Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - August 27, 2015
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Thursday's Leading Stories
- According to a Brigham Young University poll released on Wednesday, Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton 54 percent to 46 percent in a general election matchup in Utah. However, 73 percent of Utahns view Donald Trump unfavorably. (The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah Voter Poll)
- A new Quinnipiac University poll found Joe Biden has the highest favorability rating of both Democratic and Republican voters in the presidential field with 48 percent among all registered voters and 83 percent among registered Democrats. (Quinnipiac University)
- Carly Fiorina’s campaign released a statement on Wednesday to protest the criteria set by CNN for its Republican primary debate next month. Although Fiorina’s name recognition and performance in polls since the first Republican debate on August 6, 2015, has significantly increased, CNN is giving stronger consideration to polls going back to July 16, 2015. “The RNC should ask CNN to treat the polling in July the same as the polling that comes after. Because there were nine polls released in the three weeks before the last debate, one would expect 18 polls released in the six weeks between the two debates. If that does not happen, the polling average of those six weeks should be treated as the equivalent of 18 polls. Assuming the numbers remain consistent with current polling, Carly would easily place in the top 10 for the main debate,” Fiorina’s campaign wrote. (Medium, Politico)
- During a conference call on Wednesday with Democratic National Committee members, Joe Biden said he might not have “the emotional fuel” to sustain a presidential run following the death of his son, Beau Biden. “We're dealing at home with ... whether or not there is the emotional fuel at this time to run. If I were to announce to run, I have to be able to commit to all of you that I would be able to give it my whole heart and my whole soul, and right now, both are pretty well banged up,” Biden said. (CBS News)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton said of a potential presidential run by Joe Biden, “Vice President Biden is a friend of mine. He and I were colleagues in the Senate, I worked with him as first lady, I worked with him in President Obama’s first term, and I have a great deal of admiration and respect for him. I think he has to make what is a very difficult decision for himself and his family, and he should have the space and opportunity to decide what he wants to do.” (TIME)
- After two Virginia journalists were murdered on live television on Wednesday, Clinton pledged to address gun violence. "We have got to do something about gun violence in America. I will take it on. There are many people who face it and know it, but then turn away because it’s hard. It’s a very political, difficult issue in America, but I believe we are smart enough, we are compassionate enough, to figure out how to balance the legitimate Second Amendment rights with preventive measures and control measures so that whatever motivated this murderer, who eventually took his own life, we will not see more deaths — needless, senseless deaths,” Clinton said at a campaign stop in Iowa. She added, “I want to reiterate how important it is to not let yet another terrible instance go by without trying to do something more to prevent this incredible killing that is stalking our country.” (Variety, NBC News)
- Clinton introduced her plan to strengthen rural communities on Wednesday. According to The Des Moines Register, her plan includes encouraging investment in rural small businesses through simplified regulations for community banks, improving infrastructure and expanding development tax credits. She also calls for increasing funding for new farmers, promoting clean energy leadership and improving educational opportunities. (The Des Moines Register, TIME)
Bernie Sanders
- Bernie Sanders wrote a letter to Postmaster General Megan Brennan to encourage her to reinstate regional overnight delivery standards. “The serious slowdown in mail service has been felt by communities all across the country, but it has been particularly acute in rural areas. … This delay means that some of the most vulnerable people in this country are going without the medications they need, or they are being forced to travel long distances because they cannot rely on the timely delivery of mail,” Sanders said. (U.S. Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders, The Washington Post)
- An August 26, 2015, Public Policy Polling survey found Sanders leading Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire by 7 points. (Boston Herald, Public Policy Polling)
Republicans
Jeb Bush
- According to The Jewish Press, Jeb Bush is assembling a “National Jewish Leadership Team” for an event in September to support his campaign. Ronnie Krongold, the leader of the Republican Jewish Coalition, will be hosting. (The Jewish Press)
