The Trail 2016: Too late for Ted?

by Lisa Hagen - 03/23/16 6:19 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.

The GOP establishment seems to be warming up to Ted Cruz in the hopes that he’s their last hope to take down Donald Trump as the Republican front-runner.

Former rival Jeb Bush’s endorsement is the latest signal that the Texas senator is the best anti-Trump alternative, and he delivered a strong rebuke against the GOP front-runner.

But even after splitting Tuesday’s Western contests and successfully turning Utah into a winner-take-all contest to counter Trump’s winner-take-all victory in Arizona, Cruz still faces a steep uphill battle in the delegate math. Come back later tonight as The Hill’s Niall Stanage delves further into the question of whether the establishment’s shift to Cruz is too late to stop Trump.

As Trump’s nomination continues to look inevitable, members of the GOP foreign policy establishment are even jumping on the anyone-but-Trump train. Some are considering Cruz while others admitted that they would support Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton over Trump. Come back for more details tomorrow morning from Kristina Wong.

Meanwhile, Clinton delivered a speech on counterterrorism in the wake of the Brussels terrorist attack and blasted both Trump and Cruz’s rhetoric and their call for increased scrutiny on American Muslims. “Slogans aren’t a strategy. Loose cannons tend to misfire,” she said.

Check back with The Hill tomorrow morning for a story from Amie Parnes about how Democrats caution Clinton from turning her attention away from the primary — and potentially shutting out Bernie Sanders supporters needed in the general election — despite her massive delegate lead.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

WALKING TOWARD AN ENDORSEMENT: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is strongly signaling that he will endorse Ted Cruz before his home state’s primary next month. Walker has said that he is waiting to endorse so it will have “maximum impact” on the April 5 primary in Wisconsin.

STATE OF THE RACE: The Hill’s Scott Wong reports: House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) denounced the “ugliness” of a 2016 presidential race marked by name calling and violent protests while calling on candidates to elevate their campaign rhetoric.

POTUS PRESSURE: The Hill’s Jordan Fabian reports: President Obama delivered a sharply personal rebuke of Ted Cruz for his call to institute surveillance on Muslim communities in response to the Brussels terrorist attacks.

BREAK FROM THE PACK: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: John Kasich is calling for increased cooperation with American Muslims, breaking with the harsh rhetoric of his GOP rivals Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in the wake of Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Brussels.

FOREIGN POLICY FLOP: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Ted Cruz said Donald Trump is “nuts” to question America’s spending commitment to NATO, adding that withdrawing “would be a tremendous victory for ISIS.”

WON’T BACK DOWN: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Ted Cruz doubled down on his call for authorities to monitor Muslims living in the United States, in the face of continued criticism.

ODDS AND ENDS:

ROLLING THROUGH THE DEM PRIMARY: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Rolling Stone magazine is endorsing Hillary Clinton. While praising aspects of Bernie Sanders’s platform, the magazine’s editor and publisher blasted his explanation of a “political revolution” to get his agenda through Congress.

CLUB FOR CRUZ: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Club for Growth PAC, the political arm for the fiscally conservative group, endorsed Ted Cruz for president.

SWIPE RIGHT OR LEFT: The Hill’s Mario Trujillo reports: The online dating app Tinder, which is partnering with Rock the Vote, is rolling out a new feature that tells users which presidential candidate they most agree with based on a series of policy questions.

SECURITY MEASURES: Politico reports: Security officials are preparing for the GOP convention in the wake of protests at Donald Trump’s rallies and major terrorist attacks. Meantime, NPR is offering its political reporters optional threat-awareness training before they cover Trump’s campaign events, The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports.

POLL POSITION

BLAME GAME: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Nearly two-thirds of voters view Donald Trump as responsible for the violence at his rallies, but an overwhelming majority believe that the protesters are also to blame, according to a new national Quinnipiac University survey.

GENERAL ELECTION MATCH-UPS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lead their respective parties’ fields, but a new national poll finds that their primary challengers, John Kasich and Bernie Sanders, perform better in general election match-ups.

UNITE BEHIND TRUMP: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: A majority of Republicans and GOP-leaning voters surveyed in a new Monmouth University poll say the Republican Party should get behind Donald Trump at a contested convention if he enters with the most delegates.

BADGER STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are neck-and-neck in the Wisconsin primary, according to a new Emerson College poll.

CLINTON CRUSHES: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Hillary Clinton would crush Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, a new national Bloomberg Politics poll finds.

THE DAILY TRUMP

TONE IT DOWN: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: A top foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s campaign said he believes the GOP front-runner will be dissuaded from using torture if he wins the White House. Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. needs to use torture on suspected terrorists and authorize waterboarding.

VALIDATION: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that the terrorist attacks in Brussels strengthen Donald Trump’s credibility with voters.

REVEALING CHARACTER: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Ted Cruz ripped Donald Trump for threatening to “spill the beans” on his wife the night before, arguing that it reveals aspects of the businessman’s character.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If he were a king maker, he’d be the king.”

— Rob Nichols, a spokesman for John Kasich, responding to former GOP hopeful Jeb Bush’s endorsements of Ted Cruz.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

ANGLING FOR A SEAT: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Sharron Angle’s entry into the Nevada Senate race creates a headache for Republicans hoping to sail through a primary and focus on a tough general election. While strategists and political observers say the race is still too early to tell how much support and money Angle should expect for the primary, they believe Republicans are less likely to flock to this campaign after her unsuccessful run in 2010.

KEYSTONE STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty, giving her a huge boost over primary rival Joe Sestak ahead of Pennsylvania’s April primary.

SCOTUS MEETING: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who’s up for a tough reelection bid, said he’s agreed to meet with President Obama’s Supreme Court pick, though he still thinks the seat should remain vacant until next year.

NATSEC FOCUS: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), two vulnerable GOP senators facing tough reelection bids, are targeting their Democratic opponents over national security in the wake of the Brussels terrorist attacks.

BUSINESS FRIENDLY: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), according to a release from his campaign. The GOP senator will likely square off in a rematch with former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) in what is considered to be one of the most competitive Senate races this cycle.

MONEY WATCH

SHIFT TO THE GENERAL: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Priorities USA, the super-PAC aligned with Hillary Clinton, is committing about $70 million for TV ads specifically for the general election, a sign that Clinton’s allies are beginning to shift away from her primary challenge and on to November.

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:

(All times Eastern)

Bernie Sanders holds a rally in Los Angeles today at 10 p.m. He is scheduled to hold two rallies in Washington State on Thursday, in Spokane at 5 p.m. and Yakima at 10 p.m.

Hillary Clinton holds fundraisers in the Los Angeles area on Thursday and will then appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC at 11:35 p.m.

Ted Cruz holds an event in Pewaukee, Wis., at 7:30 p.m. today. On Thursday, he’ll take a factory tour and meet with employees in Dane, Wis., at 2:30 p.m. and hold a 6 p.m. rally in Janesville, Wis.

TWEET OF THE DAY

I asked Bernie Sanders about how Hillary Clinton co-opted “huuuge” in her speech last night. “She doesn’t say it like I do,” he said

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) March 23, 2016