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Biden Has 51 Days to File for New Hampshire

September 30, 2015 at 2:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

Vice President Joe Biden “has 51 days to decide on a presidential bid — that is, if he wants to appear on the New Hampshire primary ballot,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“The filing period for candidates who wish to contest the nation’s first presidential primary will begin Nov. 4 and remain open until 5 p.m. on Nov. 20… Qualifying for the ballot is intentionally easy, as state tradition demands — a candidate or a representative simply needs to submit a completed declaration of candidacy form and provide the filing fee of $1,000, in cash or certified check. Any candidate who hasn’t filed by Nov. 20 must appear in person to do so, however.”

Sanders Campaign Hits One Million Donors

September 30, 2015 at 2:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders said his campaign reached its goal of one million individual online contributions, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“He is the first candidate of the 2016 campaign to announce it had reached this number – and he reached it faster than President Obama did in 2008 and 2012. The Sanders campaign has touted its goal of hitting one million online donations by tonight’s deadline to spur more individuals to donate.”

Feingold Has Big Lead in Wisconsin

September 30, 2015 at 1:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 101 Comments

A new Marquette University Law School poll in Wisconsin finds Russ Feingold (D) leading Sen. Ron Johnson (R) by 14 points, 50% to 36%.

Trump Still on Top

September 30, 2015 at 12:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 89 Comments

A new USA Today/Suffolk poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential field with 23%, followed by Ben Carson at 13%, Carly Fiorina at 13%, Marco Rubio at 9%, Jeb Bush at 8% and Ted Cruz at 6%.

John Kasich, Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee had 2% each, and Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham and Chris Christie had 1% each.

“The shifting landscape underscores an electorate that is fed up with politics-as-usual and willing to embrace contenders who promise to shake things up.”

Boehner Pressed Gowdy In Secret Meeting

September 30, 2015 at 10:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Speaker John Boehner secretly met with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) “to encourage him to jump into the race for House majority leader, a dramatic attempt by the chamber’s top Republican to try to influence the intraparty election,” Politico reports.

“The previously undisclosed meeting reveals new behind-the-scenes involvement by Boehner, who has not endorsed any candidates in the leadership race. That the Ohio Republican inserted himself in the contest underscores his concern about who succeeds him in GOP leadership.”

The Latest on Wonk Wire

September 30, 2015 at 10:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Here’s what’s trending on Wonk Wire today:

America’s Political Dynasties

September 30, 2015 at 10:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Coming soon: America’s Political Dynasties: From Adams to Clinton by Stephen Hess.

“America was founded in rebellion against nobility and inherited status. Yet from the start, dynastic families have been conspicuous in national politics. The Adamses. The Lodges. The Tafts. The Roosevelts. The Kennedys. And today the Bushes and the Clintons.”

Warren Takes Down Brookings Scholar

September 30, 2015 at 10:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “launched a surprise attack Tuesday against Washington’s most revered Democratic-leaning think tanks — and drew blood,” the Washington Post reports.

“Warren, stepping up her crusade against the power of wealthy interests, accused a Brookings Institution scholar of writing a research paper to benefit his corporate patrons. Warren’s charge prompted a swift response, with Brookings seeking and receiving the resignation of the economist, Robert Litan, whose report criticized a Warren-backed consumer protection rule targeting the financial services industry.”

Is Matt Bevin Trying to Lose the Governor’s Race?

September 30, 2015 at 10:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

Sam Youngman: “The Republican candidate’s sometimes bizarre behavior, oscillations on major policy issues and lack of advertising have all combined to make Bevin one of Democrat Jack Conway’s top allies with a month to go until Election Day.”

“That might help explain Bevin’s ill-advised and jaw-dropping decision to show up at Kentucky Democratic Party headquarters on Friday to complain to the receptionist about the sign KDP has outside its building questioning Bevin’s trustworthiness. It was Bevin’s second trip to the headquarters to complain about the sign.”

“Conway has certainly not set the world on fire with his campaign, vague policy proposals or charm. And he has taken much criticism for his campaign strategy of focusing on fundraising instead of traditional campaign rallies. But Bevin seems to be working very hard to make Conway’s campaign strategists look like geniuses.”

