A new Gravis Marketing poll in Iowa finds Jeb Bush leading the GOP pack with 16%, followed by Scott Walker at 13%, Marco Rubio at 12%, Rand Paul at 9%, Ben Carson at 9%, Mike Huckabee at 8% and Ted Cruz at 6%.
Bush Will Delegate Many Functions to Super PAC
Jeb Bush “is preparing to embark on an experiment in presidential politics: delegating many of the nuts-and-bolts tasks of seeking the White House to a separate political organization that can raise unlimited amounts of campaign cash,” the AP reports.
“Should Bush move ahead as his team intends, it is possible that for the first time a super PAC created to support a single candidate would spend more than the candidate’s campaign itself — at least through the primaries. Some of Bush’s donors believe that to be more than likely.”
National Journal reports GOP strategist Mike Murphy will forgo a top position with the campaign to run Bush’s super PAC instead.
Sandoval Confounds Many Republicans
“In a Republican Party hoping to woo Hispanic voters in 2016, few can claim the résumé of Gov. Brian Sandoval. He is the state’s first Latino governor and the national GOP’s ideal candidate to run for the U.S. Senate seat Harry Reid plans to vacate that year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“But Mr. Sandoval has upended GOP politics, declining to say whether he’ll run for the Senate and pushing for the largest tax increase in Nevada history. His tax-increase proposal has divided GOP state legislators here during a biennial session.”
Can Christie Stop the Bleeding?
“To put it mildly, this is not the presidential campaign Chris Christie would have envisioned for himself,” Bloomberg reports.
“No wonder the New Jersey governor and one-time Republican rock star is heading to Washington D.C. on Tuesday. At the State Department, where he’s scheduled to deliver a foreign policy speech at the Washington Conference on the Americas, he’ll get a break from Monday’s double barrel shot of bad news on the home front: The defection of a longtime political ally and personal friend to a political rival and a Quinnipiac poll showing him with a record-low approval rating of 38 percent in his state.”
“All of these developments have unfolded against a more ominous backdrop: Christie awaits word on whether he or members of his staff will face criminal indictments in the so-called Bridgegate scandal.”
Huffington Post: Bad news for Chris Christie
McCain Denies Cruz Claims
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) “denied reports that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is pushing him to hold hearings exploring whether soldiers should be able to carry concealed guns on military bases,” the Huffington Post reports.
Said McCain: “I was fascinated to hear that, since I haven’t heard a thing about it from him, nor has my staff heard from his staff.”
And the Good News Is…
Just out from former George W. Bush White House press secretary Dana Perino: And the Good News Is…: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side.
Politico has some highlights from the book.
Hillary Clinton Embraces Elizabeth Warren’s Message
New York Times: “For anyone who wondered what kind of economic message Mrs. Clinton would deliver in her campaign, the first few days made it clear: She is embracing the ideas trumpeted by Ms. Warren and the populist movement — that the wealthy have been benefiting disproportionately from the economy, while the middle class and the poor have been left behind. And the policies Mrs. Clinton is advancing, like paid sick leave for employees and an increase in the minimum wage, align with that emphasis.”
“But now, the former secretary of state must convince voters that she is the right messenger for the cause of inequality, not simply seizing on it out of political expedience.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“We have a woman running who got fired from a company; now she’s running for president. She got fired from a company in a vicious manner. They eventually walked her out. And she also lost an election, not by a little bit, by a landslide. I won’t use names. Now I turn on the television, and she’s running for president. I don’t know.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, talking about Carly Florina.
Top Christie Adviser Defects to Bush Camp
Joseph Kyrillos, who chaired Gov. Chris Christie’s 2009 gubernatorial campaign and ushered his agenda through a Democratic-controlled legislature, is backing Jeb Bush in the GOP presidential race with a $10,000 donation, according to the Washington Post.
“The defection of Kyrillos to Bush’s camp is a blow to Christie, who places a premium on loyalty and had hoped to keep his network of allies in New Jersey with him, should he decide to seek the Republican nomination.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think it’s worth noting that Republicans seem to be talking only about me. I don’t know what they’d talk about if I weren’t in the race.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by Politico.
