Archives for 2019

Joe Biden told voters in New Hampshire that he would consider choosing a Republican as a running mate, but added, “I can’t think of one right now,” CNN reports.

He added: “Let me explain that. You know there’s some really decent Republicans that are out there still, but here’s the problem right now … they’ve got to step up.”

New York Times: “Mr. Biden has emphasized the need for a future Democratic president to work with Republicans, stressing the importance of consensus in order to get things done. That viewpoint has been criticized by some liberals who see it as an unacceptable embrace of the status quo and think Mr. Biden is naïve about trying to work with Republicans. But choosing a Republican to be his running mate would be a far more grievous act in the eyes of many Democrats, something many party officials and both liberal and moderate activists would oppose.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who suffered a heart attack in October, released information from three of his doctors saying that he sustained “modest heart muscle damage” but is in good health and capable of doing the job of president, the Washington Post reports.

“Rep. Mark Meadows’ shock retirement — revealed just 30 hours before the filing deadline in North Carolina — has roiled some Republicans in the state who suspect he timed his announcement to benefit a friend of his wife,” Politico reports.

“Andrew Yang is urging the Democratic National Committee to take an unorthodox step in its debate oversight process: commission more polling over the next several days,” the Daily Beast reports.

“In a letter sent to DNC Chairman Tom Perez on Dec. 21, the Democratic contender calls for the DNC to commission four early-state polls before Jan. 10 as part of an effort to encourage more diversity on the debate stage in Iowa.”

“Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign says it expects to raise more than $12.5 million in the fourth quarter, a sum that would help the entrepreneur remain competitive with the frontrunners in the Democratic primary,” CNBC reports.

“That haul would show a 25% bump from the $10 million his campaign raised previous quarter.”

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s slip in the 2020 primary polls has been accompanied by a dip in donations, with her campaign setting a rare public goal: aiming to raise $20 million for the fourth quarter of 2019 ending Tuesday, or about 20 percent less than what she raised in the previous three-month period,” the New York Times reports.

“Joe Biden, meanwhile, has rebounded from a weak third quarter, in which he raised only $15.7 million and spent $2 million more than he took in. Now his campaign is trying to assert his front-runner status in the Democratic primary, pushing in the final 48 hours of the year to post ‘our biggest fund-raising quarter yet,’ as Mr. Biden wrote in an email on Sunday, by topping the $21.5 million he raised last spring.”

“Hillary Clinton tried. So did 16 rival Republicans. And after hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on ads attacking Donald Trump in 2016, the results were the same: They never did much damage,” the New York Times reports.

“Now Michael Bloomberg is trying — his way — spending millions each week in an online advertising onslaught that is guided by polling and data that he and his advisers believe provide unique insight into the president’s vulnerabilities.”

“The effort, which is targeting seven battleground states where polls show Mr. Trump is likely to be competitive in November, is just one piece of an advertising campaign that is unrivaled in scope and scale. On Facebook and Google alone, where Mr. Bloomberg is most focused on attacking the president, he has spent $18 million on ads over the last month, according to Acronym, a digital messaging firm that works with Democrats.”

Joe Biden said he would be open to the idea of nominating former President Barack Obama for the Supreme Court, Fox News reports.

Said Biden: “If he’d take it, yes.”

Michael Bloomberg is ramping up his efforts in Texas, with plans to build a state operation that his campaign says will be unrivaled by anyone else in the primary field, the Texas Tribune reports.

Bloomberg’s campaign said it will open a Texas headquarters in Houston and 16 field offices throughout the rest of the state between now and the March 3 primary.