“This campaign is not dead.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by Politico, after finishing fourth in New Hampshire.
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Bush and Rubio In Race to the Bottom
Politico: “The two warring Floridians spent much of the New Hampshire campaign eyeing each other, with Bush blasting Rubio in millions of dollars in ads. But in the end, both of them ended up finishing behind Donald Trump, John Kasich, and, barring a last-second shift in the counting, Ted Cruz.”
“Now, friends and longtime allies agree, both Rubio and Bush are leaving the primary so badly battered that the chances of either of the rival Floridians nabbing the GOP nomination are tougher than ever.”
Said one Rubio adviser: “South Carolina is gonna be a bloodbath.”
Mike Allen: “Rubio is bleeding: Marco Roboto moment was no paper cut. A reality unthinkable four days ago: Marco could be dead if he doesn’t bounce back in S.C. primary 10 days from now, Feb. 20.”
A Terrible Night for the GOP Establishment
Politico: “Far from winnowing the crowded field of mainstream GOP contenders and allowing it to unify around a standard-bearer, New Hampshire thrust it further into chaos. Marco Rubio, after taking steps last week to coalesce the backing of the party’s upper echelons, saw his momentum halted in the state, which punished him for delivering an overly scripted debate performance.”
“The establishment lane is now more crowded than ever, with Rubio, Jeb Bush, and New Hampshire runner-up John Kasich heading for a brutal fight in South Carolina – a state known for its rough-and-tumble political culture. Chris Christie, who was also competing for establishment support, is reassessing his campaign’s future.”
For members: The Worst Possible Result for the GOP Establishment
Gilmore Admits He Won’t Win
Jim Gilmore conceded he won’t win the Republican presidential nomination, USA Today reports.
Said Gilmore: “I entered the race having been out of office for a considerable amount of time. I wasn’t a sitting governor, my father wasn’t president, and my brother wasn’t president.”
He told one supporter: “I don’t think we’ll win this thing, but let’s see if we can get some recognition.”
The Democratic Primary Will Soon Be About Race
Politico: “If Sanders is truly going to become a Barack Obama-style Clinton-slayer of 2016, he knows he’s going to need to start racking up Obama-level support among non-white voters, and quickly, because the Democratic primary is about to come down to race.”
“The Sanders campaign understands this, which is why the first campaign stop after his blowout victory in New Hampshire is a breakfast meeting Wednesday with the Rev. Al Sharpton in Harlem’s iconic Sylvia’s restaurant.”
Christie Heads Home to New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie said he is taking a pause from the campaign trail to “take a deep breath” and evaluate his presidential campaign’s future after a poor showing in New Hampshire, The Hill reports.
Said Christie: “We are going to go home to New Jersey tomorrow and we are going to take a deep breath, see what the final results are tonight, because that matters.”
Quote of the Day
“It’s on me. I did not do well on Saturday night, and it will never happen again.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio, quoted by CNN, explaining his poor performance in the New Hampshire primary.
The Worst Possible Result for the GOP Establishment
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Trump and Sanders Win New Hampshire
The television networks have called the New Hampshire presidential primaries:
Donald Trump wins the Republican race, with John Kasich in second and Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush vying for third place.
Bernie Sanders won the Democratic race convincingly.
Exit Polls Show Big Wins by Trump and Sanders
Decision Desk HQ released it’s own exit polls as polls closed and found Donald Trump leading with 36%, followed by Ted Cruz at 15%, John Kasich at 15%, Marco Rubio at 11% and Jeb Bush at 10%.
On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton 62% to 37%.
The network exit polls show Trump at 32%, Kasich at 16%, Cruz at 14%, Rubio at 12%, Bush at 10% and Christie at 9%
On the Democratic side, Sanders leads Clinton, 58% to 42%.
Half of New Hampshire Voters Decided Since Debate
Early exit polls in New Hampshire find that nearly half of Republican primary voters say they finally picked their candidate only within the last few days, or after Saturday’s Republican presidential debate, according to ABC News.
Also interesting: Nearly half of Republicans say they’re looking for a candidate from “outside the political establishment.”
Keep an Eye on Jeb
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As Goes Laconia, So Goes New Hampshire
Boston Globe: “Since 2000, Laconia, located in the Lakes Region, has proven to be a near-perfect reflection of the statewide vote in the presidential primaries for both parties. Not only did Laconia pick the winners in recent New Hampshire primaries, but its results mimic the second and third place finishers for both parties statewide, according to an analysis from pollster David Paleologos. Even more telling: Laconia’s results came within five percentage points of the statewide results in every competitive primary since 2000.”
Carson Would Consider Being Trump’s Veep
Ben Carson isn’t ruling out being Donald Trump’s running mate, Politico reports.
Said Carson: “I certainly would sit down and discuss it with him.”
Fox News Reports Trump Won New Hampshire
“Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary Tuesday — according to a premature Fox News report,” Politico reports.
“Citing every precinct reporting, Fox News’ website accidentally published election results declaring Trump the winner with 28 percent support and 14 delegates.”
GOP Campaigns Brace for Roller Coaster Results
“As voters in New Hampshire headed to the polls Tuesday, Republican campaigns were bracing for a roller-coaster night and preparing for the possibility of a long primary campaign,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“New Hampshire has always been an uncertain contest for pollsters and pundits, and an overnight snowstorm added to the uncertainty about turnout. Democrats and undeclared voters are allowed by law to vote in the state’s primary, the nation’s second presidential nominating contest, making the outcome notoriously difficult to predict.”
Trump Quote of the Day
“It was like a retweet.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, in defense of repeating an audience member who called Sen. Ted Cruz “a pussy.”
