153 days until AL Presidential Primary
407 days until Election Day

Convention Dates: Republican July 18-21 2016, Democratic July 25-28 2016

Weekly Headlines:

• 2016 debate calendar set
• Scott Walker drops out of 2016 presidential race
• Poll: Carson ties Trump; Biden draws from Clinton

Press Clips:

John Boehner’s resignation spells trouble for Jeb Bush (CNN 9/25/15) 

As if Jeb Bush needed another problem. House Speaker John Boehner’s abrupt resignation Friday — after an insurrection by grassroots activists infuriated at the failure of Washington Republicans to thwart President Barack Obama — was another bad omen for a campaign wilting amid anti-­‐establishment fury. In the 2016 presidential race, outsiders are in, insiders are out and the messy power struggle that is splintering the GOP is going to make winning the nomination — and then capturing the White House — very tough for a party standard bearer like Bush.

Billionaire Steyer calls for more Democratic debates (Politico 9/25/15)

Billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer on Friday afternoon called on the party to add another debate focused on climate change and clean energy, adding his voice to a pitched disagreement over the number of Democratic debates. Steyer, an environmentalist who is one of the party’s major financiers and who already hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton, said he wants the debate to occur before the Iowa caucuses in February.

Donald Trump promises top of the line national security team (CBS News 9/22/15)

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Monday that he’ll soon roll out a national security team that will be “top of the line.” “We’re going to be announcing something very soon,” Trump said Monday to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “So many great national security people, including generals, have come to us and called us — and at the top level — and they want to be involved. And I think they like what I say about other things, also. But they want to be involved, and we have a great team in place, or shortly will be in place.”

Third GOP debate sets off wave of anxiety (Politico 9/27/15) 

The uncertain terms of the next Republican debate are setting off a wave of anxiety among middle and bottom tier campaigns, with several lashing out at the Republican National Committee for failing to provide clarity on how many candidates will appear on stage.

The campaigns fear the entry criteria for the Oct. 28 debate is being designed to reduce the number of candidates on stage for the third primetime debate — a life-or-death matter for White House hopefuls on the bubble. 

Biden backers seeking staffers for White House bid (US News 9/25/15) 

Advisers to Joe Biden are attempting to enlist staffers for a potential 2016 presidential campaign – the latest sign the vice president is inching closer to entering the race. A Democratic operative tells U.S. News he was approached this week about working for Biden if he pulled the trigger on a run. The operative also says Biden has already secured a fundraising consulting firm in order to quickly ramp up financing following a possible announcement.

State Dept. to send Benghazi committee nearly 1,000 Clinton emails (Politico 9/25/15)

 The State Department announced Friday that it is sending the House Benghazi committee nearly 1,000 emails from Hillary Clinton’s private account — a batch three times larger than the set of Clinton messages her former agency sent to Capitol Hill back in May.

A senior State Department official said the decision to provide the new set of about 925 emails is linked to Clinton’s expected testimony to the panel next month and to a clearer understanding by State officials that Congressional investigators want all Libya-­‐related records, not just those involving security issues related to the deadly 2012 attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi.

Presidential super PACs push campaign limits (USA Today 9/22/15)

When Donald Trump slammed Carly Fiorina’s looks recently, the response was swift: an online video that extols her face and that of other Republican women. The rebuke, however, didn’t come from Fiorina’s campaign, Carly for President. Instead, the video was the work of CARLY for America, a super PAC that has raised more than double Fiorina’s campaign haul but is barred from coordinating its spending with Fiorina.