Governing: “If you run for president, make sure you win… In recent decades, just two sitting governors have won the presidency: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. But the list of sitting governors who have either lost or dropped out of a race for president is much lengthier. In most cases, these candidates’ gubernatorial careers suffered after they lost their bid. It’s happened to Democratic and Republican governors alike.”
Romney Son Mulls Run for Utah Governor
Josh Romney (R), the son of former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, told the Deseret News that “running for governor in 2020 is definitely something I am strongly considering. What others do will not affect my decision-making process.”
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) “said in a recent interview with the Deseret News that he wants to return to Utah and run for governor rather than stay in the House and try again for a leadership position or make a run for the Senate.”
The Latest on Wonk Wire
Democrats Go All In on Gun Control
“President Obama and Democrats are going all in on gun control,” The Hill reports.
“Obama on Tuesday will issue executive actions intended to curb gun violence by expanding background checks on people buying firearms online or at gun shows. The effort, which comes a week before the president’s final State of the Union address, underlines the Democratic Party’s decision to champion an issue it believes will be a winner in November.”
Wonk Wire: Vast majority of Americans support background checks for gun purchases
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“Donald Trump reminds me of the Kim Kardashian of politics.”
— Carly Fiorina, quoted by Politico.
Obama’s Year In Photographs
Pete Souza: “One of the best and most challenging aspects of my job is whittling down a year’s worth of photographs to the final selections for my annual Year in Photographs. Every year, I attempt to keep it less than 100 photos — and every year I fail in that goal.”
Public Says Climate Change Is Real
A new Monmouth poll finds 70% of Americans say that the world’s climate is undergoing a change leading to more extreme weather patterns and sea level rise, including 41% who call climate change a very serious problem.
Key takeaway: “There is a significant partisan divide in this view. A majority of Democrats (63%) and a plurality of independents (42%) see climate change as a very serious issue, while just 18% of Republicans agree. On the flip side, a plurality of Republicans (43%) believe climate change is not happening at all, compared with just 17% of independents and 10% of Democrats who feel the same.”
Cruz Attacks Rubio as Distracted by Fantasy Football
“The well-financed super PACs supporting Ted Cruz are launching a $1 million advertising blitz this week to boost the Texas senator — and cast his rival, Marco Rubio, as unserious and unready,” the Washington Post reports.
Sanders Pledges to Break Up Big Banks
Sen. Bernie Sanders will pledge in a speech today that if elected president he would act within his first year to break up banks deemed “too big to fail,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Sanders: “If a bank is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. When it comes to Wall Street reform, that must be our bottom line.”
Rick Klein: “It’s part of a more aggressive push from Sanders in the closing weeks before Iowa, designed to put Hillary Clinton’s record and positions under fresh scrutiny. Sanders is also now regularly squaring up against Donald Trump, mentioning the GOP frontrunner far more than Clinton these days as he seems to relish the potential general-election matchup. It’s by tapping Trump-level anger on the left that Sanders has the chance – even if a remote one – to make the Democratic race a true contest. And, like Trump, he’ll need to find clear lines of demarcation to make that happen. Breaking up big banks isn’t a border wall, but for a segment of Democratic primary voters, it may as well be.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The whole idea that somehow he’s a burden — any mistakes I make, they’re my own. My brother and my family, I’m honored to be part of that family. I love them dearly. And all the psycho babble that goes along with it, I’ve gotten over it. You guys can meditate on your navels about that. I’m not.”
— Jeb Bush, in an interview on Morning Joe, on whether his brother George W. Bush is hurting his campaign.
How Much Did Marco Rubio Raise Last Year?
First Read notes that “it screams volumes that Rubio hasn’t released his 4th quarter fundraising totals. (You would have thought that Rubio’s impressive debate performances, plus Bush’s sinking chances, would have produced a stellar fundraising haul.)”
