Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - March 2, 2016
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Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential Briefing was sponsored by the Leadership Project for America. | ||||
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Wednesday's Leading Stories
- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were the big winners on Super Tuesday. Clinton won eight states, and Trump won seven. For last night’s full election results, visit Ballotpedia.
- Hillary Clinton won the Democratic contests in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, American Samoa, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
- Bernie Sanders won the Democratic contests in the following states: Colorado, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Vermont.
- Donald Trump won the Republican contests in the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
- Ted Cruz won the Republican contests in the following states: Alaska, Oklahoma and Texas.
- Marco Rubio won the Republican contest in Minnesota.
- According to Ballotpedia senior writer Jim Barnes, “The GOP set records in eight of the nine states that held primaries. In some places, they smashed previous highs, like Arkansas,Texas and Virginia. Only in Vermont did Republicans fall short in setting a record. In 2012, the turnout in these nine primaries tonight was 4,702,524. For 2016, it is likely that Republicans will hit around 8,375,000. Democratic turnout is likely to hit about 5,830,000.” (Ballotpedia)
- On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan discussed the controversy surrounding Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke’s endorsement of Donald Trump. Ryan said, "This is the kind of moment where we should be having a serious debate about the policies needed to restore the American idea. Instead, the conversation over the last few days has been over white supremacy groups. I try to stay out of the ups and downs of the primary, but I've also said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country, I will speak up. If a person wants to be the nominee of the party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. This party does not prey on people's prejudices. We appeal to their highest ideals. This is the party of Lincoln. We believe all people are created equal in the eyes of God and our government. This is fundamental, and if someone wants to be our nominee, they have to understand this. I hope this is the last time I have to speak out on this race.” (The Hill)
- Trump commented on Ryan during a press conference Tuesday night, saying, "I don't know Paul Ryan well, but I hope to get along with him. And if I don’t, he’s going to have to pay a big price.” (Fortune)
- Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.), who is not seeking reelection, joined a growing list of elected officials who have said that they will not vote for Trump if he is the Republican nominee. In a letter, Rigell wrote, “Never before have I grabbed a word like catastrophic to make a political point. It’s like pulling a fire alarm; if you do it, there had better be a fire. There is a fire and it’s raging within our Republican party. I am convinced that if Donald Trump becomes our nominee, the harm done to our party would be nothing short of catastrophic. I reject Trump as our nominee based on his judgement, temperament and character, all of which point to a reckless, embarrassing and ultimately dangerous presidency.” (The Hill, Wavy.com)
- According to the New York Daily News, “a four-judge panel of the state Appellate Division said the [New York] state attorney general’s office is ‘authorized to bring a cause of action for fraud’” against Trump and his now-defunct Trump University. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called the ruling “a clear victory in our effort to hold Donald Trump and Trump University accountable for defrauding thousands of students.” (New York Daily News)
Democrats
Hillary Clinton
- Hillary Clinton addressed supporters on Tuesday night, saying, “What a super Tuesday!” She then mocked Donald Trump and criticized Republicans. She said, "America never stopped being great. We have to make America whole — fill in what’s been hollowed out. The rhetoric we’re hearing on the other side has never been lower. Trying to divide America between us and them is wrong, and we’re not going to let it work. Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together, my friends, and we all have to do our part.” (The New York Times)
- On Tuesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said that the department will not rush the review of Clinton’s emails ordered by Secretary of State John Kerry. According to The Washington Times, almost all of Clinton’s emails have been released, “with more than 2,000 having portions redacted because they contain information now deemed ‘confidential’ or ‘secret.’ Another 22 messages deemed ‘top secret’ have been withheld entirely.” Kirby said, “I’m not going to commit to a specific timeline. The secretary wants this review done thoroughly and accurately and efficiently, and he’s not going to allow himself or the process or the department to be driven by the political calendar on this.” (The Washington Times)
Bernie Sanders
