196 days until Election Day

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

Weekly Headlines:

• Trump, Clinton Build Momentum With Double-Digit Leads in Pennsylvania
• Bernie Sanders offends some with comments about South
• Ted Cruz, John Kasich join forces to stop Donald Trump

Press Clips:

What Are Kids Learning From This Presidential Election? (NPR 4/19/16)  

Third-grader Victor Reza was watching CNN in the living room in Houston with his family when Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the Florida Republican primary. Victor teared up, his older sister, Maria, said in a telephone interview. “I don’t want him to win,” he announced. “If he wins, I’m never going to see any of you again.” Victor, 10, is a U.S. citizen, but members of his immediate family are not. And, says 21-year-old Maria, “I’m pretty sure he’s heard hateful rhetoric from his classmates at school. His friends at school were saying, ‘Ha-ha, your family’s going to be deported now because Donald Trump is going to win.’ “

Here’s a look at the 2016 race by the numbers (Huffington Post 4/21/16) 

It’s official: The 2016 presidential election is already a 10-figure affair. Household names such as Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz account for much of this spending. But a gaggle of obscure and moneyed super PACs have likewise helped rocket campaign expenditures to mesospheric levels — ones unthinkable even four years ago. Here’s a rundown of the more telling — and curious — statistics to emerge from a new round of political campaign disclosures.

Underdog presidential candidates spend heavily to catch up (St. Louis Post 4/20/16)

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders continued to outpace rival Hillary Clinton in fundraising — and spending — last month, new Federal Election Commission Filings show. Sanders’ record March haul of almost $46 million topped Clinton by about $19 million. Yet he vaporized that cash advantage by spending roughly $17 million more than she did. Sanders shared the numbers on his campaign website, but his report wasn’t available through the FEC by early Thursday. While racking up wins in recent primary states, except New York this week, Sanders has failed to nudge Clinton off her apparent path to the party’s presidential nomination.

Hillary Clinton ignores Bernie Sanders, focuses fire on GOP candidates (LA Times 4/24/16)

Hillary Clinton campaigned Sunday as though she were already the Democratic nominee, ignoring rival Bernie Sanders and focusing her Fire only on the Republican Yield. After outlining her priorities – raising the minimum wage, equal pay, improving Obamacare, increasing gun regulations, criminal justice reform – Clinton turned to GOP candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. “I hope you have paid attention to what the Republicans running for president have been saying, because everything I have just said, they disagree with,” she said. Clinton said people are often shocked by Trump’s incendiary statements.

Bernie Sanders addresses thousands in Providence (Providence Journal 4/24/16) 

The crowds are out early for Bernie Sanders in Providence. By 10 a.m., some 2,000 people had already arrived at Roger Williams Park, according to Journal Staff Writer Linda Borg. The Vermont senator’s rally is due to officially start at noon. The early arrivals were treated to Neil Young’s classic “Rockin’ in the Free World” and other pro-change music from the 1960s and 1970s at the Temple to Music.

The ‘nasty effect’ and why Donald Trump supporters mistrust the media (Washington Post 4/24/16) 

Donald Trump supporters and the mainstream media have a well-practiced routine that goes like this: The media report that the Republican presidential front-runner said or did something untrue/offensive/dangerous, and then supporters reject the reports as dishonest/exaggerated/insignificant. Which leads to the confounding question for journalists: Why does critical coverage of Trump have no effect on his loyalists? Wait.

Scratch that. There is an effect — it arguably makes them more loyal, not less. But if that’s the case, then why does critical coverage have a reverse effect?

Ted Cruz back in Indiana Saturday for Lebanon rally (Indy Star 4/23/16) 

Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz will be back in Indiana on Saturday as part of his effort to block front-runner Donald Trump from winning the GOP nomination outright. The U.S. senator from Texas will stop at the Oasis Diner in Plainfield at 3:30 p.m., then host a rally at the Boone County Fairground’s Witham Pavilion in Lebanon at 6 p.m. It will be Cruz’s second Indiana stop in three days and signifies just how important the Hoosier state is to his strategy. Cruz is trying to prevent Trump from winning the required 1.237 delegates he needs to lock up the party’s nomination. He views Indiana’s May 3 primary — with 57 delegates up for grabs — as an essential part of that effort.