Welcome to OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
Fresh off a $20 million third quarter haul, likely the largest in the GOP field to date, Ben Carson is moving to leverage his enormous third quarter fundraising haul to capitalize on his run of success atop the polls.
The former neurosurgeon and key campaign officials spoke to The Hill about the plans step up advertising, staffing and outreach ahead as the Iowa caucuses continue to draw nearer.
RACE TO 1600 PENN:
DEM DEBATE HANGOVER: Tuesday night’s Democratic debate drove the coverage Wednesday morning, with many Democratic strategists calling it a victory for Hillary Clinton.
The Hill’s Niall Stanage takes a look at how Clinton’s emphasis on the potential historic nature of becoming the first female president continues to show a dramatic shift from her 2008 campaign.
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports:Fresh off a strong debate performance, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has shifted its tone and is publicly signaling it wants Vice President Joe Biden to decide now about whether he’ll enter the race.
NOT SO FAST: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports:Donald Trump says Bernie Sanders let Hillary Clinton “off the hook” by dismissing controversy over her private email server. GOP rival Jeb Bush agrees. At least Democrats are sick of hearing about those “damn” emails.
RAND ON LGBT WORKERS: The LA Times reports: Rand Paul doesn’t believe the government should be involved in setting protections for LGBT workers. “I think society’s rapidly changing, and that if you are gay, there are plenty of places that will hire you,” he said in Iowa.
STILL THERE: Watch Wolf Blitzer bluntly ask Lincoln Chafee when he will end his “futile” bid to become the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
ODDS AND ENDS:
RECORD NUMBERS: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: An average of 15.3 million viewers tuned in to last night’s debate, a record for Democrats, albeit significantly lower than the 24 million that watched the first GOP debate.
BOWLING FOR BERNIE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore picks Bernie Sanders as the winner of last night’s Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas.
HIS OWN WORST CRITIC: The Hill’s Mark Hensch Reports: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took aim at his own daylong livestream of his campaign trek through Iowa, calling it a “dumba—“ idea overall.
TMI: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: “The View” host Joy Behar said she is “aroused” by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) following his defense of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton. Sanders defended Clinton’s use of a private email server during the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night.
COOKING WITH GAS: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that the ideas presented during the first Democratic presidential debate show the “recipe to destroy a country.”
POLL POSITION:
TRUMP RISING: The Hill’s Bradford Richardson reports: Donald Trump is holding double-digit leads over Ben Carson in the early-voting states of Nevada and South Carolina in a new CNN/ORC poll.
THE DAILY TRUMP:
PROTECTING TRUMP: The Hill’s Kevin Cirilli and Bob Cusack report: Trump thinks he should have Secret Service protection like Barack Obama did in 2008, he said in an exclusive interview with The Hill. “Personally, I think if Obama were doing as well as me he would’ve had Secret Service [earlier]. I have by far the biggest crowds,” he said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“I’m a female executive at his company at the highest level. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if he didn’t deeply believe in opportunity for women.” — Ivanka Trump on her father
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS:
TAR HEEL RACE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports:Former state Rep. Deborah Ross (D) has jumped into the North Carolina Senate primary, as Democrats look to coalesce around a candidate with the chops to take down incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R).
NOT SO FAST: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports:Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is fundraising off of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) comment suggesting that New Hampshire shouldn’t have a big role in picking the president.
MONEY WATCH:
BENNET BANKS MORE THAN A MILLION: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports:Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) raised $1.6 million in the third quarter, building on his money advantage in a race where he’s yet to attract a big-name challenger.
BERNIE DOES TOO: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Bernie Sanders’ campaign says it raised $1.3 million in four hours after the debate off his defense of Hillary Clinton’s email controversy.
ILLINOIS SENATE: Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) announced in a release that she raised nearly $1.5 million in the third quarter as she seeks to beat back a challenge from a fellow Democrat in a primary, Andrea Zopp, the former president of the Chicago Urban League. Duckworth has $2.8 million on hand.
FLORIDA SENATE: Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), who faces several Republican challengers in a primary for Florida Senate, raised $1.2 million in the third quarter and has $2.5 million in the bank.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TOMORROW AND OVER THE WEEKEND:
(All times Eastern)
Thursday marks the deadline for all campaigns–presidential and congressional– to turn in third-quarter fundraising reports, which will give reporters, political obsessives and potential donors a more tangible look at the health and direction of the campaign. We already know a bunch of top-line numbers, but tomorrow will bring the remaining figures, as well as cast even brighter light on the campaigns that have already announced fundraising results. Check back with The Hill for reports throughout the day.
Hillary Clinton will join the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio for a question and answer session at 1 p.m., followed by a rally nearby.
Bernie Sanders makes his first appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on Thursday.
Luncheon fundraiser will be held on Thursday with Ben Carson in Augusta, Ga., with tickets going for $2,700, $1,000 and $250.
Jeb Bush on Thursday will participate in a roundtable discussion with the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence at UNH Law Center in Concord at 10 a.m. and heads to Connecticut Thursday night for fundraisers before heading back to Miami on Friday night. Jeb Bush, Jr. will be in New York for a Hispanic Heritage Month Fiesta at Westchester Community College and a New York University College Republicans event,
Carly Fiorina holds a town hall meeting in Spencer, Iowa, Thursday.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich holds an event, “John Kasich’s Plan to Get Money, Power and Influence out of Washington and Return It Back to Americans” Thursday morning at Nashua Community College in New Hampshire.
Marco Rubio will deliver remarks to the Republican Committee of Chester County at 6:30pm in King of Prussia, Penn.
Mike Huckabee has three stops planned in Iowa, in Fort Madison, Mt. Pleasant, and Donahue.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, jeasley@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com; Ben Kamisar, bkamisar@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com; Jonathan Swan, jswan@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com.
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