Subject: POLITICO's 2016 Blast: Is West Virginia Berning? — Corker’s Trump flirtation— Trump’s swing state strength— 5 Things You Need To Know
From: "POLITICO's 2016 Blast" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2016 16:01:03 -0600

By Henry C. Jackson | 05/10/2016 05:58 PM EDT

WEST VIRGINIA BERNING? Vermont Sen. BERNIE SANDERS looks poised for another win over HILLARY CLINTON in West Virginia tonight. It's equally likely it won't matter.

As POLITICO's Nick Gass reports Sanders' challenge is not just to win. It's to make victory mean something in a primary that looks increasingly out of reach.

Sanders' first task is to claim a majority of the 29 pledged delegates at stake tonight in West Virginia, which - like all states in the Democratic primary - doles out delegates in proportion to the popular vote. The two major polls conducted in the state put Sanders ahead by 6 percentage points.

The night's other Democratic contest, in Nebraska, is purely a show vote. State Democrats already held caucuses on March 5, when Sanders won 15 of the state's 25 pledged delegates. Tuesday, voters will cast ballots on their presidential preference, but no delegates will be at stake.

But Sanders has bigger math problems, even with a favorable May ahead of him: Entering Tuesday night, Clinton leads Sanders 1,705 to 1,415 in pledged delegates and 523 to 39 in superdelegates, an overall lead of 2,228 to 1,454. With only 926 pledged delegates remaining, Sanders' hopes rest with superdelegates deciding to abandon Clinton in large numbers.

Read more at: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2ffb8398879dd86025b9a848e6cd1dab3c0ee2479a8a4976e 

Happy Tuesday. We like to think of the 2016 Blast as a kind of digital West Virginia: Almost heaven. Smart links, clever puns. We'll take you home, to the place, where you belong: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae23b003e1b45c7769b5410d61ad85c544e1edceb119dd2d9bf Henry C. Jackson (@henrycjjackson) is here to guide you through the day's campaign news, so send your tips, complaints and your best repurposed John Denver lyrics to: [email-masked]. 

2) PUT A CORK IN IT? POLITICO's Mike Allen finds Sen. BOB CORKER of Tennessee is getting some vice presidential buzz. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae24e084126251855b76e1c4414b489edd47454c607870d462e One thought being that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee would add some foreign policy experience to the Trump ticket. And, asked about it today, Corker did not say, you know, no. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2bb73192b43ddcdd99fbf171b772c85e9e90f9a40ae64b164 Trump told The Associated Press that he was down to "5 or 6" people, including CHRIS CHRISTIE. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae25b9fc0dc961c914af0c104cd859f17360afe90fc1aed2db7 Trump is facing a fair amount of pressure with his VP choice, as POLITICO's Katie Glueck highlights - evangelical leaders, for one, say they
 want an ally. Amid this backdrop, POLITICO's Burgess Everett reports on an emerging sentiment among Republican Senate leaders: Members should fall in line behind their party's nominee, Trump. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2b7bd6e790302aebae10e62d7dd1bf6c0c36eea9e2d477a23 

3) SWING SWING: Democrats may want to cool their post-DONALD TRUMP celebrations. Quinnipiac University is out with a trio of swing state polls today that, at a minimum, call for some circumspection. They show DONALD TRUMP and HILLARY CLINTON locked in near dead heats in three critical swing states: Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2212a5a5fd7acecfb9b28b82e2b201f72663c1f1158dc9398 It's a bit early to read too much into these - though, as a snapshot in time, they are a bit of a warning to Brooklyn. And they may give Trump a bit of help as he tries to unify the Republican party. On the other hand, FiveThirtyEight poll star Nate Silver went on quite the Twitter rant today, tut-tutting anyone that
 takes polling too seriously at this point. So, what does the Blast know, anyway? http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae294a4fe57d8a453993a707cc9ed9cecb6da41b1b12feb5dac 

4) STILL CRUZING: Has it even been a week, TED CRUZ? Nope, actually, it hasn't. Today, the Texas senator left the door open, ever so slightly, that he would challenge DONALD TRUMP at the convention. In an interview with Glenn Beck, Cruz was asked if he would revive his challenge if he won Nebraska's Republican primary tonight. He laughed and ... didn't really say no. "Well, I am not holding my breath. My assumption is that that will not happen," he said. "But listen, let's be very clear: If there is a path to victory, we launched this campaign intending to win." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2f1a1471c3126b3f4678ee9e7b5b084ab2016a9e6f8aeef78 Though later he did rule out a third party bid. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae22e3a48b18802042ee75c8a6a8fe561287a90f489e5472921 But the soundbite of the day did not belong to Ted in the Cruz household. His wife, Heidi Cruz, compared the end of her husband's presidential campaign to the protracted fight to end slavery. The Texas Tribune reports Heidi Cruz did so while talking on a conference call with the campaign's National Prayer Team. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae29f01c4127833fce1f1f2c6540e1d719d59c7c2849046909e 

