A new CNN poll in Texas finds Joe Biden holds a large lead in the Democratic presidential race with 35%. followed by Bernie Sanders at 15%, Elizabeth Warren at 13%, Pete Buttigieg at 9% and Michael Bloomberg at 5%.

Key takeaway: “But perhaps the biggest story from our poll is that the formerly deep red state of Texas looks competitive in the general election if the Democrats nominate Biden. President Trump stands at 48% to Biden 47% among all registered voters.”

A new CNN poll in California finds Joe Biden leading the Democratic field with 21%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 20%, Elizabeth Warren at 17%, Pete Buttigieg at 9%, Andrew Yang at 6% and Michael Bloomberg at 5%.

Vox: “Over the course of a more than 90-minute delivery, Trump pushed conspiracy theories and blatant lies, trashed law enforcement officials that aren’t blindly loyal to him, exhibited thuggish tendencies toward protesters, made misogynistic remarks, and demonstrated that he fundamentally misunderstands the Constitution.”

“It was one of his most troubling performances in recent memory and served as a stark illustration of just how ugly Trump’s reelection campaign will be.”

Joe Biden’s campaign denied a report on Wednesday indicating that Biden signaled he would only serve one term in the White House if elected in 2020, The Hill reports.

Tweet from the campaign: “Lots of chatter out there on this so just want to be crystal clear: this is not a conversation our campaign is having and not something VP Biden is thinking about.”

Walter Shaub, the former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, called Attorney General William Barr a “threat to democracy” and warned he may try to interfere in the 2020 presidential election to benefit President Trump, the HuffPost reports.

Said Shaub: “It’s important not to make the same mistake twice. Some people underestimated Barr’s ruthless partisanship before. No one should do that again. Like Trump, Barr is capable of doing anything he can get away with— and that includes interfering in the 2020 election, if we let him.”

Ryan Lizza: “Former Vice President Joe Biden’s top advisers and prominent Democrats outside the Biden campaign have recently revived a long-running debate whether Biden should publicly pledge to serve only one term, with Biden himself signaling to aides that he will serve only a single term.”

“While the option of making a public pledge remains available, Biden has for now settled on an alternative strategy: quietly indicate that he will almost certainly not run for a second term while declining to make a promise that he and his advisers fear could turn him into a lame duck and sap him of his political capital.”

“Mike Bloomberg will donate $10 million Thursday to defend vulnerable Democratic House members against paid Republican attacks on their support for impeachment proceedings against President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.

“The money, which is meant to even an arms race on the 2020 congressional battlefield, was cheered by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has been fielding concerns from some of her members over a costly Republican advertising offensive as the House moves toward an impeachment vote next week.”

A new WBUR poll in New Hampshire finds Pete Buttegieg leading the Democratic field with 18%, followed by Joe Biden at 17%, Bernie Sanders at 15%, Elizabeth Warren at 12%, Tulsi Gabbard at 5% and Andrew Yang at 5%.