2020 Daily Trail Markers: Deval Patrick expected to announce candidacy for president
Deval Patrick, a former governor of Massachusetts, is expected to announce that he is running for president in the 2020 race, multiple people familiar with his plans told CBS News.
Patrick will be a guest on "CBS This Morning" Thursday. A CBS News contributor since September, Patrick will no longer serve in that role: "Governor Patrick has been a political contributor to CBS News but in light of this decision, the network will be discontinuing that relationship."
Patrick, 63, served as Massachusetts governor for two terms, from 2007 to 2015, and was most recently a managing director at Bain Capital, a private equity firm.
Patrick is a prominent African American member of the Democratic party and had been considered a viable candidate for president, given his past work as a federal prosecutor, his willingness to campaign for Democratic congressional candidates and his ties to former President Barack Obama. He had said last December that he would not run, citing the potential strain on friends and family.
It is unclear how Patrick's late decision to join the fray could reshape the Democratic contest. The Iowa caucus is less than three months away on February 3. And he starts far behind in a record-sized field that polling shows is now divided into two tiers — with the top tier consisting of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg.
Read more from CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News political correspondent Ed O'Keefe here.
FROM THE CANDIDATES
CORY BOOKER
On the heels of completing his 12th trip to South Carolina since announcing his run for president, Senator Cory Booker's state team will launch "Women for Cory" on Thursday morning. The campaign says this coalition of women is comprised of more than 100 community leaders throughout more than half the state's counties.
According to a release issued by the campaign, the group's mission is to mobilize other women and community leaders in their networks to "spread Cory's message." In a statement to CBS News campaign reporter LaCrai Mitchell, Booker said he's grateful for the support of "these strong community leaders."
"I look forward to working with the members of Women for Cory to help spread our message of repairing the damage done by Trump and making justice and opportunity real for every American [and] to voters across the Palmetto state," the New Jersey Democrat said.
Ahead of an election where black women are expected to be critical in deciding the next president, South Carolina Representative Annie McDaniel says the formation of womens' coalitions illustrates a candidate's commitment to supporting women and gender equality. She also they hold candidates accountable to make women's issues a priority.
"Over the years, we've heard candidates talk about their support for women and equal rights but we're still behind our male counterparts," said McDaniel, who is a co-chair for the group. "Cory has lived a lot of what he's trying to do to make sure he's experienced it to the core. He's not only talking the talk, he's also gone back to the community to walk the walk."
In September, Senator Kamala Harris launched "Women for Kamala" in South Carolina.
ELIZABETH WARREN
Elizabeth Warren filed for the New Hampshire Primary on Wednesday, bringing a band of supporters flooding into the State House on a brisk afternoon, reports CBS News campaign reporter Nicole Sganga.
Warren took a shot at "the billionaires" when asked about potential newcomers to the Democratic Primary. "When I've been talking about how we can make this country work better, not just for the top, I've noticed that billionaires go on TV and cry. Other billionaires encourage their billionaire buddies to jump into the race," Warren said. "We really shouldn't have elections that are about billionaires calling all the shots, whether they're reaching in their pockets to fund their own elections, or whether they're counting on getting other people to run."
Asked if she will sit out the campaign to participate in an impeachment trial, Warren immediately responded: "I have a constitutional responsibility. I took an oath of office as did everyone in Congress. And part of that oath of office is the basic principle that no one is above the law. That includes the President of the United States. And if the House goes forward and sends an impeachment over to the Senate, then I will be there for it."
Weighing in on the lack of minority representation in the Democratic primary's first two contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, Warren remarked that she's glad to hear from Democrats in all four early-voting states. "Those four states represent a lot of different parts of the country, and a lot of different people," she said. "It's urban and rural different issues, and it's about the opportunity to get out and shake hands."
"Yes!" she responded when asked if she'll win the New Hampshire primary.
BILL WELD
Sganga also reports Republican Bill Weld, a former Massachusetts governor, filed Wednesday morning for the New Hampshire primary. In attendance were former McCain presidential campaign chairman Peter Spaulding and Clara Monier, a former New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority director.
Speaking on impeachment, Weld said, "I think the proceedings in Washington will be an integral part of the discussion and what happens going forward."
When asked about Deval Patrick, Weld remarked, "I think he's highly qualified person and I would encourage him not to be discouraged by people, you know, expressing negativity towards his potential candidacy. He's certainly up to it."
STATE-BY-STATE
IOWA
Former Maryland Representative John Delaney, looking to boost his struggling campaign, is taking over television airwaves across Iowa with a 30-minute infomercial set to air on Sunday, reports CBS News campaign reporter Adam Brewster. The $40,000 ad buy will air on local network affiliates in Des Moines, Ottumwa, the Quad Cities, Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, Rochester, Minnesota and Omaha, Nebraska, Delaney's Iowa State Director Brent Roske confirmed.
"Our campaign hasn't ever been about sound bites, so we're excited to be the first this cycle to offer a long-form program that goes in-depth with solutions and not just empty promises," Delaney told the Des Moines Register, which first reported the story.
