The Trail 2016: Candidates off to the races

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

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are looking for victories in Michigan tonight that will help the two front-runners widen their lead over their rivals. If Trump sweeps the table, it becomes that much harder for his rivals to derail his steady march to the nomination. But Ted Cruz and John Kasich are gaining on Trump in the state, with the latter looking to score an upset to give his campaign a much-needed shot of momentum. 

Michigan also represents an important opportunity for Bernie Sanders to prove that he can compete in a state with a significant portion of black voters.That state has seen ahigh demand for ballots, but who that will benefit is still unknown. 

There are also three other races on the Republican side, and one other for the Democrats, putting a significant number of delegates up for grabs. 

Stay glued to The Hill for comprehensive coverage the entire night, and come back Wednesday morning for the winners and losers. 

Also tomorrow, check back with The Hill for more from Amie Parnes about how senior citizens are driving Hillary Clinton to the Democratic nomination despite Bernie Sanders’ support from younger voters.

 

RACE TO 1600 PENN 

RUBIO WARS WITH CNN: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Marco Rubio furiously pushed back on a CNN report that aides were advising him to drop out ahead of a likely loss in Florida, accusing the network of making the story up. Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) called the report a “punch in the gut.” 

MORE DIRTY TRICKS?: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes: Marco Rubio knocked Ted Cruz’s campaign for sending out the controversial CNN report about Rubio potentially dropping out before Florida, tying it to when his campaign shared reports that Ben Carson may be dropping out. 

FOR BETTER OR WORSE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: The Better Business Bureau pushed back about Donald Trump’s characterizations of Trump University with a statement that noted the school received a D-minus rating during its last year.   

TEXAS FOREVER: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Jeb Bush’s brother, Neil, joined Ted Cruz’s national finance team. 

FAITH FIGHT: The HIll’s Rebecca Savransky reports:Ted Cruz said rival Donald Trump questioning his faith is worried about the race. 

LET’S TALK: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: A pair of GOP  senators has sent a letter to a former State Department official who reached an immunity deal with the Justice Department last week in the hopes that he’ll answer questions about Hillary Clinton’s “homebrew” email server.   

ANTI-TRUMP COMES TO OHIO: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: A new group is out with an ad hitting Donald Trump on his trade policies in Ohio. 

CORRECTION: We included a National Review story in yesterday’s The Trail that has since been corrected. That correction is as follows: “An earlier post stated that Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign was set to unveil a series of endorsements from Cruz’s fellow senators. The report was erroneous. As of this writing, the campaign has no pending Senate endorsements to announce.”

 

ODDS AND ENDS

DAMAGING: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Fred Malek, a top GOP donor, said the off-color spat between Marco Rubio and Donald Trump are hurting the party’s brand. He also bashed the past two GOP debates as beneath the presidency. 

EYES ON THE PRIZE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: A top Bernie Sanders aide walked back previous comments about the possibility of Sanders being on Hillary Clinton’s ticket, framing the campaign as committed to winning the nomination.   

IN FOR THE LONG HAUL: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: John Kasich predicted that the Republican presidential race would be headed to a contested convention over the summer to determine the party’s nominee.

 

POLL POSITION 

NO PLACE LIKE HOME?: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump is beating Marco Rubio in his home state of Florida by 20 points just one week before the primary. 

TRUMP TROUBLE?: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump’s national lead in the GOP presidential primary is shrinking, and he loses head-to-head match-ups with his two closest opponents, according to a new poll. And a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Ted Cruz just 3 points behind Trump.   

DEMS TIGHTENING: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Hillary Clinton’s lead over Bernie Sanders has dropped to just single digits in two new national polls. 

NO ROMNEY BUMP: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: 31 percent of Republican voters surveyed by Morning Consult said they are now more likely to vote for Trump after Mitt Romney’s speech condemning the GOP frontrunner, while 20 percent said they are less likely to vote for the real estate mogul.

 

THE DAILY TRUMP 

YELP SLAM: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Restaurant review app Yelp poked fun at the digs about Donald Trump’s hands in its description in the Apple app store. 

NO PHONES: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: CBS declined to interview Donald Trump by phone after he bailed on an in-person interview. 

TRUMP SALUTE: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump brushed aside criticism that getting his supporters to pledge support is reminiscent of Adolf Hitler’s salute.

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY 

“I think that whoever is leading at the end should sort of get it. That’s the way that democracy works.”  

— Donald Trump, on rumors of a contested convention meant to undercut him if he wins the plurality, but not majority, of delegates, would be “unfair.” Note that Trump has repeatedly said he wouldn’t run a third-party bid if he was treated “fairly.”

 

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS 

BIG OHIO ENDORSEMENTS: The Hill’s Tim Devaney reports: The gun control group led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned after sustaining a gunshot wound, backed Ted Strickland for Ohio’s Senate seat. Strickland is favored to win the Democratic primary, but has been dogged by his past support from the NRA. 

GRASSLEY CHALLENGER: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: A newly announced challenger to Sen. Chuck Grassley huddled with Senate Democrats Tuesday as they hammer the Iowa Republican over the Supreme Court.  

 

MONEY WATCH 

BIG POCKETS: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Miami billionaire Norman Braman is heading Florida Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez Cantera’s finance team for his GOP Senate bid.

 

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:  

(All times Eastern) 

Donald Trump will hold a press conference in Jupiter, Fla. at 9 p.m. as Tuesday night’s primary results pour in. On Wednesday, he speaks at a 7 p.m. rally in Fayetteville, N.C. 

Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign rally in Cleveland at 7 p.m. Tuesday. 

John Kasich will attend an election night party in Columbus, Ohio at 7 p.m. Tuesday. 

Marco Rubio holds a rally in Ponte Vedra, Fla. at 7: 45 p.m. Tuesday and will participate in an MSNBC town hall at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. 

Ted Cruz holds a rally in Miami at 10 a.m. Wednesday. 

On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders participate in the Univision/The Washington Post debate at Miami Dade College, which starts at 9 p.m. It will be simulcast on CNN. 

Also that night, Fox New holds hour-long interviews/events with the four Republican candidates. At 7 p.m,: Greta Van Susteren holds Chicago a town hall with John Kasich; at 9 p.m., Megyn Kelly interviews Ted Cruz; at 10 p.m., Sean Hannity interviews Donald Trump, and at 11 p.m. , Kelly interviews Marco Rubio.

 

TWEET OF THE DAY

No political candidate is going to make America great again. I raise my hand, and I take an oath to you, the people! https://t.co/vV4cDxkLxU

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 8, 2016

Ted Cruz chided his Republican rival both on the trail and on Twitter for asking his supporters to pledge an oath to vote for him.

 

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen. 

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