A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds Hillary Clinton has solidified her lead in the Democratic presidential race, building a 31-point advantage over Sen. Bernie Sanders, 62% to 31%.
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Trump Is Most Trusted by GOP Voters
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds Donald Trump is the Republican candidate most trusted to manage the economy, deal with foreign leaders and serve as commander in chief.
In terms of overall support, Trump was favored by 31% of Republicans, followed by Ben Carson at 18%, Marco Rubio at 10% and Jeb Bush at 10%.
RNC Chair Admits They Want Biased Moderators
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus told ABC News that debate moderators “should give a rip” about the Republican party.
Quote of the Day
“So far we’re largely failures at it, as you can tell.”
— Republican mega-donor Charles Koch, quoted by Bloomberg, when asked if he is buying political influence.
Obama Mocks GOP Candidates Over Debates
President Obama mocked Republican presidential candidates as thin-skinned for lashing out at CNBC over the network’s handling of last week’s primary debate, The Hill reports.
Said Obama: “They say, ‘when I talk to Putin, he’s going to straighten out.’ And then it turns out they can’t handle a bunch of CNBC moderators.”
He added: “If you can’t handle those guys, I don’t think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you.”
Franken Gets Serious About Flipping Senate
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) “is embarking on a yearlong campaign to help Democrats win it back and ensure that Senate races aren’t a forgotten undercard to the presidential contest. And after years of keeping a low profile on Capitol Hill, he’s actually happy to talk about it,” Politico reports.
“In a rare interview in his Capitol office, the Minnesotan described his most ambitious effort yet to help elect Democrats in his more than six years in Washington. Franken is using his celebrity to help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic candidates, and Democrats are relying on him to play an outsize role, alongside high-profile senators like Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, to pick up the five seats the party needs to flip the Senate in 2016.”
NBC News looks at the top six Senate races to watch.
Hastert’s Portrait Vanishes from House
“Something is missing from the U.S. Capitol: former Speaker Dennis Hastert’s portrait,” Politico reports.
“All former speakers have a portrait hanging outside the House floor. But on Monday morning, as the House gaveled into session, Hastert’s portrait was replaced with Frederick Gillett’s. Gillett was speaker between 1919 and 1925.”
Rubio Steps Up Campaigning in Early States
“Marco Rubio plans to shift his focus from fundraising to early state campaigning in the final months before the official start of primary election season,” Politico reports.
“Rubio, a first-term senator who this year has spent a considerable amount of time introducing himself to national Republican Party donors, said on a conference call with bundlers that he would be focusing less on fundraising, according to one listener. It was up to those on the call, he said, to help pitch in while he was busy on the campaign trail.”
Kasich Would Shut Down Commerce Department
Gov. John Kasich (R) would eliminate the Commerce Department if he were elected president, calling the agency a “cluttered attic,” Bloomberg reports.
“Kasich would transfer many of the department’s duties to other agencies, according to a proposal released by his campaign. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which accounts for about half the department’s budget and includes the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, would move to the Department of Interior.”
He said the department is a repository for “hiding political pet projects, outdated programs, and agencies without a logical home” and “no longer makes sense.”
Carson Takes National Lead in GOP Race
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds Ben Carson leading the GOP presidential pack with 29%, followed by Donald Trump at 23%, Marco Rubio at 11%, Ted Cruz at 10% and Jeb Bush at 8%.
Santorum Says Cruz Is Too Liberal
Rick Santorum said Ted Cruz falls short on immigration, the Quad City Times reports.
Said Santorum: “It’s not just the Democrats. It’s Democrats and Republicans. It’s Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and, yes, it’s Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz wants to take the H-1B program and increase it by 500 percent. He wants to go from 65,000 to 330,000. Again, ‘Mr. Conservative.’ Everybody (says) how conservative he is. He wants to increase it by five times.”
Cruz Rises in Iowa as Bush Fades
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Iowa finds Donald Trump leading with 22%, followed by Ben Carson at 21%, Ted Cruz at 14%, Marco Rubio at 10%, Mike Huckabee at 6%, Bobby Jindal at 6%, Carly Fiorina at 5%. and Jeb Bush at 5%.
Trump Quote of the Day
“Marco doesn’t show up to votes, he doesn’t do things that you’re supposed to do. He got elected senator, and you know the same thing happened to him in the Florida senate, if you look, and I know a lot about Florida, I’m there…. He was in the senate and he tried to get the top position…. Two minutes after he got the top position he was looking to run for senate. Then he runs for senate, now he wants to be president. I would say, maybe I’m the last person to say this: Relax. Take it easy.”
— Donald Trump, in an interview with Bloomberg, on Sen. Marco Rubio is “highly-overrated” and “isn’t going to make it.”
Trump Will Negotiate Directly with TV Networks
Donald Trump and his advisers “have decided to work directly with television executives and take a lead role in negotiating the format and content of primary debates, which have become highly watched and crucial events in the 2016 race,” the Washington Post reports.
“Trump plans to reject a joint letter to television network hosts regarding upcoming primary debates drafted Sunday at a private gathering of operatives from at least 11 presidential campaigns… The move by Trump, coming just hours after more than a dozen Republican strategists huddled in the Washington suburbs to craft a list of possible demands, effectively throttles an effort by the campaigns and the letter’s drafter, longtime GOP attorney Ben Ginsberg, to find consensus and work collectively to negotiate terms.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“He said, ‘Boehner, man, I’m gonna miss you.’ Yes you are, Mr. President. Yes you are.”
— Former Speaker John Boehner, in an interview with Fox News, recounting a conversation with President Obama.
Carson Leads as Cruz Gains in Iowa
A new Fulmer & Associates poll in Iowa finds Ben Carson leading the GOP presidential race with 28%, followed by Donald Trump at 20%, Ted Cruz at 15%, Marco Rubio at 10% and Jeb Bush at 9%.
Trump Leads in Florida
A new Viewpoint Florida poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 27%, followed by Marco Rubio at 16%, Ben Carson at 15%, Ted Cruz at 12% and Jeb Bush at 12%.
Key finding: “Without Bush in the race, Trump has a problem: He gets no added benefit, but Rubio’s support jumps up so that he almost ties the frontrunner, 24-27 percent. The rest of the GOP field is essentially unchanged.”
Lessig Ends Presidential Campaign
Larry Lessig ended his Democratic presidential campaign because he was shut out of the debates.