- On Tuesday night, Bernie Sanders addressed his supporters in Vermont after he won his home state’s primary. He said, "It's good to be home. … Our message is resonating and the people, when we stand together, will be victorious. … More people in jail than any other country on Earth. That's wrong. So we are going to invest for our young people in education, in jobs, not jails or incarceration. And I know many of my Republican colleagues think that climate change is a hoax. Well, I believe that you don't develop real public policy unless you listen to the science, and the science is clear. Together, we are going to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Now I know that Secretary Clinton and many of the establishment people think that I am looking and thinking too big. I don't think so. So let me go on the record and say as you have heard me say for years, health care is a right for all people. And let me also say that in the United States of America, when we talk about public education, it's not just first grade through 12th. That has got to be expanded to make public colleges and universities tuition-free.” (The USA Today, NPR)
Republicans
Ben Carson
- On Tuesday night, Ben Carson said he will continue in the race despite not winning any states. In a statement, Carson said, "Millions of Americans plead with me to continue. They want to have a choice and a representative voice to ensure people of faith are not marginalized and that integrity is restored to leadership, with a focus on common sense solutions to the myriad problems we face as a nation. They know I am a citizen candidate, not a politician, who won't do what is expedient, but what is right. As long we continue to receive their support, and the Lord keeps opening doors, I will remain in this presidential race.” According to CNN, Carson’s “top aides, including Armstrong Williams and Bob Dees, say he has no path to the nomination.” (CNN)
- According to CNN, GOP operatives said “that they'll push Ben Carson to drop out of the Republican presidential race, and instead run for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida.” (CNN)
- Carson “is calling for a meeting of the five remaining Republican presidential candidates in hopes of restoring some civility to the race” before Thursday’s GOP debate, according to The New York Times. Carson said in a statement, “The American people deserve so much more from the candidates who are seeking the most powerful position in the free world and I share their concern that this race has taken a turn for the worse, to the point of embarrassment on the world stage.” (The New York Times)
Ted Cruz
- On Tuesday night, Ted Cruz addressed his supporters in Stafford, Texas, saying, “So long as the field remains divided, Donald Trump’s path to the nomination remains more likely, and that would be a disaster for Republicans, for conservatives and for the nation.’ (The New York Times)
- On Tuesday, Judge Maureen Ward Kirby of the Cook County Circuit Court threw out a “lawsuit challenging U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's eligibility to run for president,” according to The Texas Tribune. The lawsuit filed by an Illinois voter challenged Cruz’s eligibility to run for president because Cruz was born in Canada. (The Texas Tribune)
- On Tuesday, Cruz said, “Marco Rubio and Ben Carson should drop out of the presidential race if they don’t win a state on Super Tuesday,” according to The Hill. Cruz said, “If tomorrow morning, a candidate is sitting there and he’s won zero states and doesn’t have a credible shot at getting the delegates, then I do think it’s worth a candidate thinking about coming together and uniting behind. I do think what today will do is help narrow the field. We need to get to a one-on-one battle with Donald Trump. … There is no doubt, if you can’t win your home state, it is a big, big, big problem. The polling shows Marco losing his home state of Florida by 20 points; he’s getting clobbered at home. He is a very talented individual, but Marco doesn’t have any viable path to beat Donald Trump. In the first four states, he’s gone 0 for 4. In all likelihood, he will lose every single Super Tuesday state." (The Hill)
John Kasich
- After a campaign event in Arlington, Virginia, on Tuesday, John Kasich said that "Super Tuesday was never anything critical in our game plan." His focus is on Ohio and Michigan. During an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, he made similar comments, saying that Super Tuesday was "never anything that we ever thought was going to be some great thing for us. ...These are things we have been planning for a long time. You know, you plan your campaign and then you carry out your plan. And that's exactly what we're doing. … Look, I am going to win Ohio. And then as soon as I win Ohio, everybody of course in this 24/7 news cycle will turn around and say, 'Oh, let's talk about John Kasich.’ You know, so, we have a campaign plan and we are--we are carrying out that campaign plan." (CBS News)
- John Weaver, chief strategist for Kasich, sent out a memo on Tuesday night criticizing Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. Weaver wrote, "Sen. Rubio has been more hyped than Crystal Pepsi, but he has flopped even worse. Even a well-conceived, high-financed marketing campaign won’t work if people don’t want to buy the product. That’s the Rubio campaign’s problem. ... Behind the nice packaging, voters are discovering there is little substance. Ted Cruz bet it all on today, spending more than any other candidate. He needed an overwhelming delegate lead to have a shot at winning the nomination, and he fell short. The end of the road is nearing for him. With the race beginning to move north, he has no ability to grow beyond his current level of support. … We are executing our campaign plan and John Kasich is the best choice moving forward for Republicans who want to stop Donald Trump and win the White House.” (Politico)
