CBS News: “A former congressional candidate in Virginia says she running for Congress again even though she’ll be in federal prison. Shaun Brown revealed her plans to reporters Wednesday before turning herself into authorities outside a federal courthouse in Norfolk.”
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Some 2020 Democrats Seek Fundamental Reforms
Bloomberg: “Several top Democratic presidential candidates have lined up behind jettisoning the Electoral College, expanding the Supreme Court, killing the Senate filibuster and granting statehood to Washington D.C. — all of which would likely smooth the way for the policy proposals at the heart of their agendas.”
“Those ideas are likely to resonate with the core of Democratic voters still bubbling with anger over the election of President Donald Trump despite his loss in the national vote count, the ease with which he’s transformed the Supreme Court and federal judiciary, and the power held in the Senate by a cluster of sparsely populated GOP-dominated states.”
Biden Advisers Debate Early Pick of Stacey Abrams
Mike Allen: “Close advisers to former Vice President Joe Biden are debating the idea of packaging his presidential campaign announcement with a pledge to choose Stacey Abrams as his vice president.”
“The popular Georgia Democrat, who at age 45 is 31 years younger than Biden, would bring diversity and excitement to the ticket — showing voters, in the words of a close source, that Biden ‘isn’t just another old white guy.'”
“But the decision poses considerable risk, and some advisers are flatly opposed. Some have pointed out that in a Democratic debate, he could be asked why no one on the stage would be a worthy running mate.”
“Advisers also know that the move would be perceived as a gimmick.”
New York Times: “Also under discussion is a possible pledge to serve only one term and framing Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign as a one-time rescue mission for a beleaguered country.”
O’Rourke’s Sprint Leaves Democratic Field Gasping
Politico: “By Thursday afternoon, Beto O’Rourke will have campaigned in all 10 counties in New Hampshire — a sprint that will take him all of 48 hours. Last week he was all over Iowa, and in between, he traversed the upper Midwest.”
“With no job tying him to Washington or a state capital — and a genuine zeal for the open road — O’Rourke is rallying college students, bounding onto café countertops and pressing himself into the news cycle in different media markets by the hour.”
First Read: “The expectation is that he will keep this pace going for the foreseeable future. Can the rest of the Democratic field keep up?”
Trump’s Economic Team Pushes ‘Socialism’ Theme
Politico: “President Trump has enlisted his senior economic advisers to flesh out one of his early 2020 presidential campaign themes: Socialism is coming. In recent months, traditionally staid official White House economic reports and briefings have begun to emphasize the potentially massive costs of an ambitious socialist agenda and warn that America could transform into a Cold War dystopia.”
From Inside Mar-a-Lago
Palm Beach Post: “Although the walled club is seemingly impenetrable and membership dues and fees top $200,000, a quick perusal of social media reveals Mar-a-Lago as a porous party destination accessible to anyone with the right contacts or a few hundred dollars.”
“Although the identity of Mar-a-Lago’s members is a carefully guarded secret and the Secret Service claims not to keep lists of visitors, a quick search on Instagram for photos geotagged at Mar-a-Lago or with #maralago returns tens of thousands of posts, with many of the photos taken inside the club.”
Aides Perplexed by Trump’s Latest Fights
Politico: “As the lurid disputes dominated cable news for several more hours, it was unclear whether Trump had any strategy in mind. Some people close to Trump speculated that he might be consciously trying to remake the news environment — creating a bizarre spectacle to displace criticism of his tepid response to the massacre of dozens of Muslims in New Zealand, the timing of the administration’s decision to ground Boeing’s 737 Max jets, and frenzied anticipation around the imminent release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report.”
“But the saga has left even White House aides accustomed to a president who bucks convention feeling uncomfortable. While the controversies may have pushed aside some bad news, they also trampled on Trump’s Wednesday visit to an army tank manufacturing plant in swing-state Ohio.”
Theresa May Seeks Brexit Delay
British prime minister Theresa May will make a direct plea to EU leaders asking to postpone Brexit for three months, hours after telling the British public a delay was “a matter of great personal regret,” the BBC reports.
In a speech last night, May blamed the delay on members of parliament and telling the nation she was “on their side.”
