Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - September 29, 2015
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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
- CNN finalized its debate criteria on Monday. Any Democratic presidential candidate who achieves an average of at least 1 percent in three national polls from a select set of polling sources between August 1, 2015, and October 10, 2015, will be invited to participate. Joe Biden would be eligible to participate even if he were to declare his candidacy on the day of the debate. CNN also announced that Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez would join Anderson Cooper to moderate the debate. (CNN)
- Austin Barbour, who previously ran the super PAC backing Rick Perry, joined Jeb Bush’s campaign as a senior adviser on finance and politics. "I want to help them reach out to conservatives, strengthen their base with conservatives and strengthen their statewide relationships in a number of these southern states. They've got a great team and great organization already built,” Barbour said of his new role on Monday. (Politico)
- Poll: According to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump in the general election by 10 points. When faced with Jeb Bush, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina, Clinton “statistically tied” her Republican competitors. In the same matchups, Joe Biden would defeat Bush by 8 points, Carson by 8 points, Fiorina by 6 points and Trump by 19 points. (NBC News)
Democrats
Lincoln Chafee
- A spokeswoman for Lincoln Chafee confirmed he will participate in the first Democratic presidential primary debate on October 13, 2015. (ABC 6 News)
Hillary Clinton
- In response to Jeb Bush’s statement last week that Democrats offer “free stuff” to black voters in exchange for their support, Hillary Clinton said on Monday, “I think people are seeing this for what it is: Republicans lecturing people of color instead of offering real solutions to help people get ahead, including facing up to hard truths about race and justice in America.” She added that Republicans “have no problem promising tax breaks and sweetheart deals to their corporate friends.” (CNN)
- In a Facebook question-and-answer session on Monday, Clinton said she supported requiring pharmaceutical companies to invest in the research and development of generic drugs. (TIME)
- In a fundraising email on Monday, Clinton encouraged her supporters to donate money before the end of the quarter on Wednesday by referencing two Republican rivals. She wrote, “Jeb Bush’s team is made of millionaires and billionaires, and he wants to give them big tax cuts just like his brother did. Donald Trump is the only person on his team, and, well, let’s just say it’s not hard to figure out who he cares about most.” (Daily Caller)
- Clinton highlighted her many endorsements in Congress as one factor differentiating her from Bernie Sanders. “But the fact now that I have so many of my Democratic colleagues, present and former, in the House and the Senate, out in state Houses who are lined up to say, you know, 'This is the person we want to see as president,' is very gratifying. Because they look at what they think I can do for them,” Clinton said, obliquely referencing the fact Sanders has received no endorsement from a Democratic member of Congress. (NBC News)
- Politico reported on Tuesday that the country’s largest union, the National Education Association, is nearing an endorsement of Clinton. A vote is expected later this week. (Politico)
Bernie Sanders
- On Monday, Bernie Sanders said his litmus test for a Supreme Court nominee would be whether he or she would prioritize overturning Citizens United. "I do not exaggerate when I tell you that the foundations of American democracy are being undermined," Sanders said. "American democracy is not supposed to be about billionaires buying elections." (CNN)
Jim Webb
- In an interview on Monday, Jim Webb said other Middle Eastern countries should play a more active role in providing assistance to Syrian refugees. Webb said, “I think the Saudis should take more. I think people in the region should step up to try to stabilize Syria. And we should be very careful about bringing a large number of refugees here.” (Fox News Radio)
Republicans
- Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas will hold a presidential forum on October 18, 2015. Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum have confirmed they will attend. “This is breaking new ground. If they can pull this off, this changes the face of how we do presidential politics,” said a media consultant on the forum being hosted by a church rather than a news agency or university. (The Dallas Morning News, WFAA)
Jeb Bush
- Jeb Bush wrote an op-ed in USA Today explaining his tax platform and plan to reduce the number of income tax brackets to just three: 28 percent, 25 percent and 10 percent. He would also cap the top corporate tax rate at 20 percent. According to Bush, his approach would result in a nearly $2,000 benefit to the average middle-class American family. (USA Today)
