Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) told a radio show that he may challenge Sen. Angus King (I) for the U.S. Senate in 2018, the Bangor Daily News reports.
Said LePage: “I’m thinking about it very strongly.”
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Trump’s Many Moving Targets
Leon Wolf: “Watching Donald Trump speak and answer questions… is like watching a billion targets appear in the sky all at once, for a political opponent. Each thing he says is so bizarre, or ill informed, or demonstrably false, or un-presidential in tone or character, that it becomes impossible to know which target to lock on to or focus on.”
The World’s Greatest Troll
Nate Silver: “What’s interesting is how Trump seemed to go out of his way after the debate to ensure that he’d remain the center of attention, with his tirade against Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly (a feud that he’s since resurrected). That tended to drown out most of the coverage of whether, say, Fiorina or Kasich had gained momentum after the debate, perhaps preventing them from having the sort of feedback loop of favorable attention that can sometimes trigger surges in the polls.”
“I don’t know whether this was a deliberate strategy on Trump’s behalf. But if so, it’s pretty brilliant. Trump is perhaps the world’s greatest troll, someone who is amazingly skilled at disrupting the conversation by any means necessary, including by drawing negative, tsk-tsking attention to himself. In the current, ‘free-for-all’ phase of the campaign — when there are 17 candidates and you need only 20 percent or so of the vote to have the plurality in GOP polls — this may be a smart approach. If your goal is to stay at the center of attention rather than necessarily to win the nomination, it’s worth making one friend for every three enemies, provided that those friends tell some pollster that they’d hypothetically vote for you.”
The Latest on Wonk Wire
Biden’s Very Personal Decision
First Read: “He’s never been as close to a 2016 bid, and yet he’s still far away: As for Biden, we want to share this insight about his decision-making process after reporting and gathering string as he mulls a 2016 bid. First, it’s a very personal decision for him — it won’t be based on metrics. He knows that the odds will be stacked against him, but he also knows that the minute he closes the door on a presidential run, he knows his political career is over, especially after leaving office in Jan. 2017.”
“Right now, he’s also open to a White House bid because in his previous runs (in 1988, 2008), there never was a demand by other Democrats (and the news media) for him to get in. But he also realizes that if he runs, he’ll be required to attack Hillary Clinton, and he’s never been comfortable attacking folks from his own party.”
Colorado Republicans Will Skip Nominating Process
“Colorado will not vote for a Republican candidate for president at its 2016 caucus after party leaders approved a little-noticed shift that may diminish the state’s clout in the most open nomination contest in the modern era,” the Denver Post reports.
“The GOP executive committee has voted to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state’s delegates to support the candidate that wins the caucus vote. The move makes Colorado the only state so far to forfeit a role in the early nomination process, according to political experts, but other caucus states are still considering how to adapt to the new rule.”
Trump Will Ultimately Lose Because He’s Crazy
Jonathan Chait: “Trump has certainly crafted an appeal to voters who like impractical ideas. But his true threat lies in the fact that Trump himself is crazy — not just ideologically, though he is certainly that as well, but in the sense that he lacks any rational connection between his actions and his goals, to the extent that his goals are discernible at all. That is also his downfall.”
Trump Holds Massive Lead Over GOP Rivals
A new Gravis Marketing survey finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential field nationally with a stunning 40%, followed by Ben Carson at 13%, Jeb Bush at 10%, Ted Cruz at 7%, John Kasich at 5%, Carly Fiorina at 5% and Marco Rubio at 5%.
Graham Says Trump Appeals to the ‘Dark Side’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told CNN that Donald Trump is appealing to the “dark side” of the Republican party.
Said Graham: “Twenty-five percent of our party that probably thinks Obama was born in Kenya or wants to believe that. There’s 25 percent of our party wants him to be a Muslim because they hate him so much. So, there’s a dark side of politics that Mr. Trump is appealing to.”
