A new CBS News/YouGov poll in Indiana finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 40%, followed by Ted Cruz at 35% and John Kasich at 20%.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 49% to 44%.
Trump Way Ahead In Pennsylvania
A new CBS News/YouGov poll in Pennsylvania finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 49%, followed by Ted Cruz at 26% and John Kasich at 22%.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders 51% to 43%.
A new NBC News/Marist poll finds Trump leading with 45%, followed by Cruz at 27% and Kasich at 24%.
Quote of the Day
“I have never been more worried about the Republican Party breaking apart than I am today.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by The Hill.
Cruz Wins Another Delegate Fight
“Ted Cruz notched another delegate landslide Saturday, stretching his advantage in a competition that might never occur: the second ballot of a contested Republican National Convention in July,” Politico reports.
“Cruz won at least 65 of the 94 delegates up for grabs Saturday (and he may have won more, but Kentucky’s 25 delegates haven’t revealed their leanings). The Texas senator has so thoroughly dominated the fight to send loyalists to the national convention that if front-runner Donald Trump fails to clinch the nomination on the first ballot, Cruz is well-positioned to surpass him — and perhaps even snag the nomination for himself — when delegates are free in subsequent convention rounds to vote for whomever they want.”
Sanders Says He’s Losing Because Poor People Don’t Vote
Sen. Bernie Sanders “has built his campaign on a message of combating income inequality, but that message doesn’t seem to be resonating in many of the states with the country’s highest levels of income inequality,” NBC News reports.
“Of the 25 states with the highest levels, 17 have held primaries so far — and Hillary Clinton has won 16 of those contests.”
When asked why he thinks he’s losing in those states, Sanders responded: “Well, because poor people don’t vote. I mean, that’s just a fact.”
Trump Insists He’s Not Toning Down Rhetoric
Donald Trump told supporters that he’s “not toning it down,” a day after his chief adviser assured Republican officials the GOP front-runner will show more restraint on the campaign trail, the AP reports.
Said Trump: “I’m not toning it down. Isn’t it nice that I’m not one of these teleprompter guys?”
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know how to pronounce his name — Kasich. It’s -i-c-h. Every time I see it I say Kas-itch. But it’s pronounced Kas-ick. Can we ask him to change the spelling of his name? Are we allowed to do that? It’s so ridiculous.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by The Hill.
Trump’s ‘System Is Rigged’ Argument Is Working
Nate Silver: “It also helps that Trump’s system-is-rigged message is relatively simple and plays into the media’s master narrative of the Republican race as a conflict between the Republican base and the GOP establishment. The Republicans’ delegate selection rules, by contrast, require an attention to detail that narrative-driven stories about the Republican race can misconstrue.”
New York Times: Why Trump says the delegate system is rigged
Who Does Mitch McConnell Support?
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “has done his best until now to stay out of the rambunctious 2016 presidential fray. That will change this weekend,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Kentucky Republicans on Saturday will select 25 of the state’s 46 presidential delegates in a secretive back-room process controlled by Mr. McConnell’s longtime allies, offering the first meaningful clues on his strategy ahead of an unpredictable GOP convention in Cleveland this summer.”
Trump Courts Party Leaders
Dan Balz: “For Trump, the bridge-building represents the challenge of trying to reassure nervous Republican leaders that he can avoid the erratic behavior and divisive rhetoric that have given him the highest negatives of any candidate in the 2016 race while reassuring his angry base that he is not selling out to a party establishment that many of them loathe.”
“For state and national Republican leaders, the outreach highlights the conflict between the revulsion many of them have felt toward a candidate who has trampled on core GOP values and inflamed much of the electorate and a grudging acceptance that it is increasingly likely the controversial New York billionaire will be leading them into a fall campaign against Hillary Clinton.”
Clinton Begins Mulling Running Mates
“Hillary Clinton’s advisers and allies have begun extensive discussions about who should be her running mate, seeking to compile a list of 15 to 20 potential picks for her team to start vetting by late spring,” the New York Times reports.
“Mrs. Clinton’s team will grapple with complicated questions like whether the United States is ready for an all-female ticket, and whether her choice for vice president would be able to handle working in a White House in which former President Bill Clinton wields significant influence on policy.”
For members: How Likely Is a Clinton-Warren Ticket?
Sanders Will Wait On Clinton’s Platform
Sen. Bernie Sanders said that “he would wait to see what Hillary Clinton includes in her platform before deciding how actively to campaign for her in the fall if she is the party’s nominee,” the Washington Post reports.
Clinton Still Won’t Release Transcripts
Hillary Clinton “is doubling down on a strategy of not releasing transcripts of speeches she gave to Goldman Sachs and other investment banks,” The Hill reports.
Said one ally: “She’s not going to basically create a standard that isn’t applied to anyone else in this race.”
Trump Ahead in Indiana
A new Fox News poll in Indiana shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 41%, followed by Ted Cruz at 33% and John Kasich at 16%.
Trump Crushing Field In California
A new Fox News poll in California shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 49%, followed by Ted Cruz at 22% and John Kasich at 20%.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton is just ahead of Bernie Sanders, 48% to 46%.
Two Models Predict Trump Will Reach 1,237
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Virginia Move on Felons Won’t Impact Vote Much
Nate Cohn: “There was considerable fretting — or satisfaction — over Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s decision Friday to re-enfranchise 200,000 ex-felons in Virginia.”
“The state will be one of the central battlegrounds this November, and it’s widely believed that ex-felons will vote heavily for Democrats… But the electoral effect of felon re-enfranchisement is likely to be modest. The best-case scenario for Democrats might be that they improve their popular vote margin by a half-point. That’s a big deal, but only in a close election.”
“The reason is deceptively straightforward. Ex-felons are less likely to vote than nonfelons, even when ex-felons are eligible to vote.”
Harry Reid’s Last Stand In Nevada
Jon Ralston: “Nevada is a battleground state, with a significant role to play in the presidential race, a Senate seat that might determine whether Democrats regain control of that chamber and key congressional races that could make inroads in the GOP’s majority in the House. Reid, summoning all his considerable political muscle, is determined to erase the stain of 2014 and leave his stamp on his home state and the nation.”
“That no one who understands Nevada politics and who has studied Reid thinks this is impossible shows just how feared the minority leader remains, and just how determined he is. Reid will not be on the ballot in 2016, but he looms as large as ever over this election.”