- In a new Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday, Bush fell to a record low this year of 7 percent support. (CNN)
Ben Carson
- In an interview on the “Dave Ramsey Show” on Wednesday, Ben Carson said the Department of Veterans Affairs should be integrated into the Department of Defense. He added, “When a person applies for the military, they should be in a support system immediately from day one. Particularly when they go through combat because that is when all the trauma is occurring. And we should have people in place a year before their time of discharge to be working on their integration back into society. There shouldn’t be a period of unemployment when they come out of the military. And they should have a health savings account which allows them to go to any medical facility in the country and we should be delighted to take care of them. And we should use our VA facilities for specialized care for traumatic brain injury, limb replacements, and research." (Daily Caller)
Chris Christie
- Chris Christie returned to the top ten Republican presidential candidates in a new Quinnipiac University Poll with 4 percent. (NJ.om)
Ted Cruz
- On Wednesday, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly asked Ted Cruz why he would not say if he would deport children born to undocumented immigrants. Cruz responded, “[W]e need to solve the problem. And the way you solve the problem, is you focus where there’s bipartisan agreement first. Once we’ve secured the border, once we’ve actually proven we can do this, once we’ve stopped the Obama administration’s policy of releasing 104,000 violent criminal illegal aliens in one year, once we’ve solved that problem, then we can have a debate, then we can have a conversation.“ (RealClearPolitics)
Carly Fiorina
- Carly Fiorina spoke about CNN debate criteria on Wednesday morning during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” She said, “We don't have national primaries, we have statewide primaries, and there are loads of state polls now. They all say the same thing: I'm in the top five. And so I didn't think the Fox News rules were particularly good using national polls. I don't think the CNN rules are particularly good, especially since they go all the way back to mid-July." (CNN)
Jim Gilmore
- Jim Gilmore wrote an op-ed in the Daily Caller on Wednesday stating his commitment to protecting “the individual right to keep and bear arms by every American who has not forfeited that right by criminal conviction or other action.” He argued that gun violence “perpetrated by the mentally ill and dangerous … isn’t going to be solved by gun control and background checks.” Instead, Gilmore said, the "real" underlying issues need to be addressed, such as "the need for easier involuntary commitment of the dangerous mentally ill, the dangers brought about by Obama’s open borders policy and surer appropriate punishment of criminals.” (Daily Caller)
Lindsey Graham
- According to Politico, South Carolina Republican Party leaders do not believe Lindsey Graham will win the GOP nomination but are waiting to endorse a different candidate out of respect for Graham. “A lot of the folks who are ready to pick a candidate even at this early stage want to honor Lindsey. I think they will be patient — to a point,” said David Beasley, the former governor of South Carolina. (Politico)
Mike Huckabee
- Janet Huckabee, Mike Huckabee’s wife, suggested on Wednesday that affordable housing might be a policy issue she would focus on if she were to become first lady, (The Advertiser)
- Huckabee said of Monday’s steep drop in the stock market, “If there had been government policies that did not favor big business over small business big banks over community banks and favor people on Wall Street versus people on Main Street. It was a disaster and it was a disaster that could have and should have been prevented.” (Radio Iowa)
- At a campaign stop in Iowa on Wednesday, Huckabee compared the acts of the Islamic State to abortion. “Let us not be too smug in this country. Because we have sins to answer for. Since 1973, 60 million unborn children have died in their mother’s womb. If I’m president I will invoke the Fifth and 14th Amendment of the Constitution and protect unborn life,” Huckabee said. (The Des Moines Register)
John Kasich
- An August 26, 2015, Public Policy Polling survey found John Kasich was the only Republican who beat Hillary Clinton in a general election matchup in New Hampshire. Kasich registered 43 points to Clinton’s 41 points. (The Columbus Dispatch)
- Former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato (R-N.Y.) endorsed Kasich on Wednesday. “We Republicans need to capture the White House and in order to do that, we must win Ohio. John Kasich is the only candidate who can assure us of that victory,” D’Amato said in a statement. The endorsement was a surprise to some as D’Amato served during George Pataki’s first term as governor of New York. (The New York Post, Observer)