Stop Chris Christie PAC Shuts Down
The Stop Chris Christie PAC is shutting down because it says Christie is doing a better job at stopping his own campaign.
Said PAC treasurer Tom Bjorklund: “Our committee believes that Mr. Christie has already performed the service of stopping his campaign in spirit.”
Quote of the Day
Trump Must Rule Out Third Party Bid by September 30
Donald Trump “must rule out a third-party bid before October if he wants to compete in South Carolina’s Republican primary, a crucial test in the nominating contest,” CNN reports.
“Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out a third-party candidacy, noting that he could use the threat of an independent bid as leverage, but he cannot appear on the South Carolina primary ballot unless he pledges to support the GOP nominee in the general election.”
Said Trump: “We certainly have plenty of time. We’re leading every poll, we’re leading every state, from Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina, polls have come in from virtually every place … so my whole desire is just fairness, and I want to run as the Republican nominee, I want to win, I think we will win.”
Wonk Wire: Trump exposes the real motivations of the GOP
Bush Enlists Brother for NYC Fundraiser
Former President George W. Bush “is set to headline a luncheon fundraiser for the Jeb Bush presidential campaign in New York on Sept. 10, according to several people familiar with the event, part of an expanding role he is playing to help raise money for his younger brother’s White House bid,” the Washington Post reports.
“The New York luncheon was originally set to take place on Sept. 8 but had to be rescheduled for Sept. 10, putting the former president in the city the day before the 14th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
Stock Market Collapse Would Hurt Democratic Chances
“U.S. stocks continued their sharp decline on Tuesday, fueling talk of a worst-case scenario for both Wall Street and the broader U.S. economy heading into 2016. And it is one that could make it all but impossible for Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat to win the White House,” Politico reports.
“Under this scenario, a further collapse in China reignites fear in U.S. markets. A strengthening dollar hurts exports while job growth, which is already slowing, stalls out completely. Meanwhile, Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve make a huge policy mistake and raise interest rates too soon, choking off what little growth we have. If all this comes to pass, markets could return to free-fall, the U.S. economy could tip back into recession and voter attitudes about the direction of the country — already highly negative — could hit historic lows.”
A Biden-Warren Ticket Would Be Formidable
Al Hunt: “If Joe Biden was trying to unsettle Hillary Clinton by meeting with Elizabeth Warren over the weekend, here’s a way to really rattle her: pick the Massachusetts senator as his presidential running mate and announce it now.”
“Vice President Biden may or may not be serious about challenging Clinton, but one thing is certain: He can’t beat her unless something dramatic and unexpected happens. That’s what a Warren selection would be.”
“There is precedent. In 1976, Ronald Reagan, the champion of Republican conservatives, picked Richard Schweiker, the liberal Pennsylvania senator, to be his running mate about a month before the party’s convention. It almost worked.”
Luntz Thinks It’s Possible Trump Could Win Nomination
GOP pollster Frank Luntz “assembled 29 Donald Trump supporters in a white-walled room — and a gaggle of reporters behind one-way glass. The goal, he said, was to try to drill down on how lasting, how real and how strong is the Mack truck that has jackknifed his party this summer,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Two hours later, he declared his answer: “He is much stronger, his support is much more solid than I ever would have expected.”
Will Trump be the nominee? “It’s now totally conceivable that he will be.”
Strickland Leads Portman in Ohio
A new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio shows Ted Strickland (D) just ahead of Sen. Rob Portman (R) in a possible U.S. Senate match up, 44% to 41%.
Trump Mocks and Ejects Univision Reporter
Univision’s Jorge Ramos was mocked by Donald Trump after asking a question about immigration and then escorted out of a news conference, the New York Times reports.
Ramos stood and began asking a question just as Mr. Trump recognized another reporter: “Excuse me, sit down. You weren’t called. Sit down. Sit down.”
Wonk Wire: Trump remains deeply unpopular with Hispanic voters
