Overnight Campaign: Establishment Republicans struggle to break out in NH

by Ben Kamisar - 12/01/15 6:29 PM ET

Welcome to OVERNIGHT CAMPAIGN, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

After Donald Trump at the top of the polls in New Hampshire, there’s a group of Republican establishment candidates clamoring to break out and establish themselves as the next logical choice to the billionaire real estate mogul. But the longer they’re stuck in the middle, says one Republican, that could clear the top slots for Trump and Ted Cruz and give them much needed momentum at the beginning of primary season.

Check out The Hill tomorrow for more on the logjam in the Granite State, as well as stories on Donald Trump’s latest battle and Hillary Clinton’s likability.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

CLINTON MARKS ROSA PARKS: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Hillary Clinton says the United States has far to go before it realizes the dream Rosa Parks had for the country when she was arrested for not moving to the back of an Alabama bus 60 years ago Tuesday.

INK WARS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: The Star-Ledger’s editorial page editor is none-too-pleased about the New Hampshire Union Leader’s endorsement of its hometown Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential campaign.

CORN WARS: The Hill’s Timothy Cama reports: An Iowa-based ethanol group is running advertisements against Sen. Ted Cruz, just as the GOP presidential hopeful’s campaign is gaining steam in the Hawkeye State. Then again, Sen. Arnold Vinick (R-West Wing) won the party’s nomination in the popular television show despite his opposition to ethanol subsidies, so let’s see what happens.

COMEY HOLDS THE KEYS: The Hill’s Bob Cusack and Ian Swanson report: Out of the political spotlight, FBI director James Comey is right at the center of one of the 2016 election’s biggest stories: Hillary Clinton’s email investigation.

BUSH BUILDS WITH GRANITE: WMUR reports: Jeb Bush’s campaign is staffing up in New Hampshire, going from 12 paid staffers to 20, as he continues to expand his footprint in the crucial early nominating state that typically rewards candidates from the establishment ilk.

O’MALLEY ON THE HILL: The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports: Martin O’Malley spoke to the House Democrats at their weekly meeting on Tuesday, where many praised him despite having endorsed Clinton.

ODDS AND ENDS:

CARSON WARNS ON REFUGEES: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Ben Carson said that refugees are more likely to become radicalized when concentrated in a country where many are “resentful” of them. He also accused President Obama of hypocrisy for asking Turkey to seal its border despite America’s own issues with its southern border.

MORE MARCO-MENTUM: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) is the latest lawmaker to back Marco Rubio’s presidential bid. Fifteen of Rubio’s 19 lawmaker endorsements have come over the past two months.

FREUDIAN SLIP?: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Jeb Bush used the female pronoun when referring to his potential VP pick. Sorry to all of those who had their money on America’s first robot vice president.

POLL POSITION

HAS TRUMP BROKEN POLLING?: FiveThirtyEight reports: The website goes into a deep dive on the difference between live and internet polling, and how Donald Trump’s better performance in online polling could have broader implications for the future of polling, as pollsters shift toward online models for a variety of reasons.

THE DAILY TRUMP

WHAT’S AFTER DOUBLING DOWN?: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump tweeted an excerpt from a 2001 New York Post opinion piece as proof of his claim that “thousands” of Muslims were celebrating 9/11 in New Jersey.

MAKE AMERICA’S NSA GREAT AGAIN: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday sided with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) over Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on restoring surveillance measures under the Patriot Act.

PAY FOR PLAY: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: The Donald floated the prospect of charging CNN a $5 million fee for his next debate participation, a massive figure that he would donate to veterans or injured service members.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“And between the sort of crony capitalism, Wall Street capitalism, and an economy of the few, by the few and for the few, and the proven failure that is socialism, there is a better way forward.”

— Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to reporters Tuesday, a not-so-veiled critique of Clinton and Sanders

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

SUNSHINE SHAKEUP: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Three key staffers on Rep. Alan Grayson’s insurgent bid for Florida’s open senate seat are leaving the Democratic lawmaker’s campaign.

FIGHT OVER REFUGEES: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is bashing his likely Democratic opponent over her willingness to accept Syrian refugees in light of the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month in a new ad, but Rep. Tammy Duckworth’s campaign has called the ad “false” and appealing “exclusively to fear.”

SCHUMER BUMP: The Times Union reports: Future Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) told the paper that he hopes Ulster County Executive Mike Hein runs for Congress in the state’s 18th district, a seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Chris Gibson, who is retiring.

BUCKEYE HOPEFUL: RealClearPolitics reports: Only about one in every 10 Ohioans may know who Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld in his bid for the Democratic Senate nomination against the better known establishment pick, former Gov. Ted Strickland, but that doesn’t worry the underdog candidate.

MONEY WATCH

SHOW ME THE MONEY: Reuters reports: Jeb Bush has rolled out his national finance team in the hopes of showing that the former front-runner still wields significant establishment strength despite his slide at the polls.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY, TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND:

(All times Eastern)

Rick Santorum will be on “Hardball with Chris Matthews” at 7 p.m. today on MSNBC.

Carly Fiorina is a guest on Fox News’ “The Kelly File” at 9 p.m. today.

Ted Cruz will appear on “Hannity” at 10 p.m. today on Fox News.

Ben Carson will swing through South Carolina for two town hall meetings, a press conference and an appearance at Wofford University.

Donald Trump hosts a campaign rally in Manassas, VA at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday night’s “Charlie Rose” show on PBS will air his full interview with Hillary Clinton, who heads to Tampa on Wednesday for a fundraiser at the home of Alex Sink, former Florida chief financial officer.

Jim Gilmore will record an interview with WMUR at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Manchester as part of the station’s Candidate Cafe series. He’ll then move on to a noon town hall at New England College’s Henniker campus.

TWEET OF THE DAY

.@govmikehuckabee isn’t taking pain meds post-knee surgery – “I saw what it did to my friend Rick Perry when he ran for president.”

— Betsy Klein (@betsy_klein) December 1, 2015