Koch Brothers Signal Support for Scott Walker
Charles and David Koch, “the influential and big-spending conservative donors, have a favorite in the race for the Republican nomination: Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin,” the New York Times reports.
David Koch “told donors that he and his brother, who oversee one of the biggest private political organizations in the country, believed that Mr. Walker was the Republican Party’s best hope for recapturing the White House.”
“The remark — made before dozens of top New York donors who had gathered to hear Mr. Walker speak at the Union League Club — could effectively end one of the most closely watched contests in the “invisible primary,” a period where candidates crisscross the country seeking not the support of voters but the blessing of their party’s biggest donors and fund-raisers.”
Clinton’s Low Key Campaign Continues
“Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign is about to get really boring—at least, if everything goes according to plan,” Bloomberg reports.
“For anyone who paid attention to her trip to Iowa last week, the former secretary of state’s agenda for Monday and Tuesday in New Hampshire looks strikingly similar: two small roundtable conversations open to the press but not to a larger audience of voters, a few carefully-staged photo ops at coffee shops and restaurants, plus private meetings with party activists and elected officials.”
“The biggest differences this week might be the hillier topography and maybe a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts. That’s all by design, as campaign aides try to keep the candidate focused on the voters and issues that have compelled her to run, and to scale back the intense media attention unleashed upon her after months of buildup.”
Is De Blasio Plotting to Challenge Clinton?
“Despite repeated claims to the contrary, Mayor Bill de Blasio is positioning himself to be the leftist ‘progressive’ alternative to Wall Street-friendly Hillary Clinton as the Democratic candidate for president,” a national party operative told the New York Post.
“De Blasio’s hope, the operative said, is a ‘Draft de Blasio’ movement will develop among progressive activists over the next several months that will lead to the mayor being able to defeat Clinton in the primary elections next year in much the same way leftist Sen. George McGovern successfully challenged the initially front-running establishment Democratic candidate, Sen. Edmund Muskie, more than 40 years ago.”
Graham Says Clinton Friendship Shouldn’t Disqualify Him
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) “says his friendliness with the Clintons should not deter Republicans from considering him for the Republican presidential nomination,” Politico reports.
Said Graham: “Well, that would disqualify Jeb, because apparently Bill is like his illegitimate brother.”
U.S. and Japan Near Trade Deal
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo and Washington “are near an agreement on a major Pacific free-trade pact, a deal that would help advance President Obama’s economic agenda, and tighten ties between the two allies as they seek to counter China’s growing influence,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Working Capital Review: How high-stakes financial innovation is reshaping our world for the better
All About Hillary
First Read: “There are two consequences of having an early presidential contest become all about you. One, being the early frontrunner and the focus of everyone’s attention isn’t always an envious place to be. Think Romney in 2011. Rudy in 2007. McCain in 2007 (after his campaign imploded). And, of course, Hillary in 2007-2008.”
“As the frontrunner, you get the bulk of the slings and arrows — as well as the tough media attention. Indeed, it’s preferable to be the primary-season candidate who sneaks up one everyone and times his/her ascent perfectly, a la Obama in Jan. 2008, McCain in Jan. 2008 (after his campaign regrouped), and John Kerry in 2004.”
“The other consequence of having an election become all about you is that it becomes an exhausting. If you can endure — or better yet, outlast — the scrutiny, the story will change, especially in today’s rapid-fire media climate. But you’ve got to survive it first. And thrive. It’s a process that wears you down. But the successful candidates at least LOOK like they’re enjoying it.”
Lobby Expenditures Keep Rising
The Weekly Wonk: “Corporations now spend about $2.6 billion a year on reported lobbying expenditures – more than the $2 billion we spend to fund the House ($1.16 billion) and Senate ($820 million).”
Quote of the Day
“Does she think there are like floppy disks in her basement?”
— Sen. Ran Paul (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, mocking Hillary Clinton for saying the Secret Service guarded her private email server.
