The Nevada caucuses are 2 days away. Here are ten things you need to know.
- The Donald endorsement is here: The Gingrich campaign confirmed that Donald Trump will endorse Newt Gingrich on Thursday in Las Vegas. The announcement will take place, unsurprisingly, in Trump’s Vegas hotel Thursday afternoon.
- Sharron Angle will endorse Santorum: From Cain to Trump and now to Sharron Angle, the Tea Party endorsements are rolling in. Sharron Angle, who unsuccessfully challenged Nevada Sen. Harry Reid in 2010, will endorse Rick Santorum, as first reported by National Review’s Robert Costa.
- An interview with President Obama will air before the Super Bowl: NBC’s Matt Lauer will interview President Obama from the White House for the Super Bowl pre-game show airing Sunday afternoon, Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch reports.
- Romney moves ahead of Gingrich in Gallup’s national poll: After trailing Newt Gingrich nationally, Mitt Romney is now ahead of Gingrich 31% to 26% in Gallup’s national poll. The latest numbers reflect polling from January 27-31 and therefore include one night of polling after Romney’s victory in Florida. The two frontrunners have switched places in Gallup’s Daily Tracking poll several times. The TPM Poll Average has Romney up 29% to Gingrich’s 26%.
- Public Policy Polling heads into Nevada: Public Policy Polling began interviews in Nevada Wednesday night and will continue through Thursday. They expect to release poll results around 1-2 a.m. Friday morning. They note they are heading into Nevada with “trepidation” because not only are caucuses notoriously hard to poll, but so is Nevada in particular. Good to keep in mind as Saturday approaches.
- Romney calls decision to withdraw from Afghanistan ‘misguided’: Mitt Romney on Wednesday called the announcement from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta that the U.S. will withdraw troops from Afghanistan in 2013 “misguided.” “His naivete is putting in jeopardy the mission of the United States of America and our commitments to freedom,” Romney said.
- DNC hits Romney on comments about the poor in new video: Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he’s not concerned about the very poor, in an unsuccessful attempt to relay that his main focus is the middle class. The DNC has a new video out using Mitt Romney’s tax plan to argue he is not for either group and that he would actually lend a hand to the wealthy instead.
- Democrats continue to call out Romney on Medicare and Social Security: The Florida primary may be over, but Democrats are continuing to push the narrative that Mitt Romney lied to seniors when he said Monday that he would protect Social Security and Medicare. Thursday, the DNC is holding a press conference call with Jim Burn, Chairman of Pennsylvania Democratic Party and Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania’s 13th District to discuss Romney’s entitlement agenda.
- Candidates campaign, but not too much: The candidates are in Nevada today, with a light campaign schedule. Rick Santorum campaigns in Nevada Thursday and then moves to Missouri on Friday. Newt Gingrich, who has made an attempt to reach out to Latino voters, will attend an Hispanic Leadership Roundtable in Las Vegas.
- Sen. McCaskill in dead heat with challengers: In Missouri, a new survey from Public Policy Polling shows incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill in a dead heat with her Republican challengers, mainly because her challengers are both unknown and have high unfavorables. Basically, a “weak GOP field is keeping McCaskill in the game.”
