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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - September 11, 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
- CNN announced its September 16 debate lineup on Thursday night. Carly Fiorina will join Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, John Kasich and Chris Christie in the primetime debate. Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham, Rick Santorum and George Pataki will appear in an earlier debate. Registering less than 1 percent support in all but one national poll, Jim Gilmore did not qualify for either debate. (CNN)
- In a Ballotpedia survey of 99 Democratic strategists and operatives, 97 ranked Hillary Clinton as the candidate most likely to win the Democratic presidential nomination. “Hillary's roller coaster ride to the nomination can only be truly challenged by Biden,” said one Democratic insider. (Ballotpedia)
- Bobby Jindal launched an assault against Donald Trump on Thursday in a speech before the National Press Club. "I want to say what everyone is thinking about Donald Trump but is afraid to say," Jindal said before calling Trump "unstable," "a narcissist," "unserious" and "a carnival act.” (NBC News, YouTube, Bobby Jindal for President)
- Poll: A Quinnipiac University survey released on Friday found Donald Trump maintaining his lead in Iowa with 27 percent support. Ben Carson and Ted Cruz followed with 21 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Trump also topped the list of candidates respondents said they “would definitely not support” with 25 percent. Bush was second with 23 percent of likely caucus-goers saying they would not vote for him. (Quinnipiac University)
Democrats
- Democratic National Committee vice chairs R.T. Rybak and Tulsi Gabbard released a joint statement this week pushing for more debates. “We believe that the DNC's decision to limit Presidential candidates to six debates, with a threat of exclusion for any candidate who participates in any non-DNC sanctioned debate, is a mistake. It limits the ability of the American people to benefit from a strong, transparent, vigorous debate between our Presidential candidates, as they make the important decision of who will be our Democratic Presidential nominee,” they wrote. (CNN)
Joe Biden
- Bill de Blasio (D), the mayor of New York City, opposed Joe Biden entering the presidential race on Thursday because the existing Democratic field was competently addressing key issues. De Blasio said, “Joe Biden is a great human being. I think he's done extraordinary things for this nation, and I also have to say on a human level, I think we've all been grieving with him over these last weeks. … But if you're talking about the state of the presidential race, I think it's pretty straightforward. We have a very impressive group of Democratic candidates right now. I don't think we need additional candidates. I think the candidates we have are really putting forth the issues, putting forth really bold solutions." (CNN)
- Although Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) has already endorsed Hillary Clinton, he was complimentary of Biden on Thursday, calling him a “man who could be a New Yorker.” Cuomo said, “He is that strong, he is that courageous, he is that bold, he is that progressive, he is that much of a leader.” (Politico)
- On Thursday, Biden joined Attorney General Loretta Lynch in New York City to announce nearly $80 million in grants to reduce the number of untested sexual assault kits in 43 jurisdictions across 27 states. Biden said, “For most survivors, seeing their rapists brought to justice, and knowing that they will not return, brings peace of mind and a sense of closure. The grants we’re announcing today to reduce the national rape kit backlog will bring that sense of closure and safety to victims while improving community safety." (The Huffington Post)
- In an interview with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, Biden again suggested he might not have the emotional energy necessary to launch a presidential bid. “I don't think any man or woman should run for president unless, number one, they know exactly why they would want to be president and, number two, they can look at folks out there and say, 'I promise you, you have my whole heart, my whole soul, my energy, and my passion to do this.’ And I'd be lying if I said that I knew I was there,” he said. (NBC News)
Lincoln Chafee
- Describing himself as a potential “peacemaker president,” Lincoln Chafee said he had been more consistent in his views than other candidates. “I’ve never wiffle-waffled. Some people who have switched parties have tried to cozy up to the changing Republican social issues. I haven’t. I’ve always been pro-choice, sometimes more so than Democrats. One hundred percent pro-environment, I think. Anti-war. Pro-immigration. Pro-gay rights,” said Chafee. He added he was interested in reviving a bipartisan immigration reform bill drafted by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the 2000s. (Concord Monitor)
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton suggested on Thursday that it seems Scott Walker “gets his marching orders from the Koch brothers and just goes down the list.” She added, “Governor Walker thinks because he busts unions, starves universities, guts public education, demeans women, scapegoats teachers, nurses, and firefighters, he is some kind of tough guy on a motorcycle, a real leader. Well, that is not leadership folks. Leadership means fighting for the people you represent." (Politico)
- In a deposition for the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Thursday, Bryan Pagliano, a former Clinton staffer who managed Clinton’s email server, invoked the Fifth Amendment. U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said the committee’s Republicans had prepared 19 pages of questions for Pagliano. “He has a right to not answer questions that he thinks may incriminate him, and you have a right to glean any inference you want from the fact that he has,” said Gowdy. (ABC News)
- U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) called Pagliano’s deposition “political theater.” In a statement released on Thursday, Cummings said, “Mr. Pagliano’s testimony has nothing to do with the Benghazi attacks and everything to do with Republicans’ insatiable desire to derail Secretary Clinton’s presidential bid. If Chairman Gowdy actually wanted to find out what Mr. Pagliano knows, he would follow the lead of Senate Republicans and consider immunity – something Democrats would support.” (Select Committee on Benghazi)
