Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
The GOP establishment has turned to Marco Rubio as the party’s best chance to take down Donald Trump after his second consecutive win. A number of lawmakers have rallied around Rubio in the wake of his second-place finish in South Carolina and Jeb Bush’s departure from the race.
Even with the influx of star-power and momentum, may be a tall order for the Florida senator to champion the GOP front-runner as Trump continues to be the heavy favorite in most of the states that will cast votes on Super Tuesday.
Tonight, The Hill’s Jonathan Easley will explore the establishment’s efforts to take down Trump.
Come back tomorrow as The Hill’s Ben Kamisar outlines five things to watch for on Tuesday’s Nevada caucuses as Donald Trump seeks to rack up another victory and Rubio and Cruz duel for the slot as the candidate who has the best chance to knock off Trump as the front-runner.
Looking forward to Saturday’s Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton’s camp is feeling optimistic about her “firewall” with minority voters, fresh off her win in Nevada. Check back to The Hill tomorrow as reporter Amie Parnes digs into how Team Clinton plans to replicate this strategy ahead of Super Tuesday.
Make sure to come back to The Hill for updates about the race on both sides of the aisles and check out reporter Scott Wong’s story on how influential GOP chairmen from Texas are beating back primary challenges amid the nationwide anti-establishment sentiment.
And keep an eye out for a report from The Hill’s Megan Wilson on the lobbyists who donated millions to aid Jeb Bush’s bid and see if they’ll lend a hand — and some cash — to the remaining candidates now that Bush has dropped out.
Be sure to come back to The Hill on Tuesday night for updates on the Nevada GOP caucus and CNN’s Democratic town hall in South Carolina.
RACE TO 1600 PENN
STEPPING DOWN: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Ted Cruz asked his communications director to resign after distributing a story that portrayed Marco Rubio as dismissing the Bible. Rick Tyler had issued an apology to Rubio, but the Florida senator blasted Cruz for a pattern of “deceptive” tactics.
RENEWED ATTACKS: The Hill’s Sarah Ferris reports: Democratic Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is hitting Bernie Sanders over supporting a federal law that offered immunity to the gun industry amid a court battle between a gunmaker and families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
LAST MINUTE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Bernie Sanders chided Hillary Clinton over “hastily adopted campaign rhetoric” that resembles his own as the two Democratic rivals spar over the progressive mantle.
DOUBLE STANDARD: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: A former CIA officer serving jail time for leaking documents accused federal officials of setting a double standard by apparently refusing to aggressively prosecute Hillary Clinton and said she was “completely given a pass” for her emails on a private server during her time as secretary of State.
ODDS AND ENDS:
PICTURE PERFECT: The Hill’s Mario Trujillo reports: Officials for the Nevada GOP caucus will report results by taking a picture of the tallied results at each caucus location and send them to county and state headquarters “via telephone and photo confirmation.”
TWO-MAN RACE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested that the GOP presidential race is down to Donald Trump and Marco Rubio and said there’s a more than “50 percent chance” Trump will be the nominee.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: The Republican National Committee dug up past footage from the 2008 South Carolina primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to push back on her overwhelming support among the state’s black voters ahead of Saturday’s primary.
IN KASICH’S CORNER: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Former Pennsylvania governor and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge endorsed John Kasich and will also join his presidential campaign as a national co-chair.
ENERGIZING HIS CAMPAIGN: The Hill’s Timothy Cama reports: Larry Nichols, one of the early pioneers in the recent boom in hydraulic fracturing, is now one of Marco Rubio’s top energy advisers.
POLL POSITION
WV IS SANDERS COUNTRY: The Hill’s Caitlin Yilek reports: Bernie Sanders leads Hillary Clinton by nearly two-to-one in West Virginia, according to a new MetroNews West Virginia poll.
BAY STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Cyra Master reports: Donald Trump holds a commanding lead with 50 percent while the rest of the GOP field trails far behind. For Democrats, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are tied, according to a new survey from Emerson College Polling Society.
THE DAILY TRUMP
ONE DELEGATE CLOSER: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump won an additional delegate in New Hampshire at the expense of Marco Rubio, according to the New Hampshire secretary of State’s certified GOP delegate count.
WINNER TAKES ALL: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump bragged about his ability to win across multiple voting blocs after winning Saturday’s South Carolina primary. “We won with everything. …Tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people. Just won.”
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) floated a Marco Rubio-John Kasich ticket as a way to take down GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We just got an army of people — and many women, who left their kitchens to go out and go door-to-door and put yard signs up for me all the way back when things were different.”
— John Kasich, at a campaign stop in Fairfax, Va., talking about women who supported his past political campaigns
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
COURT DRAMA: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), one of the most vulnerable incumbents this cycle, broke with his party to allow President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee to receive a hearing and vote.
UNDER REVIEW: The Hill’s Cristina Marcos reports: The House Ethics Committee publicly acknowledged it is conducting a review into Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), who’s running in a heated primary battle forthe Democratic nomination for Senate against Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.). The panel said it will issue a decision on whether to open a formal investigation into Grayson’s activities by April 5.
MONEY WATCH
DSCC TOPS NRSC: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee outpaced the National Republican Senatorial Committee by $2 million in January. The DSCC has $13.6 million in cash on hand, just below the NRSC’s 13.8 million.
BATTLE FOR BUSH DONORS: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan and Jonathan Easley report: Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are locked in a fight for the Bush family donor network now that Jeb Bush has exited the race.
TRUMP TAKEDOWN: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Donald Trump is threatening one of the GOP mega-donor families, who own the Chicago Cubs, after it was revealed as the secret funder behind a super-PAC that aims to destroy his candidacy.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:
(All times Eastern)
Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton participate in a CNN town hall at the University of South Carolina in Columbia from 8-10 p.m. Tuesday.
John Kasich holds a town hall at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond at 6:30 p.m. today and will be a guest on “The Kelly File” on Fox News at 10 tonight. He holds two events in the Atlanta metro area on Tuesday, one at Kennesaw State University at noon and one in Sandy Springs at 5:30 p.m.
Donald Trump is a guest on “Hannity” on Fox News at 9 tonight. He holds a rally in Las Vegas at 10 p.m. today and one at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Sparks, Nevada.
Ted Cruz holds a rally in Elko, Nevada at 6:30 p.m. today.
Bernie Sanders holds a rally at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst at 7 p.m. today and a rally in Norfolk, Va., Tuesday morning. He’ll be a guest on Tavis Smiley’s PBS show at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Marco Rubio holds three campaign events on Tuesday — an 11 a.m. rally in Las Vegas; a Minneapolis rally at 4:15 p.m. and a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., at 7:30 p.m.
Hillary Clinton holds a “Breaking Down Barriers Forum” with Sybrina Fulton, Geneva Reed-Veal, Gwen Carr, Maria Hamilton, and Lucy McBath, in Columbia, S.C., beginning at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, broadcast on C-SPAN. She’ll be a guest on Tavis Smiley’s PBS show at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen.
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