105 State Races Decided by Fewer Than 100 Votes
Ballotpedia: “One-hundred and five of the 6,073 state legislative races in 2018 were decided by fewer than 100 votes. Ninety-eight of the 105 races were in state house chambers, rather than state senate chambers.”
“Partisan control changed in 54 of the 105 races. Thirty-six of the partisan changes (34.3% of the 105 races) were to Democrats, and 18 (17.1%) were to Republicans. Of the 51 seats that did not change partisan control, Democrats held 15 (14.3%) and Republicans held 36 (34.3%).”
Which Way Are States Trending?
Kyle Kondik: “As an addendum to our Electoral College ratings release from a few weeks ago, we thought we’d track the presidential voting in each state relative to the nation over the last five elections to give readers a sense of where each state is trending. We split the 50 states into 10 different regional categories, loosely based on the regions and divisions of the U.S. Census Bureau.”
“Generally speaking, the Sun Belt and West are trending Democratic. The Midwest and North more broadly, along with Greater Appalachia, are trending Republican.”
GOP Governor Intentionally Gave His Kids Chickenpox
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) said that “he had intentionally tried to get his children infected with chickenpox and that he did not support the state’s mandatory chickenpox vaccine,” the Washington Post reports.
“Bevin said that every one of his nine children had come down with chickenpox — on purpose.”
Said Bevin: “We found a neighbor that had it. And I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it and they got it. And they had it as children, they were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.”
PAC Launches $50 Million Effort to Weaken Trump
“One of the largest Democratic super PACs, American Bridge, is embarking on a $50 million effort designed to soften President Donald Trump’s support among the group that cost Democrats the White House in 2016 — white working-class voters in the Upper Midwest,” NBC News reports.
From the group’s memo: “We understand that we may not win these voters back entirely, but if we don’t make inroads into these areas, we will win the popular vote, lose the Electoral College, and the Senate could be lost for a decade.”
Nevada Democrats Plan Major Changes to Caucus
“Nevada Democrats released a list of proposed changes to their caucus for the 2020 presidential elections that includes major updates to the voting process to make it more accessible for residents,” the HuffPost reports.
“As part of the caucus revamp, the Nevada State Democratic Party is proposing a four-day early voting period, similar to the one offered during general elections, for those who cannot attend the state party’s caucus on Feb. 22, 2020, as well as a two-day virtual caucus for voters who cannot be present at the caucus in February.”
New Zealand Swiftly Bans Assault Weapons
Los Angeles Times: “On Thursday afternoon, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an immediate ban on all ‘military-style semiautomatic weapons’ and assault rifles.”
“She also said the government intended to launch a buyback program for people who own the banned weapons.”
“It had been all of six days since a gunman identified as a white supremacist killed 50 Muslims in the city of Christchurch, the deadliest shooting in New Zealand history.”
“The quick action was a stark contrast to the slow pace of making gun legislation in the United States.”
Hickenlooper Would Suspend Death Penalty
John Hickenlooper said that he would suspend the death penalty if he were elected president, The Hill reports.
Said Hickenlooper: “It’s expensive, it prolongs misery, and the worst thing, it is random. Depending on where that crime occurs and, in many cases, whether the killer is African American or Latino, that has a lot to do with who gets tried on a death penalty charge. The random injustice of that is something this country should never stand for.”
Sanders Popularity Plummets
A new CNN poll puts Sen. Bernie Sanders favorable rating at 46% compared to an unfavorable rating of 45% among registered voters.
“This is only the latest poll to have Sanders at basically even in his net favorability rating (favorable-unfavorable). A Quinnipiac University poll from late December gave the Vermont senator a net favorability of just +2 points. An average of all recent polls put Sanders’ net favorability at about -1 points.”
“Compare that to where Sanders was at the end of his 2016 presidential bid. Sanders had a 59% favorable rating to 36% unfavorable rating among all voters.”
Hope Hicks Will Cooperate With House Probe
“Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director and long-time confidante of President Trump, plans to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into potential obstruction of justice,” CNN reports.
O’Rourke Snags Top Obama Fundraiser
“A leading Democratic bundler who helped former President Barack Obama raise money during his two presidential campaigns has been indicating to friends that he’s likely to support Beto O’Rourke in the 2020 race,” CNBC has learned.
“Mark Gallogly, the co-founder of investment firm Centerbridge Partners, has signaled to associates that he’s likely going to help O’Rourke.”