- According to the Washington Post on Sunday, top donors have told Jeb Bush that he “needs to demonstrate growth in the polls over the next month or face serious defections among supporters.” Bush supporters have named Marco Rubio as a primary concern in the months ahead. One party insider told the Post, ““People are looking at the stage and saying: ‘Jeb and Marco? I’m going with the new.’ You’re seeing people really gravitate to [Rubio] and saying, ‘Okay, we’ll buck the Bush machine.’” (Washington Post)
- Bush’s campaign has reserved $7.8 million worth of TV spots in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in January and February of next year. The campaign described the media buy as a “first pass for [its] long-term approach.” (CNN)
Ben Carson
- Ben Carson said on Monday that NASCAR fans, who frequently fly the Confederate flag, should be allowed to do so “if it’s private property and that’s what they want to do.” He compared the Confederate flag to swastikas, describing them as a “symbol of hate for some people, too,” but noting “they still exist in museums and places like that.” (Huffington Post)
- Carson said he would consider running outside of the Republican Party on Monday, but added, “I don’t think it’s necessary.” (BuzzFeed)
Chris Christie
- On Monday, Chris Christie said he would not support an increase in New Jersey’s gas tax if it was not accompanied by other tax cuts. Christie said Republican state legislators should be focused on negotiating around inheritance and sales taxes. (NJ.com)
Ted Cruz
- U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) endorsed Ted Cruz on Monday. “We have an impressive field for the 2016 elections, but we need a president who will march into the White House on day one with their conservative values in one hand and the Constitution in the other. I believe Ted Cruz is the candidate who will do just that,” Weber said in a press release. (The Texas Tribune)
- Cruz has successfully courted several libertarian-leaning Republicans who once supported Ron Paul. Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) will lead this coalition called “Liberty Leaders for Cruz.” (Washington Post)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina once again promoted her plan to more directly engage with citizens through texting on Monday. “I will go into the Oval Office on a regular basis, I will ask you to take out your smartphones, and I will engage in a conversation with the citizens of this nation. … I will ask you, in the weekly radio address for example, do you think you should know where your money is being spent and go to zero based budgeting? Press 1 for yes, press 2 for no,” Fiorina explained. (ABC News)
- Fiorina defended herself against accusations she had fabricated a description of a video targeting Planned Parenthood that shows a fetus being kept alive to harvest its brains. “That scene absolutely does exist. And that voice saying what I said they were saying, 'We're going to keep it alive to harvest its brain' exists as well,” she said on Sunday. (Los Angeles Times)
Jim Gilmore
- On Tuesday, Jim Gilmore will file papers to appear on South Carolina’s Republican primary ballot. (WIS)
Lindsey Graham
- On Monday, Christian Ferry, Lindsey Graham’s campaign manager, wrote a letter to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to encourage him to not prematurely shrink the Republican presidential field. Ferry wrote, “The RNC should not be in the business of winnowing down primary fields; in fact, the rules specifically forbid it without a vote of the committee. No such vote has taken place. This race is far from over and far from narrowing down. Let’s give voters the full picture and view of our party, not limit participation.” (Politico)
- During a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Graham said the Republican Party needs to focus on ways to support minorities and the middle class. “The Hispanic vote [for Republicans] has dropped from 44 to 27 percent in the last eight years. Look at Tim Scott. Look at [Gov.] Nikki Haley. The party is full of young, bright, energetic people who are dying to do good,” said Graham. (The Herald)
- At Sen. Scott’s town hall, Graham also said seniors in his income bracket should pay actual medical premiums instead of having them subsidized to 40 percent of the cost under Medicare. (The Herald)
Mike Huckabee
- Mike Huckabee announced major endorsements across four southern states on Monday. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (R), Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R), former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor (R-N.C.) and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) are among those supporting Huckabee. (Washington Post)
John Kasich
