Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
It’s the eve before voters head to the polls and cast ballots in the critical New York primaries, but the battles within both parties are far from slowing down.
In the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are lobbing fiercer attacks at one another in a contest that has grown nastier in recent weeks. Clinton is still expected to win the Empire State, but that hasn’t stopped Sanders from trading barbs with her and he continues to push her to the left on a host of issues.
The shift in tone also signals concerns overwhether supporters of the Vermont senator will unite behind Clinton if she wins the nomination, which could hurt her in the general election.
Make sure to come back tomorrow morning to read more from The Hill’s Niall Stanage and Amie Parnes about the escalating Democratic primary fight.
Meanwhile, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus finds himself caught in the crosshairs regarding the debate over the rules at the GOP convention this summer.
He has attempted to stay neutral, but had a setback after the RNC’s rules committee chairman suggested over the weekend that Priebus was tipping the scales against Donald Trump or Ted Cruz by coming out against any rule changes before the convention.
Trump has cast the primary process as “rigged” and has repeatedly called for Republicans to award the nomination to the candidate with the most delegates, even if he doesn’t reach the 1,237 threshold the party has set for the nominee?
Ben Kamisar will have more on Priebus’s struggle in the debate over convention rules tonight at The Hill.
And come back to The Hill tomorrow morning for the five things to watch in the New York primary and throughout the night for live updates on the results and candidate speeches.
RACE TO 1600 PENN
SHARP ATTACKS: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Hillary Clinton in a fiery campaign speech said she is “appalled” at Bernie Sanders, accusing him of abandoning abortion rights advocates. In her most pointed strike against Sanders on the issue, Clinton linked the Vermont senator to Donald Trump.
BACK AT YA: The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports: Bernie Sanders rallied a huge crowd in his home borough of Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon with a speech that drew stark and sometimes scathing comparisons with his rival Hillary Clinton.
9/11 LAWSUIT: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are throwing their support behind legislation that would allow victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia, on the eve of the New York primary.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE COMPLAINT: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Bernie Sanders’s campaign is complaining about joint fundraising by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign, arguing that the fundraising raises “serious apparent violations” of campaign finance laws. Clinton’s campaign fired back, calling his accusations “false attacks.”
FLAILING AFTER FIRST BALLOT: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Ted Cruz predicted that Donald Trump’s support among delegates would plummet if he fails to clinch the nomination on first ballot at the Republican National Convention.
SECOND CHANCE: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appeared to take a veiled shot at Donald Trump, suggesting he’s “increasingly optimistic” the Republican race will require a second ballot at the GOP convention in Cleveland.
ODDS AND ENDS:
DRAWING CONTRASTS: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Bernie Sanders sought to distinguish his criticism of Hillary Clinton’s corporate ties from an “ugly” attack on Clinton by GOP front-runner Donald Trump.
MORE THAN JUST A SUPERDELEGATE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who supports Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination said that voters should remember Democratic superdelegates are people too.
NOT SO FAST: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Bernie Sanders said Hillary Clinton shouldn’t expect his supporters to automatically back her should she win the Democratic nomination.
CELEBRITY DOLLARS: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Bernie Sanders’s campaign manager said that a fundraiser hosted by actor George Clooney is only benefiting Hillary Clinton, not any down-ballot Democratic candidates.
PLEASING THE BIG BOSSES: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump is not letting up in his attacks against Ted Cruz and the primary process, tweeting that the Texas senator “has to sell himself” to GOP “bosses” because he “can’t win with the voters.”
LACK OF COMPASSION: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: The mother of a woman killed in a mass shooting said that Bernie Sanders lacks sympathy for gun violence victims.
POLL POSITION
NARROWING IN NATIONALLY: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Bernie Sanders has narrowed in on Hillary Clinton in the latest national poll. She holds a 2-point lead nationally over Sanders in the NBC NEws/Wall Street Journal poll.
TRUMP ON TOP: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump has 40 percent support among GOP primary voters, according to a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Ted Cruz follows close behind with 35 percent, and John Kasich comes in third place with 24 percent.
THE DAILY TRUMP
SWEEP ALL DELEGATES: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a surrogate for Donald Trump, said the GOP front-runner could win all of New York’s delegates in Tuesday’s primary, calling Trump’s popularity “truly amazing.”
WRONG FOR AMERICA: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Hillary Clinton blasted Donald Trump, saying she is afraid of what the billionaire would do if he won the White House. “He does scare me, because what he’s saying that he would do is wrong for our country.”
PERCEPTION PROBLEM: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump’s son, Eric, said the GOP has a “perception problem” over its presidential rules and said it’s unfair his father won Arizona’s popular vote, only to have more delegates go to rival Ted Cruz.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m always in trouble when I try to dance in public. Have you noticed that?”
— Hillary Clinton, who explained during an interview with Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” that she has “no coordination.”
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
ADDITIONAL AIRTIME: House Majority PAC announced that it has added TV reservations for the fall in the Phoenix, Ariz. and Green Bay, Wis. media markets, according to a release from the Democratic super-PAC. The additional fall reservations bring the group’s total to more than $13.6 million across 15 media markets.
SUNSHINE STATE SHOWDOWN: The Florida Education Association (FEA) endorsed Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) over Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) as the two vie for the open Florida Senate seat, according to a release from Murphy’s campaign. The FEA has more than 140,000 members and is the largest association of professional employees in Florida.
MONEY WATCH
DCCC HAUL: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised more than 11.3 million in March, bringing its fundraising total to nearly $25 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to figures released Monday. The DCCC has $44 million cash on hand and reports no debt.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:
(All times Eastern)
Bernie Sanders holds a rally at 7:30 p.m. today in Long Island City’s Hunter’s Point South Park. He will also hold a rally in Erie, Pa. at 2 p.m. and a rally at Penn State Recreation Hall at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Donald Trump holds a rally in Buffalo, N.Y. at 7 p.m. today. He will hold an election night event at Trump Tower in Manhattan at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
John Kasich holds a town hall in Schenectady, N.Y. at 6 p.m. today. He will make a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pa., at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and then hold a town hall in Annapolis, Md. at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
Hillary Clinton will headline the 2016 Legislative Conference of North America’s Building Trades Unions at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. She will hold a New York Primary Night Party at the Sheraton New York Times Square starting at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
New York holds its Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday. Polls close at 9 p.m.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen.
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