McCarthy Says Benghazi Committee Has Hurt Clinton

September 30, 2015 at 10:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 100 Comments

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) credited the House Benghazi investigation for driving down Hillary Clinton’s approval ratings, the Washington Post reports.

Said McCarthy: “Everybody though Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened, had we not fought.”

Lawmaker Says Gowdy Will Not Run for Re-Election

September 30, 2015 at 9:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) said that Tea Party favorite Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) “won’t run for a fourth term, and instead plans to retire at the end of the current Congress to return to his home state,” the Washington Examiner reports.

Said Fleming: “Trey wants to go back to South Carolina, and God bless him for that. At the end of his term, yes. He plans to go back home, and he wants to finish his work on the Benghazi special committee. But he loves South Carolina and he loves his family, and he wants to go back and spend the rest of his life there.”

Haley Approval Up Among Independents

September 30, 2015 at 9:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

A new Winthrop poll in South Carolina finds Gov. Nikki Haley (R) approval rating unchanged at 55% after removing the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds.

“But the potential vice presidential pick lost some backing from fellow S.C. Republicans. Haley received a thumbs up from 68% of Republicans in the latest poll, but that was down from 78% from February.”

First Read: “That means she’s getting more support from Democrats and independents – but less support from Republicans. Interesting — especially for whomever the eventual GOP nominee is as they begin their search for a running mate.”

Trump’s Tax Plan Would Cost $12 Trillion

September 30, 2015 at 9:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Donald Trump’s tax plan would cost “an eye-popping $12 trillion” over the next decade, according a new estimate by the conservative Tax Foundation that “runs directly counter to the billionaire’s pledge not to increase the deficit with the proposal,” MSNBC reports.

Jindal’s Spending Hasn’t Worked

September 30, 2015 at 9:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

First Read: “Kasich has spent nearly $5 million in TV ads (all in New Hampshire), and he’s gone up in the polls. Jindal and his supporters have spent $2.5 million (all in Iowa), and he really hasn’t. As for the Bush spending, ALL of it has come this month, with $2.3 million coming this week alone. The right time to judge whether the money is working or not is in about a month. It took Kasich about a month of advertising to start seeing results in New Hampshire, let’s check in around Nov. 1 to see how much of a difference money is making for Jeb in the early states.”

Quote of the Day

September 30, 2015 at 7:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

“Well the thing about branding is, you don’t have to be — you can be fact-free.”

— Bill Clinton, quoted by CNN, on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Biden Has a Candidate’s Schedule

September 30, 2015 at 7:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Vice President Joe Biden’s schedule over the last month looks a lot like that of a presidential candidate, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Since the beginning of September, Mr. Biden has held events with nearly every Democratic constituency that would be critical to any White House bid—from women and African-American voters to environmentalists, Latinos and union workers… This weekend, Mr. Biden will deliver the keynote address at the annual dinner of the country’s largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization, the Human Rights Campaign, and on Saturday, he spoke at a concert focused on combating global poverty that drew thousands of young people.”

GOP Field No Longer Worries About Deficit

September 30, 2015 at 7:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

“Republicans came into this presidential campaign with painful memories of how, in the last one, Democrats blasted Mitt Romney’s tax plan as a giveaway to the rich. They’ve heard a new wing of conservative intellectuals urge them to focus on tax cuts to working-class Americans rather than the wealthy,” the AP reports.

“Yet the release of Donald Trump’s tax plan adds to the number of major GOP presidential candidates who propose to cut all taxes — but especially those for the wealthy — as deeply, or deeper, than Romney proposed. The lesson Republicans seem to have drawn is to simply stop worrying about balancing the budget. The plans would blow open deficits over the next decade that economists estimate ranging from $3.6 trillion to $12 trillion.”

Christie and Kasich Try an Iowa Reset

September 30, 2015 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

National Journal: “Neither Christie nor Kasich is expected to win the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, where conservative voters tend to dominate. But both campaigns now hope that, in an unsettled presidential race, a better-than-expected Iowa finish could help launch them to success in their make-or-break state of New Hampshire one week later. Already, Christie and Kasich are expanding their Iowa teams and planning to spend more time on the ground interacting with voters. Christie traveled to Iowa for a two-day swing this week, and Kasich is set on Wednesday to make his second trip there in less than a week.”