A new Public Policy Polling survey finds Hillary Clinton leading the field of potential Republican candidates by anywhere from 3 to 9 points. Her advantage is down from being ahead by 7 to 10 points against the various potential GOP contenders on our February poll.
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
A Foreign Policy Split Inside Bush’s Campaign
“Two prominent factions within the Republican foreign policy establishment are fighting for control over who will help guide former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush‘s policy positions as he gears up for a campaign for the presidency,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“More hawkish Republicans — represented by the prominent, interventionist neoconservatives who populated the ranks of the George W. Bush administration — have repeatedly raised concerns about the more pragmatic foreign policy team being assembled around Mr. Bush.”
Ferguson Elects Two African-Americans to City Council
“For the first time in Ferguson’s 120-year history, the City Council will have three African-American members, but even so, Tuesday’s election was less than a clear victory for the throngs of volunteers who poured into the city in a last-minute push to sway voters,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
USA Today: “When the two new African-American council members take their seats it will be the first time that blacks have controlled half of the council, despite the fact that two-thirds of the city’s 21,000 residents are black.”
Quote of the Day
“I’ve told Hillary that I don’t think I’m good at campaigning anymore because I’m not mad at anybody.”
— Bill Clinton, quoted by CNN.
Manchin Will Decide on Governor’s Race Soon
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he “will decide whether to run for governor no later than the end of next month,” the Charleston Daily Mail reports.
Do Campaign Kickoffs Matter?
Politico: “Today, the mere act of announcing a candidacy amounts to a minor art form, with elaborate care and attention lavished on every facet of a declaration that, let’s face it, is almost already old news.”
“The realities of social media mean that candidates themselves, every bit as much as traditional news organizations, can control the manner and means of spreading their message — while gathering thousands of email addresses and other contact information from potential supporters and raising money online in the process. And the decisions they make about how and where to launch their campaigns can be a message in itself.”
Grayson and Wife Agree to Annulment
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and his wife “have agreed to annul their 24-year marriage as they continued talks on a settlement, ending an acrimonious divorce process that had included allegations of bigamy, financial abandonment and battery,” the AP reports.
Schock Aides Appear Before Grand Jury
“With federal prosecutors investigating former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), at least three current or former staffers were in Springfield on Tuesday, summoned to testify before a grand jury,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
“Schock’s resignation from Congress on March 31 did not affect the investigation, which was launched after stories in the Chicago Sun-Times, Politico, USA Today and other outlets raised questions about Schock’s lavish spending of taxpayer and political funds and other dealings.”
Emanuel Wins Re-Election as Chicago Mayor
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to concede defeat, the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Tuesday’s election capped a hard-fought, nationally watched six-week campaign that featured Emanuel in a fight for his political life against Garcia, who has presented himself as the more compassionate option. The contest served as the nation’s latest proxy battle between establishment Democrats, represented by the mayor, and progressives, who backed Garcia.”
Video Contradicts Police Story in South Carolina
“A white police officer in North Charleston, S.C., was charged with murder on Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting and killing an apparently unarmed black man in the back while he ran away,” the New York Times reports.
An Untested Path to the White House
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) entry “into the race for the White House said as much about his own political aspirations as it did about a vexing truth for Republicans: Many of them believe their party is simply not big enough to elect a president in 2016,” the New York Times reports.
“Offering a conservative message threaded with a contrarian strain of libertarianism that he hopes will appeal to minority and younger voters, Mr. Paul is taking perhaps the most unconventional and untested route to assembling the broader coalition that many Republicans say they will need to remain a viable national party.”
The Wall Street Journal notes Paul “took more shots at the GOP” than at President Obama.
Washington Post: “Paul’s appeal was rooted in part in the purist libertarian plank championed for decades by his father, former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. But the senator also seeks to move beyond his father’s base by stitching together a nontraditional coalition among disparate blocs of voters who share frustration with the federal government’s role in their lives, whether evangelicals, tea party activists or tech-savvy millennials.”
Reid Lost Vision In His Eye
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he’s now “sightless” in his right eye following a brutal exercise injury in January, Politico reports.
Reid said he has undergone 11 hours of surgery to repair the eye, but he’s still unable to see out of it until “something comes along that’ll change it.”
Cheney Takes On Obama in New Book
Coming soon: Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America by Dick Cheney and Liz Cheney.
The book “contends that Obama has abandoned a decades-long tradition of American global leadership,” according to the AP.
A Deep Dive Into Party Affiliation
Pew Research: “Democrats hold advantages in party identification among blacks, Asians, Hispanics, well-educated adults and Millennials. Republicans have leads among whites – particularly white men, those with less education and evangelical Protestants – as well as members of the Silent Generation.”
Paul Promises to Break the Washington Machine
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “officially declared himself a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, promising a crowd of cheering supporters that he is ready to shake up Washington and disprove those in his own party who doubt that a fiercely libertarian conservative can be a serious contender,” the New York Times reports.
Said Paul: “The Washington machine that gobbles up our freedoms and invades every nook and cranny of our lives must be stopped. I want to be part of a return to prosperity.”
Politico: “Paul took aim at his fellow Republicans as he formally launched his presidential bid on Tuesday in Louisville, railing against his party for succumbing to special interests and framing himself as a fiercely anti-establishment figure who would appeal to a broad swath of the electorate.”
Washington Post: “Paul’s announcement makes him the second major Republican candidate to officially jump into the 2016 race, just the first of a string of campaign debuts slated for this month.”
Hillary Kept Everyone Guessing
Politico: “In the last year, at least 20 journalists from as many news organizations have tried to put a date, rough or specific, on when the former secretary of state would announce her highly anticipated presidential bid. That guessing game came to an end last week when the Clinton team signed a lease on campaign headquarters in Brooklyn, all but guaranteeing an announcement within the next two weeks, in compliance with federal law.”
“The shifting timeline, which ranged at times from January to October, was almost certainly the result of changing plans within the nascent Clinton campaign, as well as the conflicting interests of various Clinton confidants and sources. Nevertheless, the changes likely left readers doing a doubletake.”
Paul Accepts Bitcoin Donations
Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) newly-announced presidential campaign is accepting bitcoin donations, National Journal reports.
“The decision to accept bitcoin — a decentralized form of online payment that is quick and avoids common fees — was likely an easy one for Paul, who is hoping to court Silicon Valley’s interests as well as youth voters during his presidential bid. Paul, whose website includes a flashy online store that includes merchandise like an “NSA spy cam blocker,” has long envisioned himself as a more tech-friendly member of the GOP—a perception he’ll need to keep as more traditional Republican backers remain leery of his candidacy.”
Deciphering the Campaign Finance Maze
Wonk Wire highlights a really useful chart to make sense of it all.
