Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… Marco Rubio told reporters they “won’t be very impressed” when he releases his tax returns. It means he either doesn’t know how very unimpressive most reporters’ salaries are OR he hasn’t noticed how highly motivated the press is by things like free pizza, bottomless coffee and happy hours.
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‘16 from 30,000
As our sister publication First Read wrote this morning, there is a lot we don’t know four days out from two very important contests on Saturday. But, events Monday gave us a little more clarity on what we can expect in Nevada’s Democratic caucuses and the GOP primary in South Carolina. In the Silver State, ad-spending numbers from SMG Delta show that Team Clinton has spent $3.3 million in ads in Nevada, while Sanders has spent $3.2 million. Just one week ago, Sanders was outspending Clinton in the state $1.9M to $1.5M. It’s the clearest sign yet that we can expect another competitive caucus and that Clinton campaign has grown increasingly worried about the state.
Meanwhile in South Carolina…A new CNN/ORC poll released Monday afternoon shows Donald Trump holding a commanding 16-point lead in the Palmetto State. Following him sits Cruz (22%), Rubio (14%) and Bush (10%). The poll was taken Feb. 10-15, so any fallout from Trump’s debate and 9/11 critique may not have been fully represented. However, the poll provides the first good look at a race that so far has not had many surveys. And it indicates that the unexpected should remain unexpected.
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- Four days until Nevada's Democratic caucuses, Hillary Clinton is now outspending Bernie Sanders over the state's airwaves - a reversal from a week ago, according to the latest ad-spending numbers from SMG Delta.
- Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have begun speaking about racial disparities in ways unseen in presidential politics for decades, NBC’s Leigh Ann Caldwell writes.
- The No. 2 Democrat in the Georgia state Senate flipped his endorsement from Clinton to Sanders on Tuesday, MSNBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports.
- Clinton maintains her national lead over Bernie Sanders, according to the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll.
- On the GOP side, Rubio has dropped and Kasich rose in the NBC News|SurveyMonkey poll.
- In today’s Tales from the Trail: John Kasich gets challenged by a college student on gay marriage and Hillary Clinton hints at an important endorsement.
- And from First Read this AM: Uncertainty has clouded the 2016 race heading into a crucial week.
FOR THE RECORD…
“He says in more interesting ways what other candidates are saying as well.”
President Obama talking about Donald Trump on Tuesday.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Hillary Clinton holds a GOTV event in Chicago.
Bernie Sanders campaigns in South Carolina and Georgia.
Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson campaign in South Carolina.
