A new Public Policy Polling survey in North Carolina finds Cal Cunningham (D) edging Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) in a closely watched Senate race, 45% to 43%, with 12% still unsure.
Trump Expected to Help Sean Spicer Stay on Show
Sean Spicer is “counting on the president’s support to continue appearing” on Dancing with the Stars, the New York Times reports.
“Trump, according to someone familiar with the plans, is expected to weigh in on Twitter again with his support ahead of ABC’s vote next week….Spicer’s pay, reportedly $125,000, increases each week he is able to hang on.”
Quote of the Day
“I practiced at home yesterday with my two-year old.”
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), telling KCBS Radio how he prepared for Corey Lewandowski’s combative testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
Want to Be a U.S. Senator?
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) formally started the process to select a successor to Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) by launching a website that potential applicants must use to apply for the job, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Biden Maintains Lead In National Tracking Poll
A new Economist-YouGov poll finds Joe Biden leading the Democratic primary field with 25%, followed by Elizabeth Warren at 19% and Bernie Sanders at 15%.
No other candidate gets double-digit support. Pete Buttigieg is next with 8%, followed by Kamala Harris at 5%.
Weld Does Best Among Trump Primary Challengers
A new Economist-YouGov Poll finds President Trump with the support of 86% of Republican primary or caucus voters, followed by William Weld at 5%, Mark Sanford at 2% and Joe Walsh at 1%.
The poll also found that 85% of Republican respondents viewed Trump favorably while just 12% viewed him unfavorably.
Ocasio-Cortez Now Playing an Inside Game
“Less than two weeks after being sworn in last year, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a young progressive star fresh off an upset of one of the top Democratic leaders in the House, put her fellow Democrats on notice that she would soon be coming for them, too,” the New York Times reports.
“Appearing in a promotional video for Justice Democrats, the insurgent liberal group dedicated to unseating entrenched Democratic lawmakers that helped sweep Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to power, the Bronx firebrand urged her supporters to recruit candidates to run against her new colleagues. She was flanked by the group’s three co-founders, two of whom had just taken top jobs in her office. There were even whispers that she might try to oust Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, a rising star regarded by many Democrats as a future speaker of the House.”
“But after nearly nine months, with her eyes now wide open to the downsides of her revolutionary reputation and social media fame, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has tempered her brash, institution-be-damned style with something different: a careful political calculus that adheres more closely to the unwritten rules of Washington she once disdained.”
Omar Says Trump ‘Put My Life at Risk’
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) accused President Trump of spreading “lies that put my life at risk” after the president retweeted a post falsely claiming that the Minnesota Democrat “partied on the anniversary of 9/11,” the Washington Post reports.
Omar said the video of her dancing was taken not on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but at a Congressional Black Caucus event.
Sanders’s Campaign Plagued by Internal Divisions
Politico: “Some of Sanders’ fiercest supporters are sounding the alarm that the campaign is bogged down by disorganization, personality clashes and poor communication between state operations and national headquarters. After a pair of setbacks this week — the acrimonious shakeup of his staff in New Hampshire on Sunday and loss of the Working Families Party’s endorsement to Warren a day later — Sanders’ allies and former aides are worried that recent disappointments are not one-off stumbles but rather emblematic of larger problems in his bid for the White House.”
“The concerns are particularly acute in New Hampshire. … Since Sunday, campaign staffers have been calling members of their steering committee, asking them not to speak to the media.”
Political Wire Straw Poll Results
This poll was only open to Political Wire members.
Our September straw poll finds 61% of Political Wire members think that Elizabeth Warren will win the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, followed by Joe Biden at 35% and Kamala Harris way back at 2%.
No other candidate gets more than 1%.
When it comes to personal preferences for who Political Wire members want to win, Warren leads with 48%, followed by Biden at 25%, Buttigieg at 11%, Harris at 11%, Amy Klobuchar at 5%, Cory Booker at 3% and Beto O’Rourke at 3%.
No other candidate gets more than 2%.
Finally, I added a ranked choice option which continues to be very popular with Political Wire members.
Using a weighted average of their votes, Warren was the clear leader overall, with Harris, Buttigieg and Biden very close behind.
More than 2,000 readers took the survey.
Internal Poll Shows Democrat Leading for Kansas Senate
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) trails Barry Grissom (D) by 10 percentage points in a head-to-head matchup for Kansas’ open Senate seat in 2020, according to internal GOP polling data reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
“The previously unpublished findings reveal why some Republicans are deeply concerned that a Kobach candidacy could cost the party a Senate seat in Kansas—and why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been pushing so hard for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former congressman from Wichita, to challenge Mr. Kobach for the GOP nomination.”
Warren Says She Wasn’t Referring to Biden
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told MSNBC that she was not referring to Joe Biden in her speech on corruption in New York City earlier this week: “No. It’s talking about whether we’re going to turn backwards and just say the only problem is Trump. If we get rid of Trump, everything will be just fine.”
She added: “The way I see it, things have been broken for a very long time, for decades now.”
New Poll Shows Warren Leading In Iowa
A new Iowa State University/Civiqs poll in Iowa shows Elizabeth Warren leading the Democratic presidential race with 24%, followed by Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders tied at 16% each.
Key takeaway: “Almost a third (31%) of those surveyed said they do not want Biden to win the nomination, followed by Sanders (23%) and Williamson (12%).”
The Circus Distracts from What Trump Is Actually Doing
James Hohman: “It’s so easy to get distracted by political theatrics, but it’s so important not to lose sight of the forest for the trees. Tectonic changes in public policy under the Trump administration will have a vastly greater impact on the lives of everyday Americans than anything he tweets or any stunt his former campaign manager pulls on Capitol Hill. A flurry of mostly under-the-radar stories over the past 24 hours put in stark relief why it’s more important to pay attention to what the president and his appointees do than what they say.”
Why It’s Hard to Take CNN Seriously
This piece is only available to Political Wire members.
Although former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the House Judiciary Committee yesterday that he is under “no obligation to have a candid conversation with the media,” CNN nonetheless booked him to appear on the network this morning.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, CNN regularly televised Trump rallies for hours, apparently in the hope the candidate would say something outrageous. It generated ratings but also amounted to free, unfiltered airtime for one of the presidential candidates.
While the network has tried harder to hold Trump accountable since — and no longer televises his rallies unedited — it’s inexplicable why it would give Lewandowski a platform just after he admitted that he lies to the media.
It once again calls into question the news judgement of the network.
Jimmy Carter Says Trump Is a Disaster
Former President Jimmy Carter called President Trump “a disaster,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Said Carter: “I don’t know who I will vote for, but I will vote for one of them. I voted for Bernie the last time. But one of the major factors I have in my mind is who can beat Trump. Because I think it would be a disaster to have four more years of Trump.”
Trump Names O’Brien as National Security Adviser
President Trump picked Robert O’Brien, who is the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the State Department, to be his new National Security Adviser, the Washington Post reports.
Biden and Warren In Virtual Tie In Iowa
A new Focus on Rural America poll in Iowa finds Joe Biden barely ahead of Elizabeth Warren, 25% to 23%, followed by Pete Buttigieg at 12%, Bernie Sanders at 9%, Amy Klobuchar at 8% and Kamala Harris at 5%.