Bobby Jindal
- Bobby Jindal wrote a letter to President Obama on Wednesday in advance of the president's visit to Louisiana to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. “There is a time and a place for politics, but this is not it. It is therefore with disappointment that I read of the White House’s plans to make this visit part of a tour for your climate change agenda. Although I understand that your emphasis in New Orleans will – rightly – be on economic development, the temptation to stray into climate change politics should be resisted,” Jindal wrote. (WGNO ABC)
Rand Paul
- During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Wednesday, Rand Paul said the Black Lives Matter movement should reconsider its name. “I think they should change their name maybe, if they were ‘All Lives Matter’ or ‘Innocent Lives Matter.’ I am about justice, and frankly I think a lot of poor people in our country, and many African-Americans, are trapped in this war on drugs and I want to change it. But commandeering the microphone and bullying people and pushing people out of the way I think really isn’t a way to get their message across.” (BuzzFeed)
Marco Rubio
- Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Donald Trump would not win the GOP nomination. “Ultimately the Republican Party will reach out to all voters based on who our nominee is. And I don't believe Donald Trump will be our nominee. I think our nominee is going to be someone that embraces the future, that understands the opportunities before us, that's optimistic but realistic about the challenges before us,” Rubio said. (Bloomberg)
- Rubio argued for the elimination of capital gains taxes in an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood. “First of all, capital gains and dividends is investment. My father had a job as a bartender at a hotel. And the reason why he had a job as a bartender is because someone with money invested in that hotel. That’s why he had a salary, and that’s why he had tips. … Anything you tax, you’re gonna get less of. That’s why we tax cigarettes, because we don’t want people to smoke. We want more investment. Why would we tax it?” (CNBC, The Washington Post)
Donald Trump
- According to The New York Times, Donald Trump’s strong performance in polls may be overestimated because irregular voters are disproportionately represented. “The public polls can be misleading if nonvoting adults have substantially different views from primary voters. Usually, the difference isn’t huge. But some analysts have argued that Mr. Trump’s celebrity might give him an unusual advantage among irregular voters, who might not pay much attention to political news,” The New York Times noted. (The New York Times)
- Randy Falco, the CEO of Univision, released a statement on Wednesday addressing Trump’s ejection of Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos from a press conference on Tuesday. Falco said, “The recent treatment that Jorge Ramos received at Mr. Trump’s press conference in Iowa is beneath contempt. As a Presidential candidate, Mr. Trump is going to get tough questions from the press and has to answer them. Jorge Ramos is one of the most professional, dedicated and respected journalists I have seen or worked with in my 40 years in media. He always asks hard questions of candidates and elected officials, regardless of party or issue. Mr. Trump demonstrated complete disregard for him and for the countless Hispanics whom Jorge seeks to represent through press questions that are at the heart of the First Amendment. I remain grateful for the first-rate journalistic work that Jorge and all of his news colleagues at Univision and Fusion do to bring all points of view to the 57 million Hispanics in this country.” (Business Insider)
- According to a Gravis Marketing poll released on Wednesday, Trump leads the Republican field with 40.1 percent support. (Breitbart)
- In an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Trump said he would “simplify” the tax code. “I would take carried interest out, and I would let people making hundreds of millions of dollars-a-year pay some tax, because right now they are paying very little tax and I think it's outrageous. I want to lower taxes for the middle class,” Trump said. (Bloomberg)
- After David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, praised Trump last week, the candidate said, “I don’t need his endorsement; I certainly wouldn’t want his endorsement. I don’t need anyone’s endorsement.” When asked if he would disclaim Duke’s endorsement, Trump said, “Sure, I would if that would make you feel better.” (Politico)
Scott Walker
- Scott Walker called for 12-year term limits for members of Congress and federal judges, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I've self-imposed them myself. I've never been in an elected position more than 10 years," Walker said. (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