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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - October 6, 2015
From Ballotpedia
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Tuesday's Leading Stories
- Poll: According to a poll of Republican Pennsylvanians released on Monday by Mercyhurst University, Donald Trump and Ben Carson are tied in the state with 18 percent support each. Jeb Bush comes in third with 9 percent. Carson and Marco Rubio have the highest favorability numbers at 70 percent and 62 percent, respectively. (Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics, The Hill)
Democrats
- Between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2015, Hillary Clinton received 80 percent of Democratic presidential news coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC evening news programs, according to the Media Research Center. Joe Biden followed with 13 percent. (Media Research Center)
Joe Biden
- According to Politico, Joe Biden may finalize a decision to run for president at a family council meeting next week. Although some insiders have reported Biden is leaning towards a run, another commented, “If you’re going to run, you run. Every time he pushes back a decision, that’s the ultimate tell.” (Politico)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton named Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) as her campaign chair in Virginia. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) will also join the leadership team in the state. (The Washington Post)
- According to NPR, Clinton’s gun control platform includes “pledging to act through executive action to close the gun-show loophole, tightening Internet gun sales, if Congress doesn't act, repealing a law that shields gun manufacturers from certain lawsuits, closing the ‘Charleston loophole,’ [and] prohibiting domestic abusers from being able to buy and possess firearms.” (NPR)
- Clinton released an ad this week featuring U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) suggestion that the House Select Committee on Benghazi was created to politically target her. “The Republicans finally admit it,” the ad’s narrator says. “The Republicans have spent millions attacking Hillary because she’s fighting for everything they oppose, from affordable healthcare to equal pay. She’ll never stop fighting for you and the Republicans know it.” (Sun Times National)
Martin O’Malley
- President Obama announced on Monday a proposal to impose sanctuary protections on development water bodies in Maryland. Martin O’Malley had petitioned for this sanctuary status in September 2014. (The Hill)
- O’Malley’s campaign announced 24 more endorsements from leading Iowa Democrats and activists on Monday, including state Rep. Charlie McConkey (D). (The Des Moines Register)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders denounced the Trans-Pacific Partnership in a statement on Monday. “I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision to move forward on the disastrous Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that will hurt consumers and cost American jobs. Wall Street and other big corporations have won again. It is time for the rest of us to stop letting multinational corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense,” Sanders said. (Politico)
- The October 12, 2015, edition of The New Yorker features a profile of Sanders. He discusses race and the Black Lives Matter movement, saying, “I plead guilty—I should have been more sensitive at the beginning of this campaign to talk about this issue.” Van Jones, a former adviser to President Obama, noted Sanders has “shown tremendous character in his willingness to engage and grow and change,” but cautioned that Sanders’ success thus far has been predominantly white states. (The New Yorker)
Republicans
- Rand Paul and Chris Christie are set to join Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando next month. (Tampa Bay Times)
Jeb Bush
- In order to revitalize Jeb Bush’s campaign, some advisers are considering using his brother, former President George W. Bush, in a more public capacity, The New York Times reported on Monday. “It may ruin the race for him down the line, but it could win the race here,” said one party insider from South Carolina. (The New York Times)
Ben Carson
- A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties, Ben Carson’s latest book, is being released on Tuesday. In it, Carson argues, “Only law-abiding citizens are affected by legislation imposing gun control. The criminals don’t care what the law says, which is why they are criminals. Confiscating the guns of American citizens would violate the Constitution as well as rendering the citizenry vulnerable to criminals and tyrants.” (Daily Caller, Amazon)
Chris Christie
- International Business Times reported on Monday that Chris Christie may have used two personal email accounts to contact other state officials, but has invoked executive privilege to prevent the public from requesting any records from those email accounts. (International Business Times)
- Christie has announced 11 more endorsements from New Hampshire state party leaders, including two former Scott Walker supporters, Steven Steiner and Alexandria Knox. (WMUR Manchester)
Ted Cruz
- Dave Agema, a member of the Michigan Republican National Committee and superdelegate, is nearing an endorsement of Ted Cruz. According to MLive, “While he remains popular in some conservative grassroots circles, Agema has faced multiple calls to resign over his controversial statements and social media posts about gays, Muslims and African Americans. … An Agema endorsement could be a double-edged sword, but it does carry some real weight.” (MLive)
- On Monday, Cruz opposed the Obama administration’s plan to accept thousands of Syrian refugees. “It would be the height of foolishness to bring in tens of thousands of people including jihadists that are coming here to murder innocent Americans,” said Cruz. (U.S. News & World Report)
