The Nevada caucuses are set for tomorrow. Here are ten things you need to know today.
- Romney up big in Nevada: Although we are headed for another vote in the Republican presidential primary process, polls show there may not be much drama on Saturday — a new Public Policy Polling (D) survey shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with a sizable lead ahead of tomorrow’s GOP caucus in Nevada. Romney gets 50 percent in the new PPP poll, which followed a UNLV survey in which he saw 45. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is behind by more than twenty points in both polls, and the TPM Poll Average of the race shows Romney with a 16.7 percent advantage.
- Democrats hit Romney on housing in Nevada: Not to be left out, Democrats are pushing back against Romney as he’s poised for a big win on Saturday. The DNC organized a call with reporters Thursday with Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) which had a focus on housing and foreclosures — something they view Romney to be vulnerable on since he told an editorial board in the state that the government shouldn’t get involved in the foreclosure crisis. “Mitt Romney hasn’t offered a single proposal to lend a hand to America’s struggling homeowners, make it easier for them to refinance their homes or help them avoid foreclosure. Instead, earlier this week we saw him double down on the outrageous statement he made in Nevada late last year: that we should let the housing market hit rock bottom,” Democrats wrote in an email blast.
- Romney launches OneTermFund.com: Romney himself has launched the “One Term Fund” as a fundraising mechanism, using President Obama’s assertion that if he didn’t turn the economy around in the first three years of his presidency, he would be held “accountable.” Romney says he’ll do just that, asking for donors’ help, releasing a web ad along those same lines.
- EMILY’s List launches “W.H.Y. (Women’s Historic Year) 2012”: EMILY’s List, the longtime political action organization that aims to elect pro-choice Democratic women, has launched W.H.Y. 2012, the group’s effort to highlight the number of women that will be running for federal office this year. “EMILY’s List is supporting an unprecedented number of Senate candidates: six incumbents and five challengers. Every single one of our challengers would be the first woman to represent their states in the Senate,” they wrote.
- Gingrich campaign shrugs off Trump endorsement of Romney: The big news from Thursday was an endorsement of Mitt Romney by businessman Donald Trump, not that the move will make much difference. In response, the Gingrich campaign blasted out a response to reporters reminding them that Trump hasn’t always had nice things to say about Romney, including a choice quote from an August Fox News appearance: “Romney has been missing in action. He hasn’t done a damn thing,” Trump said.
- Schuler won’t run for re-election: Rep. Heath Schuler (D-NC) is retiring from Congress, deciding against seeking a fourth term. Schuler is a Blue Dog Democrat who represented a district in the mountains of western North Carolina. He told a local TV station in Asheville, NC that he’s mulling a run for governor after the announced retirement of Gov. Bev Perdue (D-NC).
- Romney campaigns across rural Nevada: After spending some time in Las Vegas yesterday, Romney will speak to employees at Western Nevada Supply in Sparks, NV, holding a town hall at El Aero Services in Elk and finally a “get out the vote” event in Henderson. Gingrich on the other hand will be spending the day in Las Vegas, first at a rally and then an event at International Church of Las Vegas.
- Pew: Low income Republicans think government should help the poor: The Pew Research Center has published some analysis showing that lower income Republicans may not particularly like Romney’s recent comment that he doesn’t worry very much about the very poor in America. Roughly a quarter of Republican and Republican-leaning registered voters have annual family incomes under $30,000, and most of them say that the government does not do enough for poor people in this country,” the organization wrote. “In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in early October, 57% of lower-income Republican and Republican-leaning voters said the government does too little for poor people. Just 18% said it does too much.”
- Fellow Republican attacks Flake over government-financed travel: Republican Senate candidate Wil Cardon is criticizing Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) as the two men gear up to run for Senate in the state, hoping to replace retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Cardon launched FlakeAir.com, along with a new web ad from his campaign that slams Flake for taking 40 trips around the globe on the taxpayer’s dime.
- The Moon Base lives on: In an attempt to keep hammering away at Gingrich now that he’s pulled ahead of the former House Speaker, Mitt Romney’s campaign is still mocking Newt’s idea to build a manned colony on the Moon by the end of a second hypothetical Gingrich term. “He should go on a lecture as being a futurologist who can paint pictures for people of what a bright future we could have,” Romney surrogate Rep. Dana Rohrabacher told The Hill. “But he doesn’t have the management and leadership abilities to lead those to fruition.”
