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Wednesday’s Talking Points – February 24, 2016

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Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 55th day of the year. There are 311 days left in 2016.

Trump romps in Nevada. The Utah GOP announces a ticketing process for the March 21 presidential debate in Salt Lake City. A plan for full Medicaid expansion moves to the full Senate.

The clock:

  • Three days to the South Carolina Democratic Primary (2/27/2016)
  • Six days to the “Super Tuesday” primaries and caucuses (3/2/2016)
  • 15 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
  • 26 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
  • 27 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 35 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
  • 59 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 75 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
  • 125 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 145 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
  • 152 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
  • 258 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Ten talking points for Wednesday:

  1. Donald Trump romps in the Nevada caucuses, pulling nearly 50% support and notching his third win in a row. Marco Rubio finishes second while Ted Cruz came in third place [Politico, Roll Call, New York Times, Washington Post]. Cruz tries to set up the race as a two-man contest between him and Trump [Politico]. Rubio has pulled in many late endorsements, but that might be too late to help his campaign [Politico].
  2. Senate Republican leaders say they will not hold a hearing nor even meet with President Barack Obama‘s nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. That group included Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee [New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Tribune].
  3. The Utah GOP begins accepting ticket requests for the March 21 presidential debate, but they still haven’t decided on a venue for the event [2 News, Deseret News, Tribune].
  4. A new poll shows a slim majority of Utahns support the death penalty in capital cases, but that support has weakened significantly in the past few months [Utah Policy].
  5. A Senate committee advances a measure abolishing the death penalty in Utah for future cases [2 News, Deseret News, Tribune].
  6. A Senate panel approves a bill for full Medicaid expansion in Utah sending it to the full Senate for debate [Deseret News, 2 News, Tribune].
  7. A House committee kills Rep. Brian King‘s proposal to teach comprehensive sex education in Utah’s schools instead of the current abstinence-only curriculum [Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13].
  8. The full House advances a bill tilting the partisan makeup of two key legislative committees to favor Republicans [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
  9. An FEC audit dings the Utah Democratic party for accounting errors in 2011 and 2012 [Tribune].
  10. The DABC gives Starbucks a license to serve beer and wine at five locations in Utah [2 News, Fox 13, Tribune, Deseret News].

 On this day in history:

  • 1803 – The U.S. Supreme Court, in its Marbury v. Madison decision, ruled the power of the federal government was no greater than that of any individual state.
  • 1868 – Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Abraham Lincoln, was impeached by the U.S. House. He was later acquitted by a single vote in the Senate three weeks later.
  • 1945 – American soldiers liberated the Phillippine capital of Manila from Japanese control during World War II.
  • 1995 – Diver Greg Louganis, who won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1984 and 1988, revealed he had AIDS.