Subject: For Research: This Week on the Campaign Trail
From: "Walsh, Tom" <[email-masked]>
To: RR2 <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 13:31:42 -0700

Overview

Less than 100 days to go until the July conventions, Democrats are poised to head into the general election energized and enthusiastic regardless of who our nominee is, while Republicans are embroiled in a bitter, divided fight better suited for a reality show than a Presidential election. This week, as voters headed to the polls in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland and Delaware, exit polls continue to show Democratic excitement. In Connecticut and Pennsylvania respectively, 67% and 71% of Democrats reported feeling energized by our primary. At the same time, nearly six in ten Pennsylvania Republican voters said their primary had divided their party. Democratic voters are proud of their candidates, and it shows each time they go to the polls.

This weekend, Washington joins to celebrate the press corps at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Take a look back and relive the glory of President Obama's exposing Donald Trump just five years ago. In that time, not much has changed. Trump's foreign policy address this week, was only further evidence that the GOP frontrunner would be dangerous as commander in chief and is no more qualified for the presidency today than when he was negotiating disputes between Lil' John, Meatloaf, and Gary Busey on Celebrity Apprentice.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4>
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4>

2016 Republican Presidential Candidates

Donald Trump

With Donald Trump's recent victories, it's clear he's the only candidate that can win the Republican nomination. As a result, the GOP remains in chaos and recent developments signal things aren't getting any better. This week, Donald Trump proved that even a teleprompter can't help him sound reasonable or knowledgeable when it comes to foreign policy. His uninformed, inflammatory and dangerous remarks throughout his campaign have caused alarm among foreign leaders and policy experts, and proved he would be unpredictable and untrustworthy when it comes to foreign policy, making Americans less safe in the process. Take a look at how foreign policy analysts feel about Donald Trump.

WATCH<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp8r4db8488&feature=youtu.be>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp8r4db8488&feature=youtu.be>

To make matters worse, Trump has said he would dismantle our existing military framework and threaten key alliances around the world. Donald Trump continues to lack the judgment, experience and temperament to be our next commander-in-chief.

Ted Cruz

No closer to the Republican nomination, even after five more primary contests, the fading Cruz campaign made a desperate announcement that Carly Fiorina would join the ticked as Cruz's Vice Presidential nominee. From a politician that is most known for shutting down the government, it's fitting that Cruz would select a running mate best known for almost shutting down Hewlett-Packard, a great U.S. company. Under Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard's stock lost over half of its value, earning her status as one of the "Worst American CEOs of all Time." She laid off 30,000 workers but still received a $40 million golden parachute upon being fired. The only foreign policy experience Carly Fiorina can speak of is outsourcing American jobs to other countries and selling computer equipment to Iran in violation of international sanctions. Together or apart, neither Ted Cruz nor Carly Fiorina have the track record to serve as our next president.

John Kasich

John Kasich and Ted Cruz announced a bizarre and unusual agreement to save their failing campaigns by dividing their anti-Trump efforts this week. Cruz agreed to focus on Indiana while Kasich would ramp up his efforts in Oregon and New Mexico. It didn't matter much that it was too little, too late, though when the agreement fell apart almost as soon as it was announced. Having no mathematical chance of winning the nomination without a chaotic convention contest, this was Kasich and Cruz's last desperate attempt to stay relevant in a GOP primary that keeps rewarding the party's most divisive candidate - Donald Trump.

Important Polls

*        A poll<http://www.vox.com/2016/4/26/11514948/trump-clinton-women> released by Vox shows that Donald Trump viewed favorably by just 34 percent of women overall.

*        A poll<http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/25/politics/donald-trump-young-voters/> conducted by the Harvard University Institute of Politics shows that only 25% of  young voters, between the ages of 18-29, would vote for Donald Trump

*        A poll<http://www.people-press.org/2016/04/28/gops-favorability-rating-edges-lower/> conducted by the Pew Research Center found that more than 60 percent of the American public has an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, which is the highest that the party's negative rating has been since 1992.

*        A poll<http://www.people-press.org/2016/04/28/gops-favorability-rating-edges-lower/> conducted by the Pew Research Center shows that 62% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the GOP compared to 33% who view the party in a favorable manner.

What people are writing in the states

*        On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party released the following statement regarding Pat Toomey's endorsement of Ted Cruz. "Given Ted Cruz's objectionable record, it's hard to understand how anyone thinks he's fit to be president," said Preston Maddock, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. "He is so obstructionist and wildly partisan, that even Mitch McConnell disapproves. By voting for Cruz today, Pat Toomey revealed what he often tries to hide to Pennsylvanians - how extreme his record truly is." Read the full statement here<http://www.padems.com/2016/04/looney-toomey-votes-crazy-cruz/>.

*        On Wednesday, Connecticut Democratic Party Executive Director Alynn Woischke released a statement regarding State House Republican Leader Themis Klarides's endorsement of Donald Trump. "With Donald Trump's crushing victory in the Republican primary Tuesday, it is now clear where the Connecticut Republican Party stands. It is no longer the party of reasoned debate and moderation, but has fully transformed into the party of Trump. "With House GOP Leader Themis Klarides standing firmly behind the party standard-bearer and channeling his hate-filled rhetoric, we have to ask whether she will follow Trump's lead in pushing the caucus to adhere to Trumps policies." Read the full statement here<http://ctdems.org/2016/04/ct-dems-reaction-to-themis-klaridess-endorsement-of-donald-trump/>.

*        On Friday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence formally endorsed Ted Cruz for the Republican Presidential Primary. John Zody, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, stated, "Mike Pence's endorsement of Ted Cruz is no surprise as both politicians have built their careers obsessing over a social agenda rather than focusing on economic issues most important to Hoosiers. After Mike Pence signed the embarrassing and unnecessary RFRA law that could cost our state $250 million and will continue to scare jobs away from Indiana, Ted Cruz supported the governor and advocated that the federal government adopt a similar law. Mike Pence signed one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the nation; Ted Cruz has said rape victims should be forced to carry pregnancies to term. Ted Cruz has campaigned for president on an extremist, divisive ideology, and Mike Pence has put that same extreme ideology into practice, causing Indiana to fall behind the rest of the nation." Read the full statement here<http://www.indems.org/indiana-democratic-party-statement-on-mike-pences-endorsement-of-ted-cruz/>.