The infomercial features Delaney talking about issues such as healthcare, jobs in rural Iowa and climate change, Roske said, adding that the program is "another way we're trying to keep the power with Iowans" before they caucus. Delaney has been running for president since 2017. Yet the October CBS News Battleground Tracker found that 0% of registered Iowa Democrats listed Delaney as their top choice for the Democratic nomination.
CONGRESSIONAL COVERAGE
IMPEACHMENT
On the first day of public impeachment testimony in the House, President Trump hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House. Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House that he was not watching the televised hearings. He said, "I'm too busy to watch it. It's a witch hunt, it's a hoax, I'm too busy to watch it. So, I'm sure I'll get a report. There's nothing — I have not been briefed. There's nothing there. I see they're using lawyers that are television lawyers, they took some guys off television. You know. I'm not surprised to see it, because [House Intelligence Chair Adam] Schiff can't do his own questions."
However, according to CBS News White House correspondent Paula Reid and CBS News special events producer Samira Said, the president tweeted at least 30 times about impeachment on Wednesday, with 21 of the tweets occurred during the hearing, and 22 of them retweets criticizing the process.
Some Democratic presidential candidates took to Twitter to comment on Wednesday hearings, framing it as a constitutional duty. Secretary Julian Castro tweeted that he called for Mr. Trump's impeachment in April, and that "Congress will fulfill their constitutional role in beginning that process. No one is above the law."
Meanwhile, Republican primary challenger and former Congressman Joe Walsh tweeted numerous times during the hearing, often criticizing how House Republicans were approaching the hearing.
"Here's why every Congressional Republican, every conservative talk radio host, every Fox News opinion-maker, and every Trump defender on the internet is a big, fat hypocrite: Because if Obama did what Trump did, they'd ALL be screaming for Obama's impeachment. U know it's true," he tweeted. CBS News' latest count shows that every Democratic candidate supports the impeachment inquiry.
IN THE SENATE
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced Wednesday he has set a deadline of November 18th at 5 p.m. for Senate applications to fill retiring GOP Senator Johnny Isakson's seat, reports CBS News political unit associate producer Eleanor Watson.
Isakson announced in August that he will resign his Senate seat at the end of the year because of health reasons. Kemp will appoint an interim senator until next November, which means there will be two Georgia U.S. Senate seats on the ballot next year since Republican Senator David Perdue is up reelection.
The governor's office has received over 500 applications for Isakson's seat since opening the submission window in September. Some of the people who have applied include U.S. Representative Republican Doug Collins, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton and Democrat Matt Lieberman, the son of former U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman.
GUBERNATORIAL COVERAGE
Thursday morning, all Kentucky county boards of elections will convene to "recanvass" the gubernatorial results from last Tuesday, which Democrat and current governor-elect Andy Beshear won by over 5,000 votes. A recanvass, which differs from an all-out recount, is where the receipts of voting machines will be double checked to verify the accuracy of the vote totals.
After completing this process, the county boards will file their recanvass reports with the Kentucky secretary of state. Republican Governor Matt Bevin requested the recanvass after refusing to concede on election night, and while he said he approved of Beshear beginning his transition preparation, he has also made claims of ballot fraud and irregularities that have yet to be proven.
On Wednesday, Citizens for Election Integrity, a group started by a Bevin campaign supporter, held a press conference claiming the election was hacked. Beshear spokesperson Sam Newton said in response to their press conference that "it is clear this group's goal is not to actually show that Matt Bevin got more votes than Andy Beshear; they are grasping at straws to try to undermine confidence in election results with which they disagree."
Kentucky Secretary of State spokesperson Lillie Ruschell told CBS News political unit broadcast associate Aaron Navarro that a recanvass usually doesn't take more than a day, and that they have seen no irregularities that would account for a 5,000 vote difference. In addition, newly-elected Secretary of State Michael Adams was invited to attend the recanvass process. Results of the recanvass will be updated throughout the day online.
IMPORTANT VOICES
LATINO MOBILIZATION
Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, announced that latinos in Florida and Arizona would be the focus of their second phase in 2020 voter mobilization, says CBS News political unit broadcast associate Aaron Navarro. Their digital approach includes targeted ads talking about healthcare, "Trump's racist and divisive rhetoric and immigration policies," and an economy the super PAC says hasn't been directly helping working-class voters.
The group says their recent research shows that in their four main battleground states – Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania – that respondents are evenly split on their approval or disapproval of the Trump economy, and that there's been a growth in disapproval since May. Cecil estimated the group will spend about $2 million in the beginning of this new phase.
"A lot of times what happens in these conversations, especially among Democrats, is that somehow when you're talking about economy, wages and job- that becomes the shorthand for white working class. The reality is that if you look at our advertising, we talk about these same kind of issues across race, across income, across age, across region," Priorities USA chairman Guy Cecil said at a Wednesday briefing.
"There's actually gains to be made by Democratic base voters that didn't vote in 2016 that we want to turn out in the next election by talking about these issues."