Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - April 15, 2019

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April 15, 2019

Fourteen Democrats have qualified for debate stage so far   April 15, 2019: Donald Trump raised $30 million in the first quarter of 2019. Fourteen Democratic candidates have qualified for the first debate so far. Share the latest from the campaign trail.           There are 13 new candidates running since last week, including three Democrats. Twelve candidates are no longer running. In total, 671 individuals are currently filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president. Notable Quote of the Day “America’s history as a lesson in hope, cable news politics as a threat to the country, an alienated kid with a funny name whose unlikely rise proves change is possible. Pete Buttigieg’s announcement speech sounded familiar, if only I could place it…  The fighter lane in the Democratic primary is crowded. The hope and change lane isn’t.” – Ezra Klein, Vox editor-at-large  Democrats Fourteen Democratic candidates have qualified for the first debate via fundraising and polling. The five candidates who have not yet qualified are Mike Gravel, Wayne Messam, Tim Ryan, Eric Swalwell, and Marianne Williamson. A maximum of 20 candidates may participate in the first debate. A Democratic National Committee official said of potential tiebreaker rules that “we will be communicating about the specifics to the campaigns and not commenting until after we do that." With the three largest caucus states—Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado—switching to primaries, along with several other states, less than 5 percent of pledged delegates will be allocated from caucuses. This is down from 14 percent in 2016. Cory Booker formally kicked off his campaign in Newark, New Jersey, Saturday. The next stops on his national tour are Iowa, Georgia, and Nevada. Pete Buttigieg formally launched his presidential campaign in South Bend, Indiana, Sunday. If elected, Buttigieg—who is 37 years old now—would be the youngest president ever to take office. The current record-holder is Teddy Roosevelt, who was 42 years old when he first took office. Julián Castro raised $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2019. His campaign reported that he had raised another $550,000 in the first two weeks of April following increased digital fundraising efforts. Julia Ager, the former chief digital officer at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, joined his campaign in mid-March. John Delaney announced a new national service program for young Americans with four paths: military service, community service, infrastructure apprenticeships, or a new Climate Corps. Tulsi Gabbard appeared at a community center in Los Angeles with County Supervisor Janice Hahn to oppose renaming the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to include the name of a corporate sponsor. The Kirsten Gillibrand campaign announced Gillibrand raised $3 million in the first quarter of 2019. Two-thirds of the donations came from women and 92 percent were under $200. The campaign partially attributed the modest fundraising total to backlash among donors against Gillibrand for calling on former Sen. Al Franken to resign. Reuters reported that Kamala Harris was focusing on California and the South rather than the traditional early states like Iowa. Former South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers endorsed Harris Monday. Harris released 15 years of tax returns on Sunday, showing she and her husband paid $700,000 in taxes on an adjusted gross joint income of roughly $1.9 million last year. John Hickenlooper campaigned across Iowa over the weekend. In response to Trump’s suggested plan to transfer detained immigrants to sanctuary jurisdictions, Jay Inslee said that he would welcome it: “Number one, look, you can't threaten somebody with something they're not afraid of. And we are not afraid of diversity in the state of Washington.” He also said many of the migrants were climate refugees. Amy Klobuchar campaigned in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ahead of Trump’s visit to the state. She promoted her $1 billion infrastructure plan and criticized Trump’s tax policy. The Sun Sentinel reported that Messam’s campaign had about 20 staffers, including Philip Thomson as chief strategist, Brice Barnes as senior finance adviser, and Charly Norton as senior communications adviser. Ryan discussed the economy and healthcare on “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. He said he supported Medicare for All but would not completely eliminate private health insurance. Beto O'Rourke received his first South Carolina endorsement from state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis Saturday. The Nation interviewed O’Rourke about war, alternatives to military action, and the constitutional process to declare and end wars. In a letter to the Center for American Progress, Bernie Sanders said the group was undermining Democratic efforts to win the 2020 presidential election. “The letter airs criticisms shared among his supporters: That the think tank, which has close ties to Mrs. Clinton and the Democratic Party establishment, is beholden to corporate donors and has worked to quash a leftward shift in the party led partly by Mr. Sanders,” The New York Times reported. Swalwell said that he would decide whether to run for the U.S. House or the presidency by the filing deadline on December 6. “What I have said—and maybe this is where the confusion is— that if I’m still a viable presidential candidate when that day comes, I’m staying in the presidential lane,” Swalwell said. “If I’m viable, I’m not running for both.” Elizabeth Warren campaigned in New Hampshire over the weekend. In her CNN town hall Sunday, Williamson discussed terrorism, U.S.-Israeli policy, and reparations. Andrew Yang also participated in a CNN town hall Sunday, where he discussed universal basic income, doctored information online, and decriminalizing heroin. He also responded to questions about white nationalist support for his campaign. Republicans Donald Trump is targeting states that he lost by 100,000 votes or less in 2016: Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, and New Hampshire. He will visit Minnesota for the third time since taking office Monday, where he plans to highlight the 2017 tax overhaul bill. The Trump campaign announced that he had raised $30 million in the first quarter of 2019. The Republican National Committee also raised $46 million, setting a record for its best non-election year total. Free Webinar Today! Join us this afternoon as we speak with Jeff Roe and Jeff Hewitt on the unique challenges of campaigning today. Jeff Roe is the founder of Axiom Strategies, a campaign strategy firm; Roe is best known for his role as campaign manager for Ted Cruz’s 2016 run for president and playing a key role in Cruz’s 2016 win in the Iowa caucuses. Jeff Hewitt's campaign firm, Hewitt Campaigns, has worked on campaigns for John Sharp for Texas Lt. Governor, Mayor Miguel Pulido in Santa Ana, California, and Judge Tim Black for Ohio Supreme Court. Find out what it takes to run a campaign in today's climate. On the Cusp: Tracking Potential Candidates Howard Schultz discussed what campaign planning he had completed in an interview on CNN. He said, “We have not started doing the work on signatures. But we've done all of the advanced work to ensure the fact that we will be on the ballot of every state, despite the impediments that the DNC and the RNC set up to prevent anyone who runs as an independent, but we have done that work. But what I was saying is so vitally important, it won't be eight to ten battleground states, it will be more than 40 states that will really matter and I'll only need 15% to get on the debate stage and it is a three-person race if I decide to run for president.” What We’re Reading Inside Hook: Game of Thrones: The Last Bipartisan Television Show Medium: Ivy League Democrats and State School Republicans Politico: Biden's bulldogs give him an edge in 2020 Flashback: April 15, 2015 TIME reported on the reaction to Marco Rubio entering the presidential race two days earlier: “[S]ome Republicans quietly sought to persuade Rubio to stay in the Senate, arguing he faced an uphill contest against former Gov. Jeb Bush, a fellow Floridian who has been soaking up the support and largesse of the party’s most powerful donors.”