Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Building onto its famous “like” function, Facebook today added emojis that allow the social network’s users to express laughter, astonishment, sadness and anger...which coincidentally are the same emotions most people get from watching the first few minutes of a 2016 presidential debate.
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‘16 from 30,000
Since Hillary Clinton’s win in Nevada on Saturday, there’s been plenty of talk that she is poised for a winning streak in the coming contests. And it’s not just South Carolina, where polling shows her with a big advantage largely due to her support among African Americans. Her advantage with non-white voters is likely to follow her to the 11 states holding Democratic contests on March 1. Of those states, five have minority populations that make up a third or more of the Democratic electorate: Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Yes, there is dispute over those weekend entrance polls showing Sanders winning Latinos in Nevada, a number that seems a lot less convincing now that we’ve seen raw votes. But her numbers with African Americans in Nevada (winning 76 percent to Sanders’ 22 percent) are enough to create an ironic parallel with Clinton’s 2008 campaign. Back then, it was Clinton’s opponent, Barack Obama, who was winning black voters by a 3-1 or even 4-1 margin. Now, it’s Clinton playing in the same states as her onetime rival and leaning on a big advantage with minority voters. By the way, NBC’s ad-buying sources say that Sanders is currently spending money on TV ads in five states: Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas. With the exception of the Lone Star state, those are all states with relatively low minority populations.
Shameless plug: Got something about the election you just HAVE to get off your chest? Here at NBC, we’ve launched a new feature called Election Confessions, where we’re gathering your anonymous sentiments about the 2016 race. Just call or text your confession to 424-352-2016 and we may feature it on our new site, ElectionConfessions.com. (And seriously, to the person who wrote in “I bet $25 on Scott Walker to be the GOP nominee,” we feel you, buddy. We feel you.)
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Harry Reid is endorsing Hillary Clinton.
- Black Lives Matter activists have moved from protests to the campaign trail, NBC’s Perry Bacon, Jr. writes.
- Jeb Bush apologized to donors for the outcome of his campaign and blamed the unsuccessful run on a year of ‘disruption’ and ‘outsiders,’ NBC’s Alex Jaffe reports.
- As of today, Rick Perry is no longer under the shadow of indictment, one of us(!) writes.
- NBC’s Rachel Witkin sums up where the candidates stand on mental health and mental illness issues.
- The biggest story out of last night’s results might not have just been about Trump: It was about turnout.
- John Kasich says those calling for him to drop out of the race need to “chill out.”
FOR THE RECORD…
“We’re just mad as hell and won’t take it anymore.”
- Mitt Romney, describing the national electorate during an appearance at Babson College
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton makes four stops in South Carolina, while Bill Clinton hits S.C. and Virginia.
Bernie Sanders makes a whirlwind round of stops in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota.
The five remaining GOP candidates square off in a debate in Houston, Texas at 9:00 PM ET.