Martin O’Malley
- In an effort to raise awareness about campaign contributions made by American financial institutions, Martin O’Malley busked on Wall Street for an hour in a video released on Thursday. (Independent Journal Review, YouTube)
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), responded to O’Malley’s criticism of the DNC’s debate schedule. “Every candidate does what they believe they need to to [sic] attract attention to their campaign. He has chosen to focus on debates, rather than substance. That is certainly his prerogative,” she said on Thursday. (TIME)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders criticized the disparity between the treatment of individuals who kindled the financial crisis with risky and illegal trades and juveniles charged with drug possession in a statement to The Huffington Post on Thursday. Sanders wrote, “One of the biggest mistakes our government made after the financial crisis was not prosecuting the people responsible for the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior that crashed our economy and ruined the lives of millions of Americans. It is not acceptable that many young people have criminal records for smoking marijuana, while the CEOs of banks whose illegal behavior helped destroy our economy do not." (The Huffington Post)
- Only six members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) attended a meeting with Bernie Sanders on Thursday to discuss criminal justice reform and income inequality. More than a dozen CBC members have already endorsed Hillary Clinton. (The Hill, Politic365)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush defended Carly Fiorina following remarks Donald Trump made about her appearance. Bush said on Thursday, “This disparaging of women is deeply troubling. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Carly Fiorina has made a good contribution already and will continue to make a contribution in this nomination process. She should be respected as a talented person and a viable candidate." (CNN)
- Bush said the United States should provide more assistance to Syrian refugees. “We've had a rich noble tradition of supporting refugees from all across the world. They've added vitality to our country. That's undeniable. We have a tradition of doing this and I think we have an obligation to do this in support of the displaced people that are suffering,” he said. (CNN)
- Bush announced endorsements from eight speakers of the Florida House of Representatives on Thursday, including current Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R). (Tampa Bay Times)
- Mission: Next Campus, a new political network for college students who support Bush’s presidential run, was announced on Thursday. Bush’s sons, Jeb Bush, Jr. and George P. Bush, will lead the initiative to establish teams on 450 campuses across the country. (CNN, Jeb Bush for President)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson said on Thursday he was not going to allow the media to “goad” him “into gladiator fights” with other candidates. He clarified that his comments earlier this week regarding Donald Trump’s religiosity were not intended to offend. Carson said, “I would like to say to him that the intention was not to talk to him but about what motivates me. If he took that as a personal attack on him, I apologize, it was certainly not the intent.” (The Washington Post)
Ted Cruz
- David Barton, an evangelical pastor, has been tapped to replace energy investor Toby Neugebauer as the head of Keep the Promise, a super PAC supporting Ted Cruz. (CNN, Bloomberg)
- Online for Life, an anti-abortion advocacy group, has formed a new organization to provide Keep the Promise with data and digital operation services. (CNN)
- Cruz published an op-ed in USA Today on Thursday to protest the Iran nuclear deal. He argued the agreement makes the Obama administration “the world’s leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism,” “abandons” four American hostages held in Iran and facilitates Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. (USA Today)
Carly Fiorina
- National Journal questioned the role CARLY for America, a super PAC backing Carly Fiorina, was playing in Fiorina’s campaign. Although Federal Election Commission regulations bar in-kind contributions such as “goods or services offered free or at least less than the usual charge,” CARLY for America has provided “advance presence” teams at many of Fiorina’s campaign events. According to the Journal, “Sarah Isgur Flores, Fiorina’s deputy campaign manager, acknowledged that the campaign does not do as much merchandising at events as CARLY For America does, but said the super PAC’s advance work does not constitute an in-kind contribution because it is not coordinating with the campaign.” (National Journal, Salon)
Lindsey Graham
- After the Senate blocked a vote on the Iran nuclear deal on Thursday, Lindsey Graham said the agreement was “a death sentence over time for Israel.” He continued, “The next president is not bound by it. If I'm president of the United States, I will not honor this deal." (Newsmax)
- In a discussion of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis this week, Graham said the United States was “a constitutional democracy not a theocracy” and “the secular law of the land is the United States Constitution.” Graham expressed his sympathy for defenders of “traditional marriage,” but added, “I can not say as a conservative that the court’s decision does not apply because I dislike it. I can not say as a conservative there is not a judicial interpretation of the Constitution that is supreme when it comes to how the Constitution works.” (BuzzFeed)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee suggested on Thursday that Dred Scott v. Sanford, a nineteenth century Supreme Court case declaring people of African descent could not be American citizens, was still the “law of the land.” Comparing Obergefell v. Hodges to Dred Scott, Huckabee said, “The Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren’t fully human. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?” Dred Scott was nullified in 1868 by the Fourteenth Amendment. (BuzzFeed, Business Insider)