Marco Rubio
- During a speech after most of the polls closed last night, Marco Rubio told his supporters, “Do not give in to the fear, do not give in to anger, do not give in to sham artists and con artists who try to take advantage of your suffering. I will campaign as long as it takes and wherever it takes to ensure that I am the next president of the United States.” (The New York Times)
- During an interview with Jake Tapper on Tuesday night, Rubio claimed that his recent attacks on Donald Trump are hurting Trump’s campaign. Tapper then said to Rubio, "Senator, you keep saying that, and he keeps winning states. You're talking about Virginia, and that's another state Donald Trump won. And I'm just wondering if there's a certain amount of denial that you're in this race." Rubio replied, "Usually at this point in the race, you'd have a frontrunner, and other people would be saying, 'You need to drop out and rally around the frontrunner for the sake of the party.’ They're saying the opposite now. There will never come a time in this race where our supporters are asking us to get out and rally around Donald Trump." He added that if Trump is the Republican nominee, “it would be the ‘end of the modern Republican Party.’” (Business Insider)
Donald Trump
- On Tuesday night, Donald Trump held a press conference at his Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. He said, "I am a unifier. I would love to see the Republican party and everybody get together and unify. And there is no one who is going to beat us. … think we're going to be more inclusive...more unified, and I think we're going to be a much bigger party. [The GOP] has become more dynamic. It's become more diverse. We're taking from the Democrats. I mean, look at South Carolina. … This is has [sic] been amazing evening...I want to congratulate [Cruz] on winning Texas, that was an excellent win. We are going to make America great again, folks. We have to rebuild our country. Our country is going to hell...and Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a clue. … I don't know if she'll be allowed to run. What she did was criminal. If she is allowed to run it will be a sad day for this country because what she did is wrong. And other people have done far less than her and they paid a very, very high price." (ABC News)
- Trump also commented on Marco Rubio, saying, "I know it was a tough night for Marco Rubio. I know he's a lightweight. Marco Rubio was the big loser of the night...And he was very, very nasty...He decided to go Don Rickles, but Don Rickles has a lot more talent. He got very hostile. He didn't win anything. You got to be able to win something."
- On Saturday, Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, praised Donald Trump “for not accepting money from the Jewish community,” according to The Washington Post. Farrakhan said, "Not that I'm for Mr. Trump, but I like what I'm looking at.” He also offered an explanation for why some Republicans are supporting Trump. He said, “Well, one of the things that he's done: he's told them 'I'm a billionaire.' And he's the only man, probably in the last 100 years, that stood in front of some of the members of the Jewish community and told them to their face 'I don't want your money.' Now, wait a minute. No, no, I want you to think. Because any time a man can say to those who control the politics of America 'I don't want your money,' that means if I don't take your money you can't control me. And they cannot afford to give up control of the presidents of the United States.” (The Washington Post)
- Chris Christie introduced Trump at a press conference after the polls closed last night and quickly outshined Trump on Twitter. According to The USA Today, “As Trump spoke, Christie stood behind him, staring blankly into the distance.” Congressman Justin Amash tweeted: "Chris Christie just gave what looked like a coerced confession." In a second tweet, he wrote that the event was "staged to look like a hostage situation." Others picked up on Christie’s expression and body language, and the #FreeChrisChristie hashtag began trending on Twitter. (The USA Today)
Third Party Candidates
- The second half of Saturday night’s Libertarian debate in Biloxi, Mississippi, can be seen here. (NM Political Report)
Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party)
- During the second part of the Libertarian Party presidential debate in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Saturday, Gary Johnson insulted Donald Trump using a word that Trump used a few weeks ago to describe Ted Cruz. He said, “If Donald Trump’s the nominee and Hillary’s the nominee, if that isn’t an opportunity for the Libertarian Party, I don’t know what is. And Donald? I’ve climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountain on each continent—Donald Trump’s a p***y.” John McAfee, who is also running for president as a Libertarian said, “Hear, hear!” When asked to comment on the vulgar slur, a spokesman for Johnson said, “He pretty much covered it, I believe.” (NM Political Report)
- During the debate, Johnson also discussed his views on Islam and Sharia law. He said, “We are all in favor of freedom of religion. No ifs, ands or buts. We are all for Islam, alright? Freedom of religion. But we need to distinguish between freedom of religion, which is Islam, and the politics of Sharia. Sharia is a political system that allows people, starting with women’s right to be beaten. Allows for gays to be hung. Allows for people to be put to death. It allows women to be put to death with honor killings.” (NM Political Report)
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