Subject: TwentySixteen: RNC Chair Downplays Talk of Independent Candidate
From: Karyn Bruggeman <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 16 May 2016 05:56:43 -0600

To view this email as a web page, go to the link below, or copy and paste it into your browser's address window.
http://view.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=800918f463a7002be41ffe317ea7a42f280a661b451f6e58e8ca1c1135eac35c13fe5f0b62f2d878ed7cb48d73b26143b8388dd0e24e3d622bc23effae5adff8

http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bbff14b4dec76fb55c668fdd022c0eac604ba5fe529953b4b3 
 
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb6ae624bda3b9b57e74bcbcb569b48cb998a7998bc400297d 
 
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb1145d7a980229fa638e61f23498104da7480a134084ff7a9 
 
http://view.mail.nationaljournal.com/ftaf.aspx?qs=800918f463a7002be41ffe317ea7a42f280a661b451f6e5837b3f86204d74b49 

The Lead
"A band of exasperated Republicans - including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a handful of veteran consultants and members of the conservative intelligentsia - is actively plotting to draft an independent presidential candidate who could keep Donald Trump from the White House. These GOP figures are commissioning private polling, lining up major funding sources and courting potential contenders, according to interviews with more than a dozen Republicans involved in the discussions. The effort has been sporadic all spring but has intensified significantly in the 10 days since Trump effectively locked up the Republican nomination." The two main potential recruits are Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. However, a spokesman for Kasich said he "is not entertaining nor
 will he run as an independent." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb05281d4fd1b6501c119364389bb0a5371d34206eee04e0d7 
Washington Post) RNC chairman Reince Priebus "denounced efforts to draft an independent candidate to run against ...Trump as a 'suicide mission' that could 'wreck' the United States for generations," by handing the presidency to Democrats. (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb2a9f71c198abbb2cc34cab79ea32761afafb203ce684997b 
Washington Post)

While some Republicans are most worried about this November, others are more concerned "about the many Novembers to come, and how the party can start to climb out of the demographic hole that Trump's campaign has deepened with overt appeals to white voters and denigration of minorities." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bbc77db5daa66c34cff9c499fcff166c4511e3682f86601fb1 
National Journal)

WEEKEND CONVENTIONS: "Republican activists chose party unity over 'never Trump' resistance Saturday, with party leaders in one state after another pressuring their members to fall in line behind the presumptive nominee - and even punishing those who refused. Eleven states held annual Republican conventions or party leadership meetings Saturday, offering a platform for those who still object to Donald Trump as their party's standard-bearer a prime opportunity to make mischief. But at almost every turn, they slammed into state leaders who closed ranks around a candidate who many once said they'd never support." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb626a59a6cf8baf5bb334cbede8c8ad0066b077b37bff6f47 
Politico)

FOCUSING ON CLINTON'S WEAKNESSES: "Hillary Clinton's declining personal image, ongoing battle to break free of the challenge from" Bernie Sanders "and struggle to adapt to an anti-establishment mood among voters this year have become caution signs for her campaign and the focus of new efforts to fortify her position as she prepares for a bruising general election. More than a dozen Clinton allies identified weaknesses in her candidacy ... including poor showings with young women, untrustworthiness, unlikability and a lackluster style on the stump." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb62ae68e52d08c696cf6ac41d5da0239f6f84bd1f976b7b28 
Washington Post)

Trump has plans to try to capitalize on those weaknesses, and "throw Bill Clinton's infidelities in ... Clinton's face on live television during the presidential debates this fall, questioning whether she enabled his behavior and sought to discredit the women involved. ... Trump will try to hold her accountable for security lapses at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and for the death of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens there. And he intends to portray Mrs. Clinton as fundamentally corrupt." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb908ff8360ced87bc9a08aafb88279473be30077f79e960f9 
New York Times)

BUT BACK TO TRUMP: "The New York Times interviewed dozens of women who had worked with or for ... Trump over the past four decades," and "[t]heir accounts ... reveal unwelcome romantic advances, unending commentary on the female form, a shrewd reliance on ambitious women, and unsettling workplace conduct. ... What emerges from the interviews is a complex, at times contradictory portrait of a wealthy, well-known and provocative man and the women around him, one that defies simple categorization." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb91e0e4d47a144d8a74257fda838602f1b11e6ff89b1682c1 
New York Times)