- Although John Kasich opposes federal funding for Planned Parenthood, he said in an interview on Monday that he did not support shutting down the government in an attempt to achieve that end. "I'm for getting rid of all this Planned Parenthood funding and to be able to shift it to another kind of family planning institutions. But if you shut the government down, the president is not going to give on this. There may be some people that think that's great. I do not and either do the vast majority I believe of American voters and Americans themselves,” said Kasich. (Newsmax)
- According to The Hill, Kasich has received extensive coverage in Spanish-language media for his comments stereotyping Latinos as working in domestic service. Kasich attempted to clarify his statement on Sunday, saying, “I've always said that Hispanics are such a critical part of the fabric of the United States. They occupy jobs from top to bottom. They're so critical to our country. They're God fearing and they're hard working. And that means that they hold very important positions. I've got a friend right now who's a doctor. He's a doctor in oncology, you know. I mean, that shows you how crazy it can get in this business." (The Hill, Politico)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal’s campaign released a video on Monday likening Donald Trump to the title character from the movie Zoolander. The ad ends with the words, “It’s time to get serious.” (Daily Caller)
- On Monday, Jindal posted a statement on his campaign website regarding Trump’s healthcare policy. Jindal said, “Trump has of course endorsed socialized medicine in the past, but in the past he has also endorsed abortion, Hillary Clinton, the Democrat Party, and every other liberal thing you can think of. It was good of Trump to reaffirm his support for the government takeover of health care for Republican primary voters. This will likely accelerate Trump’s downward slide in the polls.” (Bobby Jindal for President)
Rand Paul
- Rand Paul compared his tax plan to Donald Trump’s in an interview on CNN on Monday. “My tax plan gets rid of the entire code. We have 14.5 percent for everybody. My tax plan would cut taxes. His, I think, is going to keep taxes level,” said Paul. (Newsmax)
- When asked if he supported U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Paul demurred. He said, instead, “What I would say is we would have to support the use of the power of the purse. I want to use every bit of my arguing power to say lets put forward all 12 appropriations bills – one at a time – and make the Democrats filibuster it. If they are willing to filibuster and government shut down, we should say it is Democrats who shut down the government.” (RealClearPolitics)
Marco Rubio
- Arizona State Attorney General Mark Brnovich endorsed Marco Rubio. He will serve as Rubio’s campaign chairman in Arizona. (Arizona Republic)
- In an open letter to President Obama on Tuesday, Rubio encouraged the president to vote against an anti-embargo resolution at the U.N. General Assembly. Rubio wrote, “Regardless of your beliefs, the U.S. embargo toward Cuba is codified in U.S. law and the reasons that it was imposed, including the Cuban government’s theft of billions of dollars of private property, remain unaddressed by Havana. Any disagreements over this law, which only regulates transactions by U.S. persons, should be debated in the United States Congress – not at the United Nations General Assembly.” (U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio)
Donald Trump
- Billionaire Carl Icahn endorsed Donald Trump on Monday. “I’m behind Trump. I disagree on certain points I don’t want to get into, I’m sure those can be worked out, but the basic thing is, you need somebody that can get things going in Congress, and I think he can do it. You need somebody that understands business, and I think he understands it,” Icahn said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg. Earlier this summer, Trump said he would choose Icahn to be his secretary of the treasury. (Vanity Fair, Bloomberg)
- On Monday, Trump again called Rubio a “lightweight” and said “he desperately needs money.” He added Rubio and other candidates were “largely controlled by their donors, the special interests and, frankly, more than anybody else, the lobbyists.” (The Washington Times)
- Trump met with evangelical Christian and Jewish leaders in Trump Tower on Monday.”He talked a lot about his faith. He says it's not something he wears on his sleeve, but it was very obvious he was a man of faith. He is a much kinder man than he appears,” said a Christian book publisher. (CNN)
- In a press conference to announce his tax policy on Monday, Trump said he was “not a populist.” He explained, “I would say I’m a man of common sense. I’m cutting taxes. I’m going to create a lot of jobs. I’m going to get rid of a tremendous amount of waste, and I’ll tell you what, the waste that I get rid of…is going to have a huge impact and I’m not even putting that in my numbers, so I think it’s going to be terrific.” (The Washington Times)
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