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Morning must reads for Monday, August 14, 2017

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Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 226th day of the year. There are 139 days remaining in 2017.

Voters say Tuesday’s GOP primary may come down to likeability and experience. Donald Trump is still getting criticism for failing to condemn neo-Nazis after a bloody clash on Saturday. Trump’s campaign releases a new TV ad claiming “enemies” are trying to undermine his presidency.

The clock:

  • The 2017 Utah primary election is tomorrow (8/15/2017)
  • 85 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
  • 161 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
  • 206 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
  • 449 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
  • 1,177 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today’s political TL; DR –

  • NEW POLL: What issues are pushing 3rd District voters to pick one candidate over another? The top reasons cited by voters include likeability, experience, and ideology [Utah Policy].
  • Our “Political Insiders” say they expect Provo Mayor John Curtis to win the GOP 3rd District primary on Tuesday [Utah Policy].
  • The Utah Elections Office puts forward some solutions for the ballot problems in Utah and Wasatch County where GOP ballots were sent to independent voters [Utah Policy].
  • On this week’s “Beg to Differ” podcast Bryan Schott and Mike Winder discuss negative campaigning in the 3rd District GOP primary and how an Article V Convention to impose term limits on Congress [Utah Policy].
  • Salt Lake County Democrats pick Rosie Rivera as the new county sheriff. She is the first woman to hold that job [Deseret News, Tribune].
  • Utah office-holders condemn the violence stemming from a white supremacist rally in Virginia this weekend [Fox 13].
  • The LDS Church also weighed in on the violence from the white supremacist event, decrying racism and calling for peace and compassion [Deseret News].
  • Multiple allies to push back against racism and violence following the neo-Nazi gathering in Virginia are scheduled for Monday in Utah [Tribune].
  • Unaffiliated voters changing their registration to vote as Republicans in Tuesday’s primary could delay the results from the election [Deseret News].
  • State officials are working to secure more treatment beds for addicts ahead of the coming crackdown on violence and lawlessness in the Rio Grande area of downtown Salt Lake City [Tribune].
  • Rep. Lynn Hemingway wants to crack down on ticket resellers, limiting their profits from secondary ticket markets [Tribune].

National headlines:

  • President Donald Trump is getting criticism from both Republicans and Democrats because of his refusal to specifically denounce racist groups who incited violence during a rally in Virginia on Saturday [New York Times].
  • The man who plowed his car into a crowd of counter-protesters during a neo-Nazi rally in Virginia reportedly had long-held pro-Nazi views [Washington Post].
  • The mayor of Charlottesville, which was the site of the bloody white supremacist rally, says President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 emboldened these extremist groups [Washington Post].
  • Leading white nationalist websites are promising to hold more rallies like the one that erupted in violence on Saturday in Virginia. “We are going to do this nonstop,” the posts promised [Boston Globe].
  • September could be a bruising month for the Trump administration. Congress will have just 12 legislative days to raise the debt ceiling when they return from their August recess. Trump also wants Congress to work on tax reform as well [Politico].
  • Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson co-author an op-ed detailing their hope to put more diplomatic pressure on North Korea [Wall Street Journal].
  • President Donald Trump‘s plan to investigate unfair trade practices by China has prompted Chinese state media to claim the move will “poison” relations between the countries. Experts say the move could spark a trade war [Reuters].
  • Right-wing groups are ready to ramp up their campaign against National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster by alleging he has a drinking problem. The campaign against McMaster is being led by Breitbart News, a vehemently pro-Trump website along with other groups [Axios].
  • The Trump administration is zeroing in on their plans to dismantle a number of financial regulations put in place on Wall Street following the financial crisis [Wall Street Journal].
  • President Donald Trump‘s re-election campaign arm releases a new television ad that claims “enemies” like Democrats and the news media are trying to undermine his success [Washington Post].

On this day in history:

  • 1900 – International forces entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreigners.
  • 1935 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, creating unemployment insurance and pension plans for the elderly.
  • 1945 – Japan accepts the Allied terms of surrender in World War II.
  • 1973 – U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.
  • 2015 – The U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba re-opens after 54 years after it was closed when Cuba-United States relations were broken off.