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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - September 18, 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
- Poll: According to a Marketing Resource Group poll of Republicans released on Wednesday, Ben Carson topped Donald Trump in Michigan with 24 percent to Trump’s 22 percent. Bush was third with 8 percent support. (MLive.com, Marketing Resource Group)
- National Review reported on Thursday that Josh Alcorn, an adviser to the Draft Biden super PAC, said, “I am 100 percent Joe is in.” The source, a passenger on Amtrak who overheard the conversation, said Alcorn also discussed converting Clinton supporters with test ads and a plan “to come in second in Iowa, finish respectably in New Hampshire, and then win Nevada and South Carolina.” Brad Bauman, another Draft Biden adviser, denied that Biden was definitely running and claimed there were no ads. (National Review)
- At a town hall event for Donald Trump on Thursday night, an audience member suggested President Obama was both a Muslim and foreigner. At first, Trump said, “We need this question. This is the first question." After the man asked Trump “when” the country could “get rid of” Muslims, Trump responded, “We're going to be looking at a lot of different things. You know, a lot of people are saying that and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening. We're going to be looking at that and many other things." (CNN, TIME)
- Hillary Clinton tweeted about the exchange, writing, “Donald Trump not denouncing false statements about POTUS & hateful rhetoric about Muslims is disturbing, & just plain wrong. Cut it out.” (CNN)
- On Friday, Chris Christie said he would not have “permitted” the audience member’s allegations. “Listen, Donald Trump's got to decide, as we've seen, I've said this all along. He's got to decide how serious a candidate he wants to be and how he handles different problems like this are going to determine that in the eyes of the American people," Christie said. (Politico)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) is set to endorse Hillary Clinton on Friday at the University of New Hampshire. (WMUR Manchester)
- In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday, Clinton described the discourse of Wednesday night’s Republican debate as “the kinds of things you say when you’re on a debate stage and you really don’t have much else to say.” She added she will “show up anywhere” the Democratic National Committee calls for a debate because she wants “to have a good exchange of ideas and to make sure that Democratic voters first, and then general voters to follow, see exactly what we stand for and what our positions are.” (MSNBC)
- Jennifer Palmieri, Clinton’s communications director, highlighted the call to defund Planned Parenthood at the Republican debate as “what is going to matter a year from now.” Palmieri also said of Fiorina’s suggestion that Clinton should watch a video of a viable fetus about to be harvested, “Women who hear this will understand that these candidates probably don’t understand a lot about what their lives are like.” (Politico)
- Clinton released an ad on Thursday called “Republican Candidates: Silent on Issues that Matter” featuring the debate’s lack of discussion of income inequality, college affordability and other family issues. (YouTube)
- Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) will campaign for Clinton this week. MSNBC called the move “a clear message to fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders as he gains on Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination but struggles to win support from Democratic leaders.” (MSNBC)
- It was reported on Thursday that in May 2015, Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy requested Clinton’s team delete a Benghazi-related email. “Once you have made the electronic copy of the documents for the Department, please locate any electronic copies of the above-referenced classified document in your possession. If you locate any electronic copies, please delete them. Additionally, once you have done that, please empty your ‘Deleted Items’ folder,” Kennedy wrote. Clinton’s lawyer declined because of the ongoing congressional investigation into her private email server. (National Review)
Martin O’Malley
- After meeting with marijuana regulators in Colorado on Thursday, Martin O’Malley said he would “watch” and “learn” from what happens in Colorado and Washington before deciding to support the federal legalization of marijuana. (The Denver Post)
Bernie Sanders
- Following an attack campaign helmed by Correct the Record, a super PAC supporting Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders received $1.2 million in donations on Wednesday and Thursday through the website ActBlue. The executive director of ActBlue, Erin Hill, said, “We've never seen an immediate donor response like what the Sanders campaign received on Tuesday. At one point, it drove 180 contributions through our platform per minute. Over its 11-year history ActBlue has sent money to over eleven-thousand campaigns and committees — and the Bernie Sanders campaign holds the record for the two biggest donor days ever for a campaign on our platform." (The Huffington Post)
