The Trail 2016: Trump and the other 50 percent

by Lisa Hagen - 03/24/16 5:40 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.

Donald Trump took his feud with Ted Cruz’s wife to a new level, setting off a firestorm of criticism among lawmakers and TV news personalities alike.

The GOP front-runner tweeted a picture late Wednesday night comparing the looks of Heidi Cruz to his wife and former model, Melania. The Texas senator pushed back that “real men don’t attack women.”

Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who memorably sparred with Trump at the first GOP debate, offered a terse response on Thursday: “Seriously?” MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski called the flight “stupid” and CNN anchor Kate Bolduan pushed back at Trump’s adviser and said the remarks are “demeaning to women.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has made controversial remarks regarding women, and his penchant for incendiary comments could cause him trouble down the road among this voting bloc if he wins the GOP nomination.

Check back tomorrow morning for a story from The Hill’s Ben Kamisar as he delves further into Trump’s polling gap with female voters and what impact could have on him in a general election.

Stay with The Hill tonight and tomorrow for the latest campaign news and make sure to come back over the weekend for updates and results from Saturday’s Democratic contests in Hawaii, Alaska and Washington state.

RACE TO 1600 PENN

COALESCING AROUND CRUZ: The Hill’s Niall Stanage reports: Many prominent members of the GOP establishment intensely dislike Ted Cruz. But they now acknowledge that he is the best option — perhaps the only option — to deny Donald Trump their party’s nomination. The newfound enthusiasm for Cruz looks to some like an admission that desperate times call for desperate measures. But skeptics suggest the effort is doomed for precisely that reason.

ANYONE BUT TRUMP: The Hill’s Kristina Wong reports: Members of the GOP foreign policy establishment are open to supporting Ted Cruz or even Hillary Clinton for president if that’s what it takes to prevent Donald Trump from becoming commander in chief.

DON’T COUNT SANDERS OUT: The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports: As Hillary Clinton builds what her campaign calls an “insurmountable” lead in the Democratic primary, she is increasingly setting her sights on the general election. But even as Clinton pivots to the fall and her likely opponent, Donald Trump, Democrats caution her to not turn her back on Bernie Sanders too soon.

DNC SUIT: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Bernie Sanders’s campaign has officially served the Democratic National Committee with its lawsuit over access to party voter files, it said in a court filing. A source close to the Sanders campaign framed the latest development as a way to keep the door open for a lawsuit, as the two parties wait for the results of an independent audit. But the source believes the issue will be “resolved amicably.”

POSSIBLE PROMOTION: The Hill’s Scott Wong reports: Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a veteran lawmaker and close ally of Speaker Paul Ryan, suggested the Wisconsin Republican could be a “figure of destiny” and possibly capture the GOP nomination in a chaotic contested convention.

ODDS AND ENDS:

SPEAKER’S BACKYARD: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Donald Trump has a response for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) speech on the divisiveness of the presidential race — he’ll hold his first Wisconsin rally in Ryan’s backyard.

SANDERS SUPERDELEGATE: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Bernie Sanders added another superdelegate to his count. Democratic National Committeeman Pete Gertonson announced he will support Sanders after the Vermont senator’s huge win in Idaho.

OLDEST MATCH-UP: The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports: The 2016 race is shaping up to be the oldest match-up in the country’s history. GOP front-runner Donald Trump, will be 70 years old on Election Day, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Democrats’ favorite, will be 69.

SECRET SUPPORT: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who has endorsed Donald Trump for president, said other lawmakers are backing the GOP front-runner behind the scenes.

DEMOCRATIC DONOR: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: A new ad from Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign hits GOP front-runner Donald Trump for previous donations he’s made to New York Democrats.

COFFEE AND CONDEMNATION: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Starbucks has published a full-page ad in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal condemning the level of negativity in the U.S. presidential campaign.

POLL POSITION

DEAD HEAT: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are statistically tied nationally, according to a new Bloomberg Politics poll.

GENERAL ELECTION MATCH-UP: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: A majority of Americans think Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump in a head-to-head election, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

KASICH TOPS CLINTON: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would defeat Republican candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in a national election but lose to John Kasich, a new poll finds.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ FOR CLINTON, TRUMP: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton lead their respective Republican and Democratic presidential fields in California, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California poll.

PENNSYLVANIA POPULARITY: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump has a small lead over John Kasich in the Pennsylvania GOP primary, a new Franklin & Marshall College poll finds.

THE DAILY TRUMP

GOT YOUR BACK: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump went after ABC’s “The View” after campaign surrogate Ben Carson was grilled by the hosts.

“OBSOLETE” ORGANIZATION: The Hill’s Julian Hattem reports: Donald Trump doubled down on comments questioning the United States’ contributions to NATO, days after bombs went off in the treaty organization’s home base of Brussels.

TYING TRUMP TO TERROR: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) features Donald Trump in a new video that calls for jihad following the attacks earlier this week in Brussels.

NOT GIVING THE BIRD: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Two wildlife photographers are suing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign for using a photo they took of a bald eagle, alleging his team is using their image of the all-American bird on campaign merchandise without their permission.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s a good year to be single.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) quipped during an interview on NBC’s “Today” show when calling on Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to stop feuding over the Texas senator’s wife.

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS

BUCKEYE STATE SHOWDOWN: The Hill’s Timothy Cama reports: The League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the campaign arm of the major advocacy group, endorsed Democrat Ted Strickland in his bid to take Ohio’s Senate seat from Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) this year.

HELPING HAND: SEIU launched a six-figure TV ad buy supporting Democratic Senate candidate Katie McGinty that will air in the Pittsburgh media market ahead of the April primary for the Pennsylvania Senate seat, according to a release from the union.

DEBATE DEMAND: Florida Politics reports: The GOP and Democratic Senate nominees will square off in a debate this October as they compete for open Florida Senate seat vacated by former GOP hopeful Marco Rubio.

OUTSIDER APPEAL: The Hill’s Mike Lillis reports: The race to replace retiring Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas) is ramping up as yet another test of an outsider’s appeal versus an opponent’s political experience. The two Democrats vying in the primary runoff are both Hispanic, both young lawyers and both promoting liberal platforms that prioritize education, healthcare and immigrant rights. But Vicente Gonzalez, the 48-year-old front-runner, has something that his opponent, Sonny Palacios, does not: a politics-free résumé.

MONEY WATCH

DOWN-BALLOT DEFENSE: The Washington Post reports: Republican big-money groups like the Koch brothers’ political network are contemplating ditching Donald Trump if he wins the GOP nomination and instead, shifting its resources to Senate and House races to protect the party from potentially losing its majorities in Congress.

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

(All times Eastern)

Bernie Sanders holds a rally in Yakima, Washington at 10 p.m. today. He will also hold a rally in Portland, Oregon at 3:45 p.m. and a rally at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington at 10 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, he’ll have a rally in Madison, Wis., at 6 p.m.

Hillary Clinton appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live at 11:35 p.m. on ABC today.

Ted Cruz holds a rally in Janesville, Wis., at 6 p.m. today. He holds a town hall at 11 a.m. Friday in Oshkosh, Wis.

Democratic voters will caucus in Alaska and Washington state and hold a presidential preference poll in Hawaii on Saturday.

TWEET OF THE DAY

Carson defending Trump’s rhetoric on The View: “When you’re very nice, respectful…it gets you where it got me, nowhere.”

— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) March 24, 2016