Carly Fiorina
- In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll released on Monday, Carly Fiorina defeated Hillary Clinton by 14 points in a head-to-head matchup in Iowa. (The Hill)
- Carly Fiorina owed nearly $500,000 to 30 vendors four years after her unsuccessful Senate campaign in California. The debt was paid off in January 2015. "We had suggested several remedies to Carly after the election to discharge the debt. She just couldn't really focus on it, I guess," Martin Wilson, Fiorina’s former campaign manager, said. Fiorina criticized The Washington Post and “the left and their allies in the media” for promoting the story. (NBC News, The Washington Post)
- On Monday, Fiorina said Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) was “someone that should be considered” for a position in her potential cabinet. She noted, however, it was “a little premature” to be making those decisions. (Boston.com)
Lindsey Graham
- Tom Hatfield, a local Republican leader in South Carolina, criticized Lindsey Graham for canceling several campaign events in the state on Monday due to storms and flooding in the area. After suggesting Graham used “nothing more than a lame excuse” to avoid the campaign appearances, Hatfield placed Graham’s chances of winning the Republican nomination as “somewhere between zero and none.” (The State)
- Graham requested federal aid for South Carolina as it faced severe flooding. When asked why he rejected the same for New Jersey in January 2013, Graham responded, “I'm all for helping the people in New Jersey. I don't really remember me voting that way.” (CNN)
Mike Huckabee
- On Monday, Mike Huckabee described the Trans-Pacific Partnership as “a handout to insiders, interest groups, Obama’s allies and Asia.” He added, “I can’t understand why American workers would trust Obama on a trade deal that affects 40 percent of the world’s economy.” (Breitbart)
John Kasich
- John Kasich described himself as a “troublemaker” at a campaign stop in Virginia on Monday. He said of his economic policy, “Economic growth is not an end to itself. We were able to take economic growth and the then spread a message that no one should be left behind. No one should have to live in the shadows.” (U.S. News & World Report)
- Fox News reported on Monday that Kasich opposed the extension of freezes on “green energy” mandates in Ohio and locked-in mandates set to 2014 levels. Matt Mayer, the president of Opportunity Ohio, a job creation and economic growth advocacy group, said of Kasich’s position on energy efficiency, “From his tax hike attack on the oil and gas industry to pro-renewable mandate support, Kasich frankly isn’t much different than a Democratic governor would be. Unfortunately, his anti-free market energy positions will increase costs on businesses and consumers in Ohio and lead to job losses.” (Fox News)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal is set to release a new book, American Will: The Forgotten Choices That Changed Our Republic–And Offer Lessons for Its Future, on October 20. The book compares historical events that bolstered the development of the United States to current liberal policies that “jeopardize our nation’s future.” For example, Jindal references the discovery of oil in the 1800s before criticizing contemporary Democratic energy policies. (The Advocate)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul announced his Iowa leadership team on Monday. The state co-chairs are David Fischer, a veteran of Paul’s father’s presidential campaign, manufacturer Steve Sukup and county supervisor Diane Holst. (The Des Moines Register)
Marco Rubio
- Discussing the shooter in the Oregon community college shooting on Tuesday morning, Marco Rubio said his first response was, “That his family shouldn’t have allowed him to do it. That he should have been reported to authorities. That there should have been more mental health services available for someone like that. What I know is this, many of the proposals that are out there now on gun control, would not have prevented that attack or some of the others we’ve seen in the past.” (Today)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum expressed skepticism that his Republican rivals without foreign policy experience were qualified to be president. He said on Monday, “My feeling is the commander-in-chief is not an entry level position, and the White House is no place for on-the-job training. It’d be a good idea to have someone with some experience … actually try to get something done, (and) who has a track record of getting things done, which I do.” (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Donald Trump
- Although Donald Trump has publicly endorsed less restrictive gun ownership rights this month, BuzzFeed reported on Monday that Trump previously said “anyone could feel it is too easy for Americans to get their hands on weapons.” He also said in an interview with Larry King, “Look, there’s nothing I like better than nobody has them [guns], but that’s not going to happen, Larry. So, as long as that’s not going to happen, I say you have to be allowed to have a gun.” (BuzzFeed)
- In a statement to Breitbart on Monday, Trump opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “Why are we striking trade agreements with countries we already have agreements with? Why is there no effort to make sure we have fair trade instead of ‘free’ trade that isn’t free to Americans? Why do we not have accompanying legislation that will punish countries that manipulate their currencies to seek unfair advantage in trade arrangements? Why has the Congress not addressed prohibitive corporate tax rates and trade agreements that continue to drain dollars and jobs from America’s shores?” Trump asked. (Breitbart)
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