“And while four weeks is a very long time in politics, GOP voters seem (for now) transfixed on Trump and Cruz. Don’t get us wrong: Rubio still has a good shot at winning the Republican nomination. But that shot doesn’t seem as easy to make as it looked a month ago. And it becomes harder when you have to fight a two-front war — against the establishment in New Hampshire and against Cruz in Iowa.”
Christie Becomes a Target in New Hampshire
First Read: “A funny thing has happened in a Republican presidential race dominated by Donald Trump and (to a lesser extent) Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio: Chris Christie — who’s stuck in single digits in national polls — has become the target in New Hampshire.”
“It seems that the groups backing the other candidates in the Establishment Lane — Bush, Kasich, Rubio — see Christie as a threat in New Hampshire, where the New Jersey governor is polling higher than his national average. The challenge for Christie is whether or not he has the money to fight back. While the Super PAC supporting him has spent nearly $9 million over the airwaves (almost all in New Hampshire), his campaign had just $1.4 million in the bank as of Sept. 30. And our hunch is that Christie’s financial situation didn’t improve from October to December. Will the New York money crowd that pined for Christie four years ago come to the rescue?”
Christie Sees Opening In Iowa
“Despite initially focusing his campaign’s efforts on New Hampshire, in recent weeks, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has shifted strategy as he eyes an opening in Iowa, not to win, but to place ahead of Bush,” Time reports.
“One of the major reasons for Christie’s new optimism is that he found he will be able to capitalize on his longtime friendship with the top Republican in the state. Though Gov. Terry Branstad is officially neutral in the Iowa caucus, Christie’s Iowa team is run by Phil Valenziano, who was the political director for Branstad’s 2014 re-election campaign.”
For members: The top 5 candidates in Iowa
Kasich Pleads Ignorance About Oregon Standoff
Gov. John Kasich “said while campaigning in Iowa on Monday that he had no knowledge about a standoff in eastern Oregon where armed anti-government protesters have taken over a federal wildlife refuge,” the Des Moines Register reports.
“The Oregon protest, which began Saturday night, has attracted national news headlines on radio, TV, newspapers and from Internet sources. But Kasich — a former U.S. congressman — repeatedly told a reporter… that he didn’t know anything about it. Then Kasich excused himself and headed outside to his vehicle.”
New Establishment Talk of Taking Down Trump
GOP consultant Alex Castellanos “has been meeting with top GOP operatives and donors to gauge interest in launching an anti-Trump vehicle that would pummel the real estate mogul on the television airwaves,” Politico reports.
“Castellanos has said that an anti-Trump ad campaign, which would be designed to cast him as a flawed strongman, would cost well into the millions. It was unclear … whether Castellanos, who did not respond to a request for comment, would ultimately go through with the effort.”
Establishment Candidates Plead for Attention
“With less than a month before voting begins, establishment presidential candidates, thrown off stride by insurgent rivals through much of last year, are urging voters to move toward conventional choices and end their flirtation with the field’s novices and outsiders,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The efforts reflect the hope on the part of such candidates that the dynamic of the campaign will change now that the calendar has turned to 2016 and real choices are nearly at hand.”
Trump Continues to Lead Nationally
The NBC News/SurveyMonkey Tracking Poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential field with 35%, followed by Ted Cruz at 18%, Marco Rubio at 15%,
Key takeaway: “Perhaps surprisingly, Trump also has the highest support among white evangelical voters—33%. Although Ben Carson did fairly well among white evangelicals (12%), the group heavily favored Trump. Cruz also did well with white evangelicals, with 2 in 10 supporting him.”
Rauner Would Back Efforts to Recall Emanuel
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) “started off the new year swinging, offering vague criticism of Mayor Rahm Emanuel over his handling of police-involved shootings and vowing to sign legislation that would allow voters to recall Chicago mayors in the unlikely event the measure reaches his desk,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
Rauner said his longtime friend and former business associate “inherited a mess” but has done little in the way to overhaul how the city operates.
