The Trail 2016: Sanders who?

by Lisa Hagen - 05/19/16 6:20 PM ET

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.

Hillary Clinton needs 90 delegates to officially the Democratic nomination, but that hasn’t stopped the former secretary of State from saying that the race is all but over.

In a Thursday interview with CNN, Clinton said there’s “no way” she won’t be the party’s nominee. “I will be the nominee for my party, Chris. That is already done in effect. There is no way I won’t be,” she said.

Bernie Sanders isn’t backing down from his uphill primary fight, however, and his campaign hit back at Clinton’s remark that the race is over. “In the past three weeks voters in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton. We expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree,” his spokesman said in a statement.

The Vermont senator, who is 850 delegates short of the nomination, is still plowing forward and at a Wednesday night California rally, thanked Kentucky Democrats for a “great victory” despite losing to Clinton by a razor-thin margin.

As he continues to remain in the race, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), his only Senate supporter, said Sanders should focus on the popular vote and pledged delegates — and not be concerned about swaying superdelegates at the July convention. Merkley said he should concede the race if he ends up losing in both those areas.

While Sanders is aiming at her, Clinton continues to train her fire on presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, and in that same CNN interview, said the businessman is not qualified to be commander in chief. “I know how hard this job is and I know that we need steadiness as well as strength and smarts in it and I have concluded he is not qualified to be president of the United States.”

Stay with The Hill tonight for stories on how Democratic lawmakers expect Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to back Clinton and unite the party and how Trump allies are courting campaign cash out on the West Coast. And come back tomorrow for a story about the behind-the-scenes anger toward Sanders on Team Clinton.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

UNITING BEHIND TRUMP: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers,, the top female House Republican, threw her support behind Donald Trump. Speaker Paul Ryan is the only member of House leadership who has not yet back Trump.

COSTLY PROPOSAL: The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda reports: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says the proposals of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders would add $19 trillion to the debt — an increase from its previous estimate.

RIGHT OLD WRONGS: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump has launched a media offensive to address old wrongs as he seeks to unite Republicans and attract new voters. Trump’s take-no-prisoners style was a hit with GOP primary voters, but his willingness to hit below the belt in upending a culture he argues is spoiled by political correctness has alienated conservatives and left him vulnerable with important voting blocs.

ODDS AND ENDS:

TAKE IT BACK: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) is apologizing for saying that “ugly women” would ultimately reject Donald Trump’s presidential bid. Rendell said that his comments were “incredibly dumb and selfish.”

NO WHITE KNIGHT: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says he doesn’t envision a scenario in which an independent candidate challenges Donald Trump.

UNITE DON’T FIGHT: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) is urging Bernie Sanders to help unite the party ahead of the Democratic National Convention amid growing infighting.

POLL POSITION

TRUMP ON TOP: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump increased his lead over Hillary Clinton, now leading by 5 points, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

CLINTON CRUSHES: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Hillary Clinton leads rival Bernie Sanders by 14 points in New Jersey, a new Quinnipiac University poll found.

THE DAILY TRUMP

NEW AND IMPROVED ROLE: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump’s convention manager Paul Manafort will reportedly move to a more prominent role as the campaign pivots to the general election. He’ll be named campaign chairman and chief strategist, ABC News reported.

TAME TRUMP: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: The former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency is trying to moderate extreme comments of Donald Trump to smooth his path to the White House, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said on Thursday.

BE AGGRESSIVE: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Senior Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller warned Thursday that the campaign’s personal attacks on Hillary Clinton would escalate as the general election approaches.

DELEGATE REPLACEMENT: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump’s campaign is reportedly moving quickly to replace a delegate indicted on charges of child pornography and illegal possession of explosive and a machine gun.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Passions are high, everyone is tired, it’s been an emotional campaign.”

— Clinton supporter Sen. Claire McCaskill, explaining the outbursts by Bernie Sanders supporters at last weekend’s Nevada State Democratic Convention.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

SUNSHINE STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s Bold PAC is putting its support behind Rep. Patrick Murphy as he fights in a divisive Democratic primary for the open Florida Senate seat. He faces Rep. Alan Grayson.

TRUMP TIES: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: American Bridge 21st Century, a liberal super-PAC launched a digital ad targeting vulnerable Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) for supporting Trump as the likely GOP nominee.

TAKE IT DOWN: The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports: A campaign ad for Sen. John McCain’s 2010 reelection bid was blocked on YouTube this week, per a request from his 2016 campaign. McCain challenger Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick’s (D-Ariz.) campaign uploaded the ad, and it was unmodified except for the addition of Spanish subtitles. It shows McCain walking by the border fence and telling a Border Patrol agent to “complete the danged fence.”

UP ON THE AIR: Former Nevada Assemblywoman Lucy Flores (D), a congressional candidate endorsed by Bernie Sanders, launched her first TV ad highlighting expanding Social Security and debt-free college, according to a release. Flores is running in the primary against state Sen. Ruben Kihuen and philanthropist Susie Lee. The winner will face Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-Nev.).

MONEY WATCH

NO CAMPAIGN CASH PLEDGE: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Billionaire industrialist David Koch has denied through a spokesman that he has pledged “tens of millions” of dollars to support the presidential campaign of libertarian Gary Johnson.

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

(All times Eastern)

Donald Trump joins New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for a fundraising event in Lawrence Township, N.J. around 7 p.m. today to help alleviate Christie’s presidential campaign debt. He will speak at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum in Louisville, Ky., on Friday.

Hillary Clinton holds a fundraiser in Dallas at 11 a.m. and a fundraiser hosted by Mayor Steve Adler and Diane Land in Austin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. She will give the keynote speech at the 3rd annual Circle of Mothers conference, sponsored by the Trayvon Martin Foundation, at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Former President Bill Clinton campaigns for his wife in Sioux, North Dakota at 11:30 a.m. and Fargo, North Dakota at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. He will also campaign in California starting on Saturday through Tuesday ahead of the state’s June 7 primary.

Bernie Sanders holds rallies in Sante Fe, New Mexico at 5 p.m. and Albuquerque, New Mexico at 9 p.m. on Friday. He will hold a rally in National City, California at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

People who think the “math is against Bernie” punditry is Clinton hackery should read how media covered Clinton staying in thru 2008. 1/2

— daveweigel (@daveweigel) May 19, 2016