Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - August 5, 2016
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Friday's Leading Stories
- Several polls released this week show Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump, sometimes by a double-digit margin, nationally and in several key swing states. While Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri cautioned on Thursday that these polls reflect a convention bounce, which “can shoot you up to an artificial high and then come down to reality,” some Republicans have expressed concern that the numbers could last and lead to the party losing control of the U.S. Senate in November. (CNN, NBC News)
- In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Thursday, Clinton led Trump by nine points, 47 percent to 38 percent. Clinton retained that nine-point margin over Trump in a four-way race with Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. (NBC News)
- Clinton topped Trump by 15 points, 48 percent to 33 percent, in a McClatchy-Marist poll released on Thursday. “The new survey showed Clinton has cut sharply into the Republican nominee’s advantages in every ethnic and racial group. After a bitter battle with rival Bernie Sanders … she has solidified her strength among Democrats, 90 percent of whom now back her, up from 83 percent last month,” McClatchy reported. (McClatchy Washington Bureau)
- Two polls released on Thursday also have Clinton ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania and New Hampshire by 11 points and 17 points, respectively. (RealClearPolitics)
Polls
- A Reuters/Ipsos national poll released on Thursday has Clinton ahead of Trump by a slighter margin of 4 points, 43 percent to 39 percent. (RealClearPolitics)
- Suffolk University found Clinton leading Trump in Florida with 48 percent to Trump’s 42 percent. “In the two-way ballot test, Clinton led by 12 points among women (50 percent to 38 percent) while carrying the south Florida region 57 percent to 33 percent. Trump won among registered Republicans 74 percent to 16 percent but Clinton performed a little better among registered Democrats, besting Trump 81 percent to 13 percent. When Clinton and Trump voters were asked if their vote is for their candidate or against the other, 67 percent of Clinton voters said their vote was for her while 28 percent said it was more of a vote against Trump. Conversely, only 52 percent of Trump voters said their vote was for him, while 39 percent said it was more of a vote against Clinton,” the pollsters found. (Suffolk University)
- According to an AJC poll released on Friday, Clinton tops Trump in Georgia by four points with 44 percent support. “Georgia still isn’t directly in Clinton’s crosshairs, and her campaign has yet to declare Georgia a battleground state. But a common strain from the Democratic and Republican conventions was that Georgia has the chance to turn blue for the first time since Bill Clinton’s 1992 win over President George H.W. Bush,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- American Action Forum, a self-described “center-right policy institute,” released a report on Thursday finding that Hillary Clinton’s policy proposals would lead to a $1.3 trillion increase in taxes and a deficit of $2.2 trillion. (American Action Forum)
- U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said earlier this week that she would support Clinton now that Bernie Sanders is no longer in the race, but expressed concern with Clinton’s Middle East foreign policy. “Moving forward, as a veteran and someone who knows firsthand the cost of war, I am going to continue to push for an end to counterproductive interventionist wars and lead our country toward a path toward peace,” she said. (The Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
- In an interview on Thursday, Tim Kaine briefly discussed Clinton’s private email server use. He said, “Hillary and I have talked about this personally and we sat down within minutes after I was rolled out as her running mate to do a '60 Minutes' interview and she said, 'I made a mistake. I screwed up and I learned something and I'll do it differently.’ That's been the way she's pitched it to me, and I think that's the honest response, and I've heard her say that a number of times." (CBS News)
- Former acting director and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Morell endorsed Clinton in an op-ed in The New York Times on Friday. He wrote, “Two strongly held beliefs have brought me to this decision. First, Mrs. Clinton is highly qualified to be commander in chief. I trust she will deliver on the most important duty of a president — keeping our nation safe. Second, Donald J. Trump is not only unqualified for the job, but he may well pose a threat to our national security.” Morell singled out Trump’s positions on Russia and its annexation of Crimea and called Trump “an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.” (The New York Times)
Republicans
- Although Donald Trump has declined to endorse U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), a spokesman for Mike Pence said on Thursday evening that Pence was endorsing all Republican incumbents in Congress. (ABC News)
Donald Trump
- Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey (R-N.H.) said on Thursday that he would vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump if the race is close in his home state of New Hampshire. "I am ever more confirmed in my belief that Trump is a sociopath, without a conscience or feelings of guilt, shame or remorse. And he is pathologically insecure, recklessly attacking anyone who does not confirm him as the best there is,” Humphrey said. (NBC News)
- In his new ad, “Country First,” U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) says of Trump, “Honestly, I don’t care for him much.” He continues, “I’m a Marine. For me, country comes first. My duty is always to you. So if Donald Trump is president, I’ll stand up to him, plain and simple. And if Hillary wins, I’ll hold her accountable every step of the way.” Coffman is not the first Republican in Congress to negatively reference Trump in an ad; U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) did the same in June. (The Huffington Post)
- Melania Trump responded to criticism on Thursday that her immigration story, particularly whether she worked in 1995 on a short-term visa, was accurate. She said in a statement, “In recent days there has been a lot of inaccurate reporting and misinformation concerning my immigration status back in 1996. Let me set the record straight: I have at all times been in full compliance with the immigration laws of this country. Period. Any allegation to the contrary is simply untrue. In July 2006, I proudly became a U.S. citizen. Over the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to live, work and raise a family in this great nation and I share my husband’s love for our country.” (Politico)
- Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson capitalized on the story, saying in a statement on Thursday, "While Donald Trump is running on a platform to deport 12 million people, apparently including his own wife, Johnson-Weld stands for allowing people in Melania's circumstances to stay and, over time, become citizens if they learn English, pay their back taxes and pay a fine.” (The Washington Examiner)
Third Party Candidates
Jill Stein (Green Party)
- Jill Stein submitted a petition to appear on the Nebraska ballot in November earlier this week. If at least 2,500 of the 7,656 signatures submitted are verified, she will be placed on the ballot. (Omaha.com)
- The Green Party began its national convention on Thursday in Houston. Stein is expected to formally receive her party’s presidential nomination on Saturday. (Green Party)
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