A ROLE FOR THE FIRST MAN: While campaigning in Kentucky on Sunday, Clinton "was more blunt than ever about what her husband's role could be in a future Clinton administration - saying she plans to put the former president 'in charge of economic revitalization.'" (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb5ebc64b9b35b340b7af3cddf50a87b243f4f272953d90521 
ABC News ) Clinton is "looking to snap a losing streak against ... Sanders" in Kentucky tomorrow. "After all but conceding the past couple contests ... Clinton mounted a real campaign here." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb7175143559a4fbb5ebd89d7a48a4c2533bc5d682612acde7 
Wall Street Journal)

KOCH NETWORK BACKS OFF: A previously unreported Freedom Partners meeting in February "confirmed what some Koch insiders had begun to suspect: That the brothers' political decision-making was increasingly being influenced by their business and public-relations interests, and that as a result, their investments in electoral politics at the federal level were diminishing," including their choice not to spend money against Trump. (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bba6844925287df94f06cceb32d9dbcc682f9557974c918cbb 
National Review)

NUMBER OF THE DAY: $100 million. The 
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=e6bb2141ac06fd5bf9b9eadccdf0dda8d45305ad924ca1b74a59595c97f361c0 
amount  casino magnate Sheldon Adelson said he could spent to help elect Trump. 

http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=e6bb2141ac06fd5bce043a61b16a4b4df270d72c24f2ef93f63a11e091bfd3f6 
Travel Tracker
Clinton is campaigning in Kentucky.

Sanders is in Puerto Rico, which will hold Democratic caucuses on June 5. 

Trail Mix 
The Clinton campaign is looking to open up to three offices in North Dakota ahead of the state's June 7 primary. (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb802dd1cb107409e4b1a1d2e35e6477c3b650ea2182529557 
Bismarck Tribune)

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Trump leading Clinton 45 to 41% in Georgia. (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb330b4cfab596efffa882eef4a2173739c8feae01ed868b02 
Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The pro-Clinton super PAC "Priorities USA will spend $6 million on ads between May 18 and June 8, hitting Trump in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Nevada." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb6d8f2d0c672ea1e7841561987ba787a2e286ac5b3624efa9 
CNN )

"An increasing number of unauthorized groups are invoking" Trump's "name to raise money, suggesting that they'll use the cash to support his campaign, even as some appear to be spending most of their money on contracts with favored consultants." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb14f4079eb98ee2cf2effca33d3be53e7c595d4a1ba278196 
Politico)

"The reporter who spoke with Donald Trump spokesman 'John Miller' in the 1990s is suggesting Trump leaked the controversial audio tapes that may show him masqueraded as his own spokesman." (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb5e5fb6f2ba772b140d731398e66199d2ea9f8f37ba9063ab 
The Hill)

Both Trump and Vice President Joe Biden attended the University of Pennsylvania's graduation ceremony on Sunday as a grandparent and parent, respectively. (
http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=ac6b645bbdbca2bb753cbce6dca107de9829be1c10c6a57e72ce88733d8f0f38 
AP )

KENTUCKY (D), OREGON PRIMARIES: 1 day.
ELECTION DAY COUNTDOWN: 176 days.

----------------------------------------
	
	This email was sent by:
	National Journal
	600 New Hampshire Ave. N.W.
	Washington, DC, 20037, US
	
	We respect your right to privacy - visit the following URL to view our policy.
	( http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/?qs=e6bb2141ac06fd5bb6b3efab68b03d93616bc33c587d969d50a1131137095446 )
	
	----------------------------------------
	
	Visit the following URL to manage your subscriptions.
	( http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/subscription_center.aspx?qs=b36101e94ae34aa81d3647b3637e4c3dd3c0b49212a698122a86e06555dc5082f5564ee95f5a87b75f670173b7236ec6 )
	
	Visit the following URL to update your profile.
	( http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=b36101e94ae34aa8ca9c03c7319ec0286eb1b730c323f1cc37ad7f68d354fb55708e9b6bcc47367301e35f4089f752ef )
	
	Visit the following URL to unsubscribe.
	( http://click.mail.nationaljournal.com/unsub_center.aspx?qs=b36101e94ae34aa81d3647b3637e4c3dd3c0b49212a698124d9bb7706e5910f4374365444fc9276e3d578093acd53c8f3d46c26cbd4dca0c )