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Clinton Attacks Lead to Sanders Windfall

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“Hillary Clinton’s new barrage against Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential primary opponent she has all but ignored through most of her campaign, is having an effect — though probably not the one she intended,” the Washington Post reports.

“Sanders’s underdog campaign said it is seeing a surge of contributions as a direct result of the new attention it is getting from the Democratic front-runner, with money coming in at a clip nearly four times the average daily rate reported in the last quarter of 2015.”

Politico: Hillary Clinton’s Iowa Deja Vu

Republicans Whisper About Contested Convention

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“With the Iowa caucuses less than three weeks away, top Republicans are expressing growing anxiety about the state of the party’s raucous presidential primary — and what it could mean for its prospects of winning back the White House in 2016,” Politico reports.

“As they gathered here for the Republican National Committee’s annual winter meeting, party officials voiced concern about everything from the possibility of a contested convention to whether changes they instituted to the debate schedule and primary calendar were having unintended consequences.”


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Cruz Did Not Disclose Loan from Goldman Sachs

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New York Times: “As Ted Cruz tells it, the story of how he financed his upstart campaign for the United States Senate four years ago is an endearing example of loyalty and shared sacrifice between a married couple… But the couple’s decision to pump more than $1 million into Mr. Cruz’s successful Tea Party-darling Senate bid in Texas was made easier by a large loan from Goldman Sachs, where Mrs. Cruz works. That loan was not disclosed in campaign finance reports.”

“Other campaigns have been investigated and fined for failing to make such disclosures, which are intended to inform voters and prevent candidates from receiving special treatment from lenders. There is no evidence that the Cruzes got a break on their loans.”

Haley Defends Going After Trump

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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said that Donald Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the country is what compelled her to speak out in her State of the Union rebuttal last night.

Said Haley: “We’ve never in the history of this country passed any laws or done anything based on race or religion. Let’s not start that now.”

Would You Bet on Trump?

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The U.K. betting market Betfair now puts the odds at Donald Trump winning the Republican presidential nomination at 34%, while Marco Rubio is at 31% and Ted Cruz at 22%.

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Will Elizabeth Warren Endorse Anyone?

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Bloomberg: “With President Obama unlikely to weigh in, Warren is the most important Democratic elected official who has yet to endorse. Her iconic status among the party’s liberal grass roots, and the national fundraising base she commands, would deliver a substantial boost to Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Martin O’Malley.”

“Sanders would appear to be the most ideologically compatible choice for Warren, because his populist, anti-Wall Street rhetoric mirrors her own. And indeed, many of her supporters, including the founders of her draft movement, have embraced him. But Warren has been noticeably reluctant to lend her name to Sanders’s presidential campaign, because, her advisers say, she’s determined that Democrats should hold on to the White House after Obama leaves office and is not convinced Sanders could win.”

LePage May Skip State of the State Speech

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Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) indicated that he might break with longstanding custom and deliver his State of the State address by letter rather than giving a speech before the full legislature, the Portland Press Herald reports.

Said LePage: “Why am I going to go up and face people and talk to them in an audience that just a week or two before, they’re trying to impeach me? That’s just silliness. So why don’t we just, I’ll go to work, keep working, I’ll send them a letter and call it a day.”

Haley Is Running for Veep

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“Since it was announced earlier this month that Nikki Haley would deliver the official Republican response to the State of the Union, excitable pundits have hyped the speech as a dramatic, made-for-TV “audition” — a chance for South Carolina’s young, telegenic governor to prove her talents, and compete for a coveted spot on the GOP’s presidential ticket,” BuzzFeed reports.

“But while Haley’s performance Tuesday night may have indeed solidified her A-list status in the Republican establishment, the primetime moment was actually the culmination of years of careful — and often quiet — backstage maneuvering by the governor’s team as they worked to position her as a top-tier contender for the vice-presidential nomination.”

Betting Markets See Trump as Favorite

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Donald Trump is the new favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination, according to Betfair, Bloomberg reports.

“The odds on a Trump victory are 15/8, or 34%, putting the billionaire real-estate mogul as favourite in the market for the first time… Previous favorite Marco Rubio widened to 11/5, or 31%, while Ted Cruz is 7/2, 22%.”

PredictWise has Trump and Rubio tied at 33%.

Upset GOP Donors Wonder If They Wasted Their Money

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“Major GOP donors and fundraisers are wondering whether they’re wasting their money on super-PACs,” The Hill reports.

“They say they’re not ready to abandon the super-PACs, but they’re starting to look for ways to make them more effective during a presidential cycle that has challenged conventions about how to spend political donations.”

“The cautionary tale cited by nearly every donor or fundraiser interviewed on or off the record has been Bush. He has fallen in polls despite the more than $50 million already spent on his behalf by the group Right to Rise, which far outraised every other super-PAC with its mid-year haul of $103 million.”

King Says Haley Could Be Face of the GOP

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) said he didn’t think South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) was a “principled conservative” but thought she’d be an acceptable figurehead for the Republican party, TPM reports.

Said King: “I think she’s beautiful so I’d be happy if she’s the face of the party.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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