2020 Elections

The Associated Press reports: With Michael Bloomberg now running for president, the news service that bears his name said Sunday it will not “investigate” him or any of his Democratic rivals, and Bloomberg Opinion will no longer run unsigned editorials. Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait announced the new rules in a note to his news organization’s 2,700 journalists and analysts Sunday, …

NBC News reports: Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Sunday that he would run for president in 2020, bringing his enormous wealth and eclectic political biography into the tumultuous Democratic primary and seeking to win over skeptical liberal voters by presenting himself as a multibillion-dollar threat to President Trump. Mr. Bloomberg, a former Republican who has expressed reservations about his adopted …

The Hill reports: Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tore into former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday over news of Bloomberg’s $31.5 million ad buy as he mulls his own White House bid. “I’m disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of …

Just in via press release: By 74 to 19 percent, the American public said they would rather their preferred candidate win the 2020 presidential election than their favorite team win the Super Bowl or World Series. However, 28 percent of males said they would rather see their favorite team win the championship than have their favorite candidate win the 2020 …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump said Friday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo might leave the State Department to run for a Senate seat in Kansas. In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” Trump said Pompeo – a former House member – might resume his political career if he feels a Republican cannot win a Kansas Senate seat that …

Politico reports: In the latest sign Michael Bloomberg is prepared spend freely on a prospective presidential bid, the billionaire has begun booking a huge quantity of TV ad time in media markets across the country — including the one that’s home to President Donald Trump’s winter White House, Mar-a-Lago. “This buy is MASSIVE,” Ben Taber, an analyst for the television …

CBS News reports: Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg filed federal papers Thursday declaring himself a Democratic candidate for president, a potentially disruptive move that could upend the party’s nomination fight this spring. The filing reflects his view that the field of Democratic contenders was not well positioned to win next year and that a candidate with his experience, political …

Politico reports: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today hammered Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for attending a previously undisclosed dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House, accusing the tech mogul’s company of cozying up to the administration as it faces mounting pressure over its competitive practices from federal regulators. “Amid antitrust scrutiny, Facebook is going on a charm offensive with …

Mediaite reports: A Twitter account operated by the Trump campaign promoted a curious moment from Wednesday night’s Democratic Primary debate. While it’s not unusual for a political party to feature potentially embarrassing moments from opposing candidates or those that highlight stark policy differences, the “Trump War Room” featured a moment in which Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ripped the Democratic party in …

Politico reports: Pete Buttigieg came into Wednesday night’s debate bracing for an onslaught that never came. Yes, Amy Klobuchar and Tulsi Gabbard questioned his experience. Cory Booker dinged the young mayor’s resume, pointing out that he’s the “other Rhodes Scholar mayor on the stage” and warning voters against picking a Democratic nominee with an “inauthentic” connection to African American voters …

The New Jersey Advance reports: It was a debate moment to remember for Cory Booker. Not so much for Joe Biden. With barely 15 minutes left in the two-plus hour Democratic presidential debate, the New Jersey senator brought the house down by saying he was incredulous the former vice president opposed legalizing marijuana. “I thought you might have been high …

The Daily Beast reports: In a withering response to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s defense of characterizing former presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s leadership as the “personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party,” Sen. Kamala Harris ran through a laundry list of Gabbard’s perceived offenses against both party and country, characterizing the Hawaii congresswoman as an opportunist who has cozied …

CNBC reports: Democratic presidential hopefuls will take the stage together for the fifth time Wednesday night as the top contenders jockey for position and the flagging candidates look for a breakout moment. The 2020 presidential primary debate will go from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET in Atlanta. The event, co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post, will feature 10 …

The Associated Press reports: Pete Buttigieg’s rise in the Democratic presidential primary makes him a prime target at Wednesday’s debate as the four candidates now bunched at the top seek to distinguish themselves with less than three months until voting begins. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has gained significant ground in recent months in Iowa, which holds the …

The Associated Press reports: As he moves toward a presidential announcement, New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg is rolling out plans to spend an estimated $15 million to $20 million on a voter registration drive designed to weaken President Donald Trump’s reelection chances in five battleground states. News of the large investment, confirmed by Bloomberg’s team on Wednesday, comes less than …

The Toledo Blade reports: A farmer from rural Ohio who voted for President Trump but has condemned his agricultural policy and since resigned from the Republican Party is testing a bid to challenge one of the President’s biggest defenders in Congress. Chris Gibbs, a 61-year-old grain and cattle farmer in Shelby County, is launching an exploratory committee to weigh a …

Manchester’s NPR affiliate reports: Mayor Pete Buttigieg has surged to the head of the Democratic presidential field in first-in-nation primary state New Hampshire, according to a new poll of likely primary voters released Tuesday. The Saint Anselm College Survey Center poll of 255 likely Democratic primary voters shows that Buttigieg, supported by 25 percent, now holds a 10 percentage point …

CBS News reports: Among Democrats running for president, Tulsi Gabbard is popular with Russian propagandists, while Joe Biden draws the most criticism, according to a new analysis. Mentions of Gabbard, a Hawaii congresswoman, by English-language Russian propaganda outlets were 46 percent favorable and 44 percent unfavorable, a research team from the Foreign Policy Research Institute found after analyzing more than …

The Washington Post reports: Abrams was there to talk about voting rights. But, as often happens at her public appearances, a question came up: Would she be willing to serve as vice president? “I’m happy to do so,” she said, to applause and cheers from the crowd. Abrams’s Iowa appearance points to the delicate needle she has been threading since …

The Daily Dot reports: Most people didn’t think for one second that Laura Loomer was a serious candidate for Congress. When she announced her candidacy in August, it seemed safe to assume she’d collect a few bucks from her loyal fans, get a tiny percentage of the vote, then disappear from the 21st Congressional district the moment ballots were counted. …