? You know, you've got a lot of talented people. I don't think I'm an undercard candidate when it comes to national security or trying to fix problems like the debt, where I'm willing to do revenue and Democrats will means-test and age-adjust. So just break it into two groups, have five -six -seven in each group. You'll get a better debate. This micromanaging, trying to knock people out based on national polls is hurting New Hampshire, Iowa, and South Carolina." (Politico)
Mike Huckabee
- On Fox News' "Fox & Friends" Thursday morning, Mike Huckabee said that the CNBC debate moderators "just lost control of the debate and let the candidates take it over.” He added, "They had promised us they were going to stick to economic issues and substantive things," the former Arkansas governor told. They didn't. They also said that there were algorithms that they had figured out so there would be a time allocation that would be very equitably distributed among the candidates. That didn't happen. And they lost control of the debate." (Newsmax)
- Commenting on the moderators, Huckabee, also told the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe", "You're not electing a president because he can give out a nice answer and make a speech. You're electing a president because in the moment of crisis, when the unexpected happens, that person has the maturity, the seasoned judgment to make a tough decision and to be able to live with the consequences of it. I think sometimes we've turned this into a game show." (Newsmax)
Bobby Jindal
- On Thursday, a judge ordered Bobby Jindal's administration “to continue paying Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast's Medicaid reimbursements for the foreseeable future,” according to The Times-Picayune. The Jindal administration issued the following statement: "we agreed to convert the (temporary restraining order) hearing to a preliminary injunction hearing in order to expedite this case. We will appeal the decision to the 5th Circuit and we are confident that the court will reverse this ruling." (NOLA.com)
- A spokesman for U.S. Sen. David Vitter said it is likely that Jindal will not endorse Vitter in the gubernatorial election. Vitter’s spokesman Luke Bolar said, "Based on their strong disagreements, I can't imagine that happening.” (NOLA.com)
John Kasich
- Although the CNBC debate moderators received a poor review from most Republicans and even some Democrats, John Kasich said, he was “very appreciative of how they did their job” and “thought they did a good job.” He also called the debate “well controlled.” (National Review)
Rand Paul
- During the GOP debate on Wednesday, Rand Paul said he would filibuster a vote on the budget deal that would raise domestic and military spending. He said, “I will stand firm. I will spend every ounce of energy to stop [the deal]. I will begin tomorrow to filibuster it. And I ask everyone in America to call Congress tomorrow and say enough is enough; no more debt." Paul, who is known for marathon filibusters, filibustered for less than 20 minutes, and some doubt of it counted as a “real” filibuster. (ABC News)
Marco Rubio
- According to CNN, during the 2014 Senate elections, members of Marco Rubio's staff “used former Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley's long record of missing hearings as a key component of their messaging strategy to elect now Sen. Joni Ernst.” A source told CNN that "Iowans were inundated with messages highlighting Braley's missed votes. It was a devastating blow to his campaign here." The story emerged after The Sun Sentinel and Jeb Bush suggested that Rubio should resign because he has missed too many votes while campaigning for president. (CNN)
- According to NBC Today News, “Rubio's communications director, Alex Conant, told reporters after the debate that many potential Bush donors were now contacting Rubio's campaign to switch allegiances.” Rubio also commented on the cost of running for president. He said, "We're always trying to add new supporters. It cost money to run these races. I always say this respectfully: If the media stops charging us for advertising, we'll stop raising as much money. It's expensive to communicate with the American voters and to get our message out." (NBC Today News)
- On Thursday during an interview with Fox News, Rubio commented on Jeb Bush’s attack on his absentee voting record in the Senate. Rubio said he has “tremendous affection and admiration for Jeb,” and added, “If he [Jeb] or anyone else wants to change their campaign and what they talk about, they have a right to do that. It’s not going to change our campaign.” (The New York Times)
- According to NBC News, Rubio’s campaign has “seen a fundraising spike of nearly one million dollars” since Wednesday night’s debate. (NBC News)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum criticized Lindsey Graham’s stance on immigration during Wednesday night’s GOP debate. Santorum said, “We have an immigration policy that Senator Graham supported that brings in even more low-wage workers into this country. He says he wants to solve problems. That’s great, but you’re not solving problems for American wage earners. You’re not solving problems for workers in America, who have seen their wages flatline and have been disaffected enough to leave the workplace. We have low wages, low participation rates. Maybe there’s something going on, like we don’t have the right match, right? We aren’t giving the training and the investment in our workers, and we’re bringing in people to compete against low-wage workers. That’s what is happening. We need to get better training, better skills, including vocational education and training in community colleges.” (Breitbart)
Donald Trump
- During a campaign speech in Nevada on Thursday, Donald Trump said, “So many friends in Israel, they don't know what happened. They have a president who — they actually think Obama hates Israel. I think he does.” Trump also criticized the nuclear deal negotiated with Iran and five other nations, and he promised to protect Israel. (The Hill, ABC News)
- During the GOP debate on Wednesday, CNBC moderator Becky Quick said to Trump, "Mr. Trump, let's stay on the issue of immigration. You have been very critical of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, who has wanted to increase the number of these H1-Bs.” Trump then said, "I was not at all critical of him — I was not at all. I am all in favor of keeping these talented people here so they can go to work in Silicon Valley. So I have not been at all critical of him." But Trump has been critical of Zuckerberg and H-1B visas. His website reads: "Mark Zuckerberg's personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1Bs that would decimate women and minorities.” (Business Insider)
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