- Sanders defended his socialist views on Thursday in response to Bobby Jindal’s criticism during the Republican debate. "I know for Governor (Bobby) Jindal, it is easy to try to frighten people, but I think if you look at some of the real success stories, there's in many of these countries, there's a lot that we can learn. … I think, yes, the United States of America is a much larger and much more complicated society, a much more diverse society. But there are things we can learn from other governments which have programs that represent working people,” Sanders said. (CNN)
Republicans
- According to Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Sean Spicer, the RNC was unwilling to commit to another undercard debate. “We’ll have to make a decision based on the number of candidates that are in or out. Before we start deciding what the format is, you have to see how many candidates are going to be there,” said Spicer. (The Atlantic)
- The Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night was CNN’s highest-rated program ever with 22.9 million viewers. The previous record-holder was a 1993 debate between Ross Perot and Al Gore on “Larry King Live” with 16.8 million viewers. (Slate)
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush tweeted on Thursday an image of his brother, former President George W. Bush, standing amidst the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. He captioned it, “When it comes to my brother, there’s one thing I know for sure. He kept us safe.” (The Washington Post)
- Bush said that the question of which woman should appear on U.S. currency was not “the most relevant thing in the world.” He added, “I would give it up to – on the internet and let people decide this. That would generate a lot of interest. It could create all sorts of opportunities for math teachers to teach math, for social studies teachers to do the same. You could have an avalanche of interest in picking the woman that should be on the $10 bill." (NBC News)
- On Thursday, Bush announced more than 200 endorsements from Michigan state leaders and grassroots leaders. (Jeb Bush for President)
- Bush suggested Donald Trump used “dog whistle terms” as he defended his wife in an interview on Fox News on Thursday. “The simple fact is disparaging people’s family isn't going to get him elected President of the United States," Bush said. "I'm proud of my wife, she has been a great First Lady of the State of Florida. She focused on drug prevention, on domestic violence, on arts and education. She's a great American. And to have all these dog whistle terms that make it sound like one group of Americans is different than the other, that's not Reaganesque, that's not America, that's not good." (CNN)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson wrote an op-ed for The Hill on Thursday with his platform to combat the growth of ISIS. He recommended waging “relentless ideological and information warfare...using allies, native-speaking assets and principle networks,” supporting the Kurdish Regional Government with arms, developing foreign policy that addresses the “interwoven” issues of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, using military force under the “Just War Theory” and employ a team with “ruthless and relentless” authority. (The Hill)
Chris Christie
- On Thursday, Chris Christie said his Republican competitors were too focused on themselves during the debate on Wednesday night. He also singled out Carly Fiorina for interrupting him, saying, "She's got one place on the stage, not two or three. I'm happy to sit and listen to her but don't interrupt me and don't interrupt the other candidates." (CNN)
Ted Cruz
- In a letter to Ted Cruz, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) questioned Cruz’s plan to shut down the government over defunding Planned Parenthood. She wrote on Thursday, “Given the challenges and threats we face at home and abroad, I oppose risking a government shutdown, particularly when it appears there is no chance of achieving a successful result. … Since we only received 53 votes on the previous vote to redirect money away from Planned Parenthood, what is your strategy to succeed in actually defunding Planned Parenthood? How do we get 60 votes? … During the last government shutdown, I repeatedly asked you what your strategy for success was when we did not have the votes to achieve the goal of defunding Obamacare, but I did not receive an answer. I am again asking this question and would appreciate you sharing your strategy for success with all of us before any damaging government shutdown becomes imminent. (WMUR)
Carly Fiorina
- According to The Daily Beast, Carly Fiorina’s military program would cost an additional $500 billion over the next 10 years. (The Daily Beast)