- While visiting Arkansas on Thursday, Huckabee said county clerks could also deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the Arkansas legislature had not changed its laws following the Obergefell decision in June. Clerks should “follow the only law they have in front of them,” Huckabee said. (Tri-City Herald)
John Kasich
- Ruth Griffin, the former chair of George W. Bush’s 2000 New Hampshire Steering Committee, endorsed John Kasich on Thursday. (Cleveland.com)
- U.S. Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) are hosting a meeting on Friday to encourage congressional lawmakers to support Kasich. (Politico)
- According to Newsmax, Kasich supported accepting more Syrian refugees “but only after carefully screening out any potential terrorists.” (Newsmax)
George Pataki
- George Pataki said on Thursday he would have fired Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds. “You take an oath when you go into public office -- that you are going to uphold the laws and enforce the laws. And it's not the laws you agree with. It's not the laws you don't have an objection to. It is all the laws. ... I don't think she should have been put in jail. But to stand up there and say I'm going to refuse to do perform my duty because I disagree with the law? Suppose it was a Muslim ... Would we be seeing this outpouring if he had said Sharia law doesn't allow me to provide for a gay wedding, a gay marriage certificate? You have to obey the law. ... You cannot have a clerk that refuses to follow the Supreme Court,” said Pataki. (Newsday)
- In an interview on Newsmax TV on Thursday, Pataki said Trump was “demeaning towards all different groups throughout this campaign.” He added, “ don't think he's qualified or fit to be president of the United States. You said he's the man of the hour. I hope that's the case because this country faces serious problems. We need adult leadership that's going to solve those problems. That's why I'm running." (Newsmax)
Rand Paul
- At a rally in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Rand Paul called on Republicans to “hold [their] ground” and shift the burden of defunding Planned Parenthood to Democrats by requiring them to capture 60 votes to “affirmatively” fund the organization. (The Blaze)
- Paul said this week he could “absolutely” beat Bernie Sanders in a general election. “I think socialism is a failed system. And people kind of shy away and don’t point out that he’s a socialist, but socialism requires force. I mean, if you want to sell water or vegetables or cows under socialism, they put you in prison if you’re not officially sanctioned by the government. … It’s a horrific system that requires violent and ultimately, if people are serious about considering Bernie Sanders, they’re gonna have to understand that he’ll have to defend the violence of socialism,” Paul said in a radio interview earlier this week. (BuzzFeed)
- Paul’s campaign met its goal of establishing 300 chapters of Students for Rand at college campuses across the country. (The Wall Street Journal)
Marco Rubio
- According to USA Today, Marco Rubio has missed more roll call votes than any other senator with an absentee rate of nearly 30 percent. Since June 1, 2015, Rubio has skipped 60 percent of votes to devote more energy to campaign appearances. (USA Today)
- Rubio wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald on Wednesday promoting his plan to reduce poverty in the United States. He recommended “a spending-neutral Flex Fund” of federal aid for each state “to design and fund anti-poverty programs on a more localized level.” Rubio also emphasized the importance of skills training, certifications and degree equivalents rather than traditional college degrees to enable working parents to increase their earning potential. (Miami Herald)
- Nevada State Sen. Ben Kieckhefer (R) and Assemblyman Derek Armstrong ® endorsed Rubio this week. (Nevada Appeal, Reno Gazette-Journal)
Rick Santorum
- Rick Santorum compared Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs. Santorum said, “Martin Luther King went to jail because he didn’t follow the law. There’s a long precedent in America from people saying, ‘You know the law has to change to accommodate what is the right thing to do, in their own moral judgment.’” (Talking Points Memo)
- Santorum has been unable to recapture his 2012 success in Iowa, registering only 1 percent support in the state in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. (Quinnipiac University)
Donald Trump
- On Thursday, Donald Trump responded to Ben Carson’s comments on his religiosity by saying Carson made “Bush look like the Energizer bunny.” He added that Carson’s shifting views on abortion were “horrendous” and the reason Trump was more successful in courting evangelical voters than Carson. (Daily Caller)
- Trump said he was excited to debate Hillary Clinton. “I can think of nobody I would rather debate. I think beating her in a debate would be one of the easy challenges of my life, that I could say,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday. (CNN)
- Trump called the detention of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis a “messy situation.” He said, “I hated that and now she’s out. But I must tell you that, you know, we are a land of laws — I would like to see her get a different job or at least let the clerks do that particular work. We are…in a position that’s been a terrible situation that’s taken place out there, and I understand both sides of the argument. And I embrace both sides of the argument. … You can embrace both sides of an argument.” (The Washington Times)
Scott Walker
- Scott Walker has dramatically fallen in a Quinnipiac University survey of Iowa Republicans released on Friday. He registered 3 percent support, a 15-point drop from when he topped Quinnipiac’s survey in July with 18 percent support. (Quinnipiac University)
- On Thursday, Walker previewed a portion of his labor platform that will be announced next week. Walker said on his first day in office he would “stop the government from taking money out of the paychecks of federal employees for political union dues. That protects workers from being forced to give money to candidates they don't support." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
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