5) RYAN REDUX: Paul Ryan and DONALD TRUMP's staredown continues. POLITICO's Rachael Bade looks at what Ryan's departure from the Republican convention could mean. Spoiler Alert: Chaos. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2c4343e938f686c1e440a2a31b60ca2229ba94a70f224d6bf Perhaps in hope of avoiding such a fate, Ryan laid out his meeting schedule with Trump for Thursday. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae24b7d7fecd0050e350c9143129ae38a71e80f0213be8ff20b Another sort-of olive branch from Ryan: He called on conservatives to unite and defeat HILLARY CLINTON. Ryan told The Wall Street Journal he still had issues to work out with Trump but that what he wanted to see, ultimately, was a unified conservative front: "What I want to see is all conservatives rally together to
 win this election and defeat Hillary Clinton." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2a16e560a64fd7a0c01169ee219c4e5fa10db919cddefc535 

TRAIL MIX: Elsewhere on the campaign trail, the troops prefer DONALD TRUMP but many would prefer none of the above. Peter Thiel hits the like button. Nickelback outpolls someone. HILLARY CLINTON lurches to the left and JOE BIDEN is confident.

COMMAND PERFORMANCE: A survey of troops finds they prefer DONALD TRUMP by a 2-1 margin over HILLARY CLINTON, though one in five say they'd rather not vote if those were their choices. (Military Times) http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae256ac986ff361bc595d04b0d58a6547fc3425a6808b7eeacc 

RESERVED RUBIO: Gotta hand it to him: MARCO RUBIO is consistent. He still has the same reservations about DONALD TRUMP he had. But he'll still vote for him. Just as he said. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2a2b0a884d2f842cb6e8c7d23db9ca775cbe20329211837f8 

SEND ME AN ANGEL (INVESTOR): Peter Thiel, the Libertarian-minded, super rich Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is a DONALD TRUMP delegate. (The Verge) http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae26f6577d3b24bc655e72578c97d776aa5aa8c4274e112a5cb 

LOOK AT THIS POLLING GRAPH: Every time it makes me laugh: Mother Jones gleefully notes a survey that pegs DONALD TRUMP as less popular than head lice and Canadian rock poseurs Nickelback. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2531c183401e583c77d39554e350f8e2f79c6be3e39a8381d 

BLAST NOTE: Mother Jones, this is how you remind me of what you really are. 

HILLARYCARE: The New York Times reports HILLARY CLINTON is "lurching to the left" on health care as she looks to see off BERNIE SANDERS. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae22e633fefb0e46b1d0dfecf1df869eeb2ba7acb67ed407cd1 

PET PROJECTS: Washington Post looks at HILLARY CLINTON's animal policy, one of 31 policy planks on her web site. This one has some, uh, some bite: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae21acab1cf8807bd8207a5064ba7800d58c24b57bd3ff42037 

JOE KNOWS: Vice President JOE BIDEN says he's confident HILLARY CLINTON will be the Democratic nominee. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae206f24477e2607430000b6f2b86460bee7a88118d101a4929 

LADIES FIGHT: Correct the Record, an outside group backing HILLARY CLINTON, has a new ad targeting DONALD TRUMP on women's issues. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2d2860d2e629ab315d94f683fd7586a66e4f9bd781406561d 

WHAT'S NEXT: Democrats turn their attention to an array of states voting on June 7, including California (where BERNIE SANDERS rallies in Stockton, Calif., today) and South Dakota (where Sanders is headed on Thursday). Polls close in West Virginia at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. 

THEY SAID IT: "Be full of faith and so full of joy that this team was chosen to fight a long battle," she continued. "Think that slavery - it took 25 years to defeat slavery. That is a lot longer than four years." - Heidi Cruz, comparing her husband's presidential bid to the fight for abolition. 

MAGIC NUMBER: 29. That's the number of delegates on the line in West Virginia tonight for Democrats. They'll be decided proportionately. 

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There you go - now you're caught up on the 2016 race. TBNR. We couldn't cut it as a wiseman - http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=019bf4cc16895ae2bb0d1de89e0995c86267c3578477f68c4fd865f09577c1dc - but we'll see you back here tomorrow. 

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