September 9, 2019: Mark Sanford announced Sunday that he was running for president. Tom Steyer reached the polling threshold to qualify for the October primary debates.
There are 10 new candidates running since last week, including five Republicans. In total, 850 individuals are currently filed with the FEC to run for president.
Notable Quote of the Day
“But there’s a danger in running as a continuation of a previous administration, because in the past half-century of presidential elections, the change candidate has beaten the ‘familiar’ candidate almost every time.
Incumbent presidents are largely immune from this phenomenon. They get to enjoy the constant visibility and bully pulpit of the most powerful person in the world, and only sagging economies (Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush) or disastrous wars (Lyndon Johnson) seem to fell them in their bids for re-election. …
But whether it’s a former vice president or the runner-up in the previous election cycle’s primary, the candidate who is perceived as running for president because it’s ‘their turn’ tends to flame out against a fresher face.”
– Anthony L. Fisher, Business Insider
Democrats
- WMUR released videos of the 19 Democratic candidates—all but Wayne Messam—who spoke at the New Hampshire Democratic Convention over the weekend.
- Eight candidates participated in a political ad on gun violence produced by an advocacy organization founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, Giffords’ Courage to Fight Gun Violence. The ad, which is part of a six-figure digital ad buy, features Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren.
- The Michael Bennet campaign is holding a national headquarters opening celebration Tuesday in Lakewood, Colorado.
- Bennet and John Delaney spoke at the Merrimack County Democrats annual picnic Sunday in New Hampshire.
- Booker discussed nuclear energy, gun licensing, and other campaign issues during his first visit to Maine Saturday.
- Steve Bullock spoke about the obscurity gap in an interview on Fox News Saturday.
- Julián Castro is holding a rally Monday in Houston, Texas.
- Tulsi Gabbard discussed her opposition to impeachment in an interview on Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren. She said, “I think it’s important for us to think about what is in the best interest of the country and the American people, and continuing to pursue impeachment is something that I think will only further to tear our country apart.”
- Gabbard, Tom Steyer, and Andrew Yang attended the AAPI Democratic Presidential Forum Sunday in Costa Mesa, California.
- Harris released her criminal justice platform, which would end federal mandatory minimum sentences, the death penalty, and solitary confinement. It would also phase out for-profit prisons and cash bail.
- BuzzFeed interviewed Wayne Messam’s former campaign staff members about payment and organizational issues in the campaign. The Messam campaign responded that these issues were the result of unauthorized actions by a consulting firm.
- Sanders is hosting a campaign rally Monday at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado.
- Joe Sestak spoke about climate change while campaigning in New Hampshire Sunday.
- With the release of a Nevada poll from CBS News/YouGov, Steyer reached the polling threshold to qualify for the October primary debates. He is the 11th candidate to do so.
- Marianne Williamson will host a meditation on peace in New Hampshire Monday.
Republicans
- Republican state parties in South Carolina, Nevada, and Kansas canceled their respective primaries and caucuses.
- At the California Republican Party fall convention, Donald Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale said the Trump family was a dynasty and they would move the GOP “into a new party – one that will adapt to changing cultures.”
- Mark Sanford announced Sunday that he was running for president. “I think we have to have a conversation about what it means to be a Republican,” he said, referencing the federal deficit and government spending.
- In an interview on Real Time with Bill Maher, Joe Walsh discussed his previous anti-Obama comments and contrasted himself with Trump.
General Election Updates
- Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday that she would hold a ranked-choice voting bill passed by the Maine State Legislature until January. As a result, ranked-choice voting will be used in the presidential general election in Maine but not the primary elections.
What We’re Reading
Flashback: September 9, 2015
Antivirus software creator John McAfee launched an independent presidential campaign.
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