Overnight Campaign: Fight night for Dems

by Jonathan Easley - 02/04/16 6:04 PM ET

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

The last two Democrats standing will face off in New Hampshire at a debate scheduled at the 11th hour and only days before voters cast ballots for the first-in-the-nation primary.

Read The Hill’s Lisa Hagen on what to expect tonight between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at the MSNBC debate in Durham.

Polls show the race tightening ahead of the Feb. 9 primary, although Sanders continues to hold a big lead.

Amid that backdrop, Clinton and Sanders are increasingly going scorched-Earth against one another, writes The Hill’s Amie Parnes.

If Wednesday night’s town hall was any indicator, the debate will be full of fireworks.

At last night’s event, Sanders methodically ticked through the ways he says Clinton is not a good progressive, and had to defend himself against inquiries over whether he’s a true Democrat and why he’s not connecting with minorities.

Clinton, meanwhile, defended her progressive bona fides, stumbled on a question about her Wall Street speaking fees, and insisted that a vast right-wing conspiracy against her still exists, but is now better-funded.

It will be a fun night. Check The Hill all night and into the morning for real-time blogs about the action and a wrap-up piece from Ben Kamisar.

And The Hill will have reporters on the ground in New Hampshire this weekend for the Republican presidential debate and on through Tuesday’s primary. Check back for live blogs, the rundown on Saturday’s debate winners-and-losers from Niall Stanage, and a look at Donald Trump’s ground game in the state from Cate Martel and Jonathan Easley.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

RECOUNT: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: The largest newspaper in Iowa wrote a scathing editorial on Thursday calling for an investigation into the Democratic caucus ballot count after Hillary Clinton finished slightly ahead of Bernie Sanders.

CAPITALIZING: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Ben Carson’s campaign is fundraising off allegations that Ted Cruz spread false rumors about him dropping out before the Iowa caucuses. Carson needs the cash — The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports that the Carson campaign is cutting staff amid money woes. Meanwhile, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is shaming the Cruz campaign for the incident.

DEBATES ABOUT DEBATES: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte is pressuring ABC News to allow Carly Fiorina on to the debate stage on Saturday. Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich agree.

ENDORSEMENTS PRIMARY LEADER: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Marco Rubio has surpassed Jeb Bush for the most endorsements from members of Congress. On Wednesday, Rubio picked up another big endorsement from Rep. Matt Salmon, a prominent Tea Party conservative. Of course, endorsements are not the end-all-be-all — new Rubio surrogateand former GOP rival Rick Santorum had a bad moment on TV when he couldn’t name one Rubio accomplishment.

TICK TOCK: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: A rundown of events over the last 24 hours in the GOP race that have Donald Trump threatening to sue over the results of the Iowa caucuses.

ODDS AND ENDS:

HELPING HAND: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: The conservative super-PAC Citizens United is now seeking the same information that a pro-Clinton super-PAC seeks: Both groups want the feds to release emails between the feds and members of Congress. The House Oversight committee has opened a new investigation into federal recordkeeping around Clinton’s email and private server. Meanwhile, a State Department watchdog says thatformer secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleeza Ricereceived classified emails on their personal accounts.

ENDORSEMENT: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: The former head of the NAACP has endorsed Bernie Sanders for president, potentially boosting the Vermont senator among the black voters who largely support his rival Hillary Clintonin states following the New Hampshire primary.

OOPS: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: A super-PAC supporting Ted Cruz for president misspelled the word “country” in a new add. In a different ad, Cruz’s campaign is using Jimmy Carter’s criticism of him to hit Trump.

POLL POSITION

MORE MARCO-MENTUM: The Hill’s Bradford Richardson reports: Marco Rubio has surged into second place in New Hampshire, according to a new poll. A second poll released late Thursday found the same.

WANING FRONT-RUNNER: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump has fallen 9 points nationally in a new poll that finds Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio breathing down his neck.

THE DAILY TRUMP

SHAKEN: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Ted Cruz says Donald Trump is contesting the Iowa vote because he’s rattled.

THUMBED NOSE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Megyn Kelly will return as a debate moderator for Fox News at a March debate despite the ongoing feud between herself and Donald Trump.

PRO-IMMIGRANT: The Hill’s Bradford Richardson reports: Donald Trump believes that legal immigration is what made the U.S. great.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Politicians are full of s—-.”

— Donald Trump at a campaign rally in New Hampshire.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

ENDORSE, WARREN, ENDORSE: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports: Female senators are urging Sen. Elizabeth Warren to get behind Hillary Clinton for president.

VULNERABLE: The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R) , who faces tough reelection prospects in 2016, came out against President Obama’s proposed trade agreement.

WISCONSIN VETS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: VoteVets.org, a progressive veterans group, launched a radio ad campaign in Wisconsin that knocks Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) over his handling of the scandal at the Tomah VA facility. Last month, a conservative outside group released an ad making similar accusations about Johnson’s Democratic opponent, Russ Feingold.

MONEY WATCH

DEM CASH GRAB: The Hill’s Harper Neidig reports: Bernie Sanders outraised Hillary Clinton in January.

THE SPOILS: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Ted Cruz has hauled in $3 million since winning the Iowa caucuses on Monday.

HAVING IT BOTH WAYS: The Washington Post reports: Hillary Clinton has stepped up her attacks against Wall Street even as her campaign and super-PAC rake in millions from the banking industry.

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

(All times Eastern)

Jeb Bush holds town halls in New Hampshire with his mother, Barbara Bush, today and Friday, as well as a solo town hall on Sunday.

Donald Trump holds a rally in Portsmouth, N.H. at 7 p.m. today and a 7 p.m. rally on Friday in Florence, S.C. He then returns to New Hampshire for a 1 p.m. Sunday rally.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will participate in a 9 p.m. presidential debate on MSNBC today. On Friday, both will headline the 2016 McIntyre Shaheen 100 Club Celebration in Mancheste, N.H. Gov. Maggie Hassan, who is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, will also be there.

Bernie Sanders on Friday will do Politics and Eggs in New Hampshire at 10 a.m., followed by a rally and press conference to announce an endorsement at 1 p.m. in Exeter.

Carly Fiorina will join Jack Heath for the full hour on “New Hampshire Today” on WGIR Radio at 7-8 a.m. Friday. She holds multiple events in New Hampshire on Friday through Sunday.

Chris Christie has town halls scheduled for Friday and Sunday in New Hampshire.

Ted Cruz holds New Hampshire town halls on Friday and Sunday.

Marco Rubio holds a rally at 5 p.m. in New Hampshire on Friday and three campaign events in the state on Sunday.

John Kasich will be a guest on “Morning Joe” Friday on MSNBC and holds three town halls on Friday and two on Sunday in New Hampshire.

Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson will debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. on ABC at 8 p.m. Saturday. Carly Fiorina and others are lobbying for her to get into the debate.

TWEET OF THE DAY