Ballotpedia’s Weekly Presidential News Briefing: November 30-December 6, 2019


 Ballotpedia's Weekly Presidential News Briefing

Every weekday, Ballotpedia tracks the events that matter in the 2020 presidential election. 

Now, we’re bringing you the highlights from our daily briefings in a weekly format so you can stay up-to-date on the 2020 election with one weekly email.   

Here’s the latest from the campaign trail.

Candidates by the Number

 

There are eight new candidates running since last week, including three Democrats and two Republicans. In total, 972 individuals are currently filed with the FEC to run for president.

Notable Quotes of the Week

“On Nov. 2, 2010, I won the first of three elections for governor in Wisconsin. That same day, someone registered the domain name RecallScottWalker.com. They were out to get me from day one. This is one of many striking similarities between the current impeachment process in Washington and the recall election in Wisconsin. … 

In the end, the protests and, ultimately, the recall energized our base. Surprisingly, it also turned off a majority of independent voters. They believed that the process was not fair. We won the recall election with more votes than in the original election.

I believe that the same thing can happen with Mr. Trump. Recent polls in Wisconsin and other battleground states suggest that Democrats have overplayed their hands. The public is growing increasingly frustrated with the ‘Do Nothing Democrats.’”

– Scott Walker, former governor of Wisconsin

“Allan Lichtman, a distinguished professor of history at American University, explained that even if the Senate doesn’t convict Trump, being impeached by the House will negatively impact his odds of getting reelected. Lichtman developed a political forecasting model that helped him successfully predict the outcomes of the last nine elections. The model is based on 13 ‘keys’ that determine whether or not an incumbent party will hold the White House.

‘Once Donald Trump becomes only the third American president to be charged with impeachment by a vote of the full House, that will turn the scandal key against him,’ Lichtman explained. That’s only one key. It could trigger others to turn against him, Lichtman continued. For example, it could prompt a serious Republican or third-party challenger, or it could possibly fuel the rise of an inspirational, charismatic candidate on the Democratic ticket.”

– Leandra Bernstein, Sinclair Broadcast Group

Week in Review

Harris, Bullock, Sestak end presidential campaigns

Kamala Harris ended her presidential campaign on Tuesday, saying she lacked the financial resources to continue.

“I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete,” she said in a statement.

Harris was the third Democratic candidate to leave the presidential race this week. Joe Sestak and Steve Bullock withdrew on Sunday and Monday, respectively.

House will draft articles of impeachment against Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced on Thursday that the House of Representatives will draft articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.

Earlier in the week, the House Intelligence Committee adopted a committee report on Trump’s alleged misconduct and obstruction. Republicans also released a minority report on the hearings and evidence.

Georgia Republican primary ballot will only feature Trump

The Georgia Republican Party voted to include only Donald Trump on the Republican primary ballot. Four other candidates had submitted their names for consideration, including Roque De La FuenteJoe Walsh, and Bill Weld.

Steyer qualifies for Democratic debate, Gabbard and Yang on the bubble

Tom Steyer crossed the fundraising threshold and qualified for the sixth Democratic primary debate on Tuesday, making him the sixth candidate still in the race to qualify.

Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang are both on the bubble to qualify, needing one qualifying poll each.

Julián Castro crossed the fundraising threshold for the December debate, tweeting on Thursday that he received contributions from 200,000 donors. Both Castro and Cory Booker need four qualifying polls before Dec. 12 to make the debate stage.

Want more? Find the daily details here:

Poll Spotlight

Staff Spotlight

Kevin Sheekey is a longtime Bloomberg staffer with experience in the public and private sectors. He has worked with Bloomberg since 1997. Sheekey graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in economics in 1988.

Previous campaign work:

  • 2005 Michael Bloomberg (R) New York mayoral campaign, campaign manager
  • 2001 Michael Bloomberg (R) New York mayoral campaign, campaign manager

Other experience:

  • 2010-2019: Bloomberg LP, Global head of communications, public policy, and marketing
  • 2006-2010: City of New York, Deputy Mayor for Government Relations
  • 2003-2004: New York City Republican National Convention Host Committee, president
  • 2002-2003: Office of the Mayor of New York City, special assistant
  • 1997-2001: Bloomberg LP, public affairs lead
  • 1992-1996: Office of Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), chief of staff
  • 1988-1992: Office of Rep. James Sheuer (D-N.Y.), chief of staff

What he says about Bloomberg: “Mike is getting in this race because he thinks that Donald Trump is an existential crisis, and he thinks he’s on a path to victory…He’s getting in to alter that dynamic.”

What We’re Reading

Flashback: December 2-6, 2015

  • December 2, 2015: The Washington Post published a Republican Party memo on what the party should do if Donald Trump became the nominee.
  • December 3, 2015: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Jim Gilmore, John Kasich, and Donald Trump spoke at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s presidential forum.
  • December 4, 2015: Donald Trump spoke at a rally with 8,000 attendees in Raleigh, North Carolina.
  • December 5, 2015: Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Rand Paul, and Rick Santorum spoke at the Iowa Rising Tide Summit hosted by FreedomWorks.
  • December 6, 2015: Bernie Sanders wrote an op-ed in The Des Moines Register calling on Congress to stop the merger between drug corporations Pfizer and Allergan. 

Trivia

How many candidates have filed with the FEC to run for president?