Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races.
It’s the final night of the Democratic National Convention and Democrats hope to go out with a bang with the nomination speech by the country’s first female presidential nominee.
Hillary Clinton is expected to cast the election as a moment of reckoning for America, framing her as the only choice to move the nation forward and casting rival Donald Trump as the candidate of division.
It’s a major chance for the party to leave the convention unified around its candidate. But the party’s stacked convention-speaking lineup is both a blessing and a curse, as she risks being upstaged by earlier speeches from President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama that brought the house down.
We’ll close out a hectic two weeks of convention coverage with comprehensive reporting from our team on the ground in the (rainy) City of Brotherly Love, so make sure to keep refreshing The Hill and following us on our social media channels.
And make sure to head back this weekend for continued political coverage, including our look at the state of the race after both conventions, how the outgoing Democratic Party chairwoman is faring in her primary battle next month, and about the fallout of the party’s email hack.
RACE TO 1600 PENN
MUSLIMS AGAINST TRUMP: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Democratic lawmakers joined together in Philadelphia to denounce Donald Trump as a bigot while working to convince Muslims to stand with Hillary Clinton.
TRUMP’S RUSSIA FALLOUT: Donald Trump’s call for Russia to “find” and release Hillary Clinton’s private emails continues to swirl, with Harry Reid, Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Corey Booker and other Democrats bashing him over the comments. But Trump has pushed back by arguing he’s sarcastic, with surrogate Rudy Giuliani claiming that Russia has Clinton’s emails and Sen. Tom Cotton bashing Reid’s calls to withhold Trump’s security briefings over that comment and others. For what it’s worth, Russia called the accusations “total stupidity.”
UBER LONG WAITS: The Hill’s David McCabe reports: Some Democratic National Convention-goers have been frustrated with the logistics of catching a ride with ride-sharing apps.
IS THIS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION?: The Hill’s Caitlin Yilek reports: Ahead of Hillary Clinton’s historic nominating speech, the most-searched question about her on Google was about her outfit for her speech.
ODDS AND ENDS
ANGLING FOR ROMNEY: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson said that he’s spoken to Mitt Romney about the potential of an endorsement and that the former GOP nominee is “considering” it.
REID FEELS THE BERN: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid faced lingering backlash from Bernie Sanders’s supporters in Philadelphia Thursday, months after a contentious party convention in his home state of Nevada.
DAUGHTER SUMMIT: The Hill’s Joe Concha reports: NBC’s Matt Lauer is calling on Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump to sit down together for a “children’s summit” in an effort to ensure the Clinton family’s “darkest moments” are kept out of the campaign.
SHAMEFUL: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: The North Carolina GOP mistook a pin Democratic vice presidential pick Tim Kaine wore on his lapel while speaking at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday for the flag of Honduras, calling it “shameful.”
POLL POSITION
KEYSTONE CLIMB: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 9 points in a new Suffolk University poll in Pennsylvania. That trend continues down-ticket, where Democrat Katie McGinty leads Republican Sen. Pat Toomey by 7 points.
TIGHT RACE: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Hillary Clinton’s lead over Donald Trump is just 1 point in a new national Rasmussen poll.
DEGREES OF SUPPORT: The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann reports: Voters with higher levels of education are more likely to support Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, while older voters who didn’t attend college lean toward Donald Trump, a new Morning Consult poll shows.
THE DAILY TRUMP
CAVED: The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky reports: Donald Trump is bashing Bernie Sanders in a new Instagram video that accuses him of caving on his political movement by endorsing Hillary Clinton.
WHAT IS THIS WORLD YOU SPEAK OF?: The Hill’s Nikita Vladimirov reports: And he slammed President Obama on Twitter, arguing that he described a “world that doesn’t exist.”
TRUMP BUILDS A WALL: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: A Washington Post reporter was barred from entering a campaign rally for Trump vice presidential candidate Mike Pence and patted down by police looking for his phone. Private security told the reporter that as a Post reporter, he couldn’t enter with his cellphone.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“He likes to hearken back to his kind of Irish roots, so I think he’d love to be called ‘first laddy,’”
–Chelsea Clinton about her father’s title if Hillary Clinton wins the White House.
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS
DUCKWORTH HEADS TO TRIAL: The Hill’s Lisa Hagen reports: Former employees of Rep. Tammy Duckworth who filed a workplace retaliation lawsuit against the Illinois Democrat are rejecting a settlement offer, which will likely bring the case to trial just three months before election day.
TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDICINE: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: A Republican super-PAC has launched a new website to try and tie vulnerable House Democratic candidates to Hillary Clinton in the hopes of turning the tables on Democrats who tie Republicans to Donald Trump
NO CARETAKER IN VA: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe isn’t interested in appointing a caretaker to fill the Senate vacancy that would occur if Tim Kaine becomes vice president — he wants to fill the seat with someone with a political future in the state.
CHAMBER CHOICE: The Orlando Sentinel reports: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce threw its weight behind Marco Rubio in his reelection bid.
MONEY WATCH
READY FOR HILLARY: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports:A major pro-gay rights Democratic donor has promised $1 million to support Hillary Clinton’s election efforts.
CROOKED HILLARY PAC WADES IN: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: An anti-Hillary Clinton super-PAC is out with a six-figure ad buy looking to enflame tensions between Democrats and Bernie Sanders supporters.
WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY, TOMORROW AND THE WEEKEND:
(All times Eastern)
Today, Democratic National Convention, final day speakers/entertainment include:
6-10 p.m.: Musical performance by Carole King; Rep. James Clyburn (S.C); House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.) and the Democratic women of the Senate; Rep. Joaquin Castro (Texas); musical performance by Sheila E + Family; New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo; Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper; actors (and married couple) Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen; Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf; former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; Doug Elmets, former Reagan administration official; Dallas Sheriff Lupe Valdez; four family members of fallen law enforcement officers; former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; retired Marine General John Allen; Medal of Honor recipient and retired Army Capt. Florent Groberg; actress/model Chloe Grace Moretz; Rep. Xavier Becerra (California); Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio); musical performance by Katy Perry.
10-11 p.m. Introduction of Hillary Clinton by Chelsea Clinton; nomination acceptance speech by Hillary Clinton
Donald Trump on Thursday has a 5 p.m. town hall in Davenport, Iowa, and a 9 p.m. rally in Cedar Rapids. On Friday, he’ll hold a town hall in Colorado Springs, Colo., at 4 p.m. and a rally in Denver at 9 p.m.
Mike Pence has a 3 p.m. town hall in Grand Rapids, Mich., today followed by a rally in Novi, Mich. at 7 p.m. He’ll hold a 7 p.m. rally on Friday in Lima, Ohio.
On Friday, Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine have a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia at noon and then start a bus tour together, stopping in Harrisburg, Pa., for a campaign event at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday, the bus tour goes to Pittsburgh at 4:15 p.m. and Youngstown, Ohio, at 7:45 p.m. The two then have a 5:30 p.m. Sunday event in Columbus, Ohio.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen.
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