It’s going to be a very busy night!
7:00 pm ET: Georgia, Vermont, Virginia
8:00 pm ET: Alabama, Massachusetts, Minnesota (caucus), Oklahoma, Tennessee,
8:30 pm ET: Arkansas
9:00 pm ET: Texas, Colorado (Democrats caucus)
12:00 a.m. ET: Alaska
Associated Press: “A big chunk of the electorate votes early in Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas, and those early votes will show up quickly in the count, increasing the chances for fast calls in those states.”
Ben Carson told Morning Joe that he’s been asked by some people to drop out of the presidential race, but his social media fans are “begging” him not to get out.
Said Carson: “They’re continuing to support us tremendously economically. So there is really no reason to disregard what they have to say.”
“It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”
— CBS executive chairman Leslie Moonves, quoted by the Hollywood Reporter, on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
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Politico: “Since the very beginning, the Cruz campaign has seen a strong Super Tuesday—when 595 delegates will be awarded—as the critical, defining moment in the effort to emerge as the consensus conservative choice. It’s the day Cruz has said will be an ‘amazing’ one for his team, the day his campaign has described to potential donors as the one that will demonstrate this campaign, unlike every other conservative insurgent campaign in recent memory, is built to last in a long nomination fight.”
“But Cruz walks into March 1 on his heels. He failed spectacularly in South Carolina, the first test of his appeal in the South, and is now on the defensive even in his home state of Texas. And if polls are to be believed, he could lose it all on Tuesday to Donald Trump—a man his political and personal opposite in almost every relevant way, yet one who has still managed to commandeer a significant slice of the anti-Washington conservative base Cruz long banked on.”
Washington Post: “Both visibly fatigued from weeks of breakneck travel, Cruz and Rubio campaigned Monday as if they were cramming for an exam. The senators volleyed stinging character attacks at Trump, one after another, in a desperate move to halt the billionaire mogul’s momentum.”
“But if the polls and roaring crowds that greeted Trump in Virginia and Georgia on Monday were any indication, he is steamrolling toward a triumphant showing Tuesday. Primaries or caucuses will take place in 11 states — seven across the South, as well as Alaska, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Vermont — and the only one Trump is not expected to win is Texas, where Cruz appears to be the favorite.”
FiveThirtyEight has a guide for every state voting today.
“President Obama is to confer in the Oval Office on Tuesday with Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, and Sen. Charles Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, about filling the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. If everyone maintains previously stated positions, it might be a very short meeting,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Obama is adamant that he will name a nominee to the court, most likely in the next few weeks. Republicans remain just as adamant that they will not even meet with Mr. Obama’s nominee, let alone hold confirmation hearings.”
“I would not vote for Trump, clearly. If there is any, any, any other choice, a living, breathing person with a pulse, I would be there.”
— Former RNC Chairman Mel Martinez, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
The latest NBC News/Survey Monkey national poll finds Donald Trump leads the GOP presidential field with 40% — a new high. He’s followed by Marco Rubio at 21%, Ted Cruz at 18%, Ben Carson at 8% and John Kasich at 7%.
In head-to-head match ups, Trump would beat Rubio, 52% to 46%, and top Cruz, 55% to 42%.
In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 51% to 41%.
“Look, Donald Trump do whatever you need to do to get elected to this country because we need a change.”
— David Duke, quoted by the Los Angeles Times, on Donald Trump disavowing the former Ku Klux Klan leader’s endorsement.
Survey Monkey tracking finds that support for Donald Trump and his rivals was essentially unchanged in the 11 Super Tuesday states before and after last week’s GOP debate.
“Trump’s support after the debate (37%) was just a single percentage point higher than before (36%), support for Cruz was just two points lower (dropping from 25 to 23%), while Rubio’s vote ticked up just one percentage point (from 17 to 18%).”
New York Times: “That strategy is beginning to take shape, with groups that support Mrs. Clinton preparing to script and test ads that would portray Mr. Trump as a misogynist and an enemy to the working class whose brash temper would put the nation and the world in grave danger. The plan is for those themes to be amplified later by two prominent surrogates: To fight Mr. Trump’s ability to sway the news cycle, Mr. Clinton would not hold back on the stump, and President Obama has told allies he would gleefully portray Mr. Trump as incapable of handling the duties of the Oval Office.”
“Democrats say they risk losing the presidency if they fail to take Mr. Trump seriously, much as Republicans have done in the primary campaign.”
“About 30 black students who were standing silently at the top of the bleachers at Donald Trump’s rally here Monday night were escorted out by Secret Service agents who said the presidential candidate had requested their removal before he began speaking,” the Des Moines Register reports.
Walter Shapiro: “Under these circumstances, there would be nothing anti-democratic about GOP leaders using every mechanism in their power to stop Trump. Gaming the rules, after all, is what Ronald Reagan tried against Jerry Ford in 1976.”
“It is worth remembering that — even with a delegate lead or a majority — Trump would face built-in disadvantages in Cleveland. Paul Ryan would be the convention chair and other GOP insiders would probably control relevant committees like convention rules and party platform. In some states, Trump does not get to pick his delegates slates, but instead is saddled with party stalwarts of dubious loyalty.”
Politico: “Top Republicans — including governors who convened an emergency conference call on Monday on which Trump was Topic A — expect the real estate mogul to carry as many as 10 states on Tuesday night, an outcome that would deal a body blow to Sen. Ted Cruz, who has staked his campaign heavily on the Southern states holding nominating contests, and to Sen. Marco Rubio, who has yet to win a primary and isn’t expected to do so on Tuesday.”
“Trump’s march to the nomination has set off a wave of anxiety across the Republican Party establishment as top officials weigh whether to endorse him — or denounce him as anathema to the party’s values. Reflecting that angst, on Monday morning, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the heads of the Republican Governors Association, convened fellow governors for an unusual conference call to discuss how the primary was unfolding — and Trump was a central topic of conversation.”
A new Landmark/WSB Georgia Poll finds Donald Trump leads with 39%, followed by Marco Rubio at 20%, Ted Cruz at 15%. John Kasich and Ben Carson “are hovering in the single digits.”
Trump is up seven points since the firm’s last poll released a week ago.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 70% to 23%.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) “raised serious concerns about Donald Trump’s surging presidential bid, becoming the highest-ranking congressional Republican to express fears about the real estate mogul’s candidacy,” CNN reports.
Said Cornyn: “We can’t have a nominee be an albatross around the down-ballot races.”
New York Times: “Hoping to avoid a repeat of the messy fight for the Republican nomination in 2012, the party drew up a calendar and delegate-selection rules intended to allow a front-runner to wrap things up quickly.”
“Now, with Republicans voting in 11 states on Tuesday, the worst fears of the party’s establishment are coming true: Donald J. Trump could all but seal his path to the nomination in a case of unintended consequences for the party leadership, which vehemently opposes him.”
FiveThirtyEight: Who’s on track for the nomination?
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D) is out with a brutal ad tying Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to Donald Trump. Expect to see many more ads like this in U.S. Senate races around the country.
Taegan 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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