Jim Gilmore
- In an interview with The Guardian on Thursday, Jim Gilmore said he would have improved the discussion on foreign policy if he had been invited to the Republican debate. “I thought I could add more depth to and thinking about foreign policy than was displayed [as well as] adding depth as to what tax policies would be needed to grow the economy,” Gilmore said. He added that the candidates on stage show a misinformed “bellicose approach” to Russia. (The Guardian)
Lindsey Graham
- Although Lindsey Graham said he would choose Ben Carson over Donald Trump on Thursday, he committed to supporting the eventual Republican nominee regardless of who it is or what their anti-terror platform entails. "Here's what I would say to my colleagues: Come up with a plan of your own. I've given you very detailed plans. We need a ground component. Part of it has to be an American ground component or we're going to get hit here at home," Graham said. (CNN)
Mike Huckabee
- In an interview on Fox News on Thursday, Mike Huckabee said the Republican presidential debate was “very frustrating” because of the limited questions directed his way. “Instead, it was all if I was willing to take a shot at somebody. If I was willing to trash somebody, I would have gotten a lot of time. I don't think it's my place to try to see if he I can disparage the other Republicans on that same stage,” Huckabee said. (Newsmax)
John Kasich
- Cory Crowley, the former special assistant to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), will lead John Kasich’s campaign in Iowa. (Cleveland.com)
- In an interview following the Republican debate, Kasich said refugees from the Middle East and Africa should not be accepted if there are security concerns. “If our intelligence community tells us it’s not safe, then we shouldn’t do it,” Kasich said. (Breitbart)
- In an effort to suggest Latinos have a strong work ethic, Kasich “appeared to indirectly conflate Latinos and service-industry workers.” He said, “A lot of them do jobs that they’re willing to do and, uh, that’s why in the hotel you leave a little tip.” (KTLA)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul discussed why he was bothered Jeb Bush’s marijuana use at the second Republican presidential debate during a campaign stop in Nevada on Thursday. “He didn't go to jail. Why? Because he was rich, and he was elite, and he was going to a very special school. … What I do have a problem with is he still wants to put kids in jail for marijuana. What I was upset with Jeb Bush was his hypocrisy." (CNN)
- Paul said of Donald Trump’s personal attacks on Thursday, “I think America is tired of it. I think the sophomoric jibes, I mean his insult to Carly Fiorina was just way over the top. No one in America thinks you want a buffoon who insults women and calls them ugly. Nobody wants that. And I think the first time people hear that, some people will laugh at sophomoric jokes and I think they have for a few months now but I think the laughing is over. And now it’s almost become pitiful. And I think it’s at the point people are ready to move on.” (Breitbart)
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio introduced a joint resolution on Thursday disapproving of the Environmental Protection Agency’s expansion of federal authority over American lands and waterways. “Hardworking Americans have had enough of Washington bureaucrats telling them how to use their land. The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are irresponsible to go forward with this job-killing rule despite the serious concerns raised by farmers, ranchers, manufacturers and small business owners across the country,” said Rubio. (U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio)
Rick Santorum
- In an interview on Thursday, Rick Santorum said his fellow Republicans repeatedly violated Reagan’s “11th Commandment” by launching personal attacks, and added, “I feel like anybody that gets in that mud in the long term, all you're doing is helping the opposition." (Newsmax)
Scott Walker
- Several of Scott Walker’s bundlers attended a fundraiser in California on Thursday where they were assured Walker was still “a great product” and the trend of support for outsider candidates would “fade as people recognized they don’t have the credibility to run the government.” (The Hill)
- In an interview with Glenn Beck on Thursday, Walker said the media narrative of the Republican presidential debate was predetermined to positively highlight Carly Fiorina’s performance. “I think going in, we knew the narrative no matter what was gonna happen was they were gonna say that Carly had a big night, no matter what, and obviously, they said that. I think the other impression — the feedback I got from folks, not just in the press but from across the country we talked to was a frustration that there wasn’t more talk,” said Walker. (BuzzFeed)
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
