Archive

Wednesday’s Talking Points – March 9, 2016

··

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 69th day of the year. There are 297 days left in 2016.

Trump and Sanders are the big winners from the latest round of nominating contests. Mitt Romney’s speech may have helped Trump. Lawmakers set next year’s education budget.

The clock:

  • The final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature is tomorrow – (3/10/2016)
  • Two days until the Utah candidate filing period opens – (3/11/2016)
  • Six days to the Florida, Ohio and North Carolina primaries – (3/15/2016)
  • Eight days until the Utah candidate filing period closes – (3/17/2016)
  • 12 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
  • 13 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 21 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
  • 45 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 61 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
  • 111 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 131 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
  • 138 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
  • 244 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Ten talking points for Wednesday:

  1. Donald Trump wins GOP contests in Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii while Ted Cruz wins the Idaho Republican primary [Politico, Washington Post]. Bernie Sanders stuns Hillary Clinton by eking out a close victory in Michigan, but Clinton racks up more delegates on the night thanks to a crushing win in Mississippi [Politico, New York Times, Washington Post].
  2. Mitt Romney‘s big speech slamming Trump may have ended up helping Trump according to a new survey [Utah Policy, Tribune]. After recording a robocall to help Marco Rubio, Romney records one to aid John Kasich [New York Times].
  3. More dirty tricks from Ted Cruz? His campaign is accused of spreading rumors that Rubio is dropping out of the race [New York Times].
  4. Sen. Mike Lee may be close to dropping his hold on an aid package for Flint, Michigan [Politico].
  5. Legislators put the finishing touches on next year’s education budget with a 3-percent increase in per-student funding [Deseret News, Tribune].
  6. Utah lawmakers narrowly advance a measure to abolish the death penalty [2 News, Deseret News, Tribune].
  7. The Utah Senate passes Rep. Jim Dunnigan‘s limited Medicaid expansion bill. Gov. Gary Herbert says he will sign the measure [Deseret News].
  8. Gov. Herbert says he is okay with letting the lawsuits over SB54 play out in court this year [Deseret News]. Bob Bernick argues House leadership may pay a political price for supporting SB54 [Utah Policy].
  9. The Salt Lake County Council holds a closed-door meeting to discuss concerns about the health of County Recorder Gary Ott [Tribune, Deseret News].
  10. Half of Utahns say they want a Republican to represent them in Congress according to a new survey [Utah Policy].

On this day in history:

  • 1841 – The Supreme Court ruled the African slaves who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery and thus were free under U.S. law.
  • 1862 – The ironclad ships Monitor and Merrimac clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
  • 1864 – Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed the commander in chief of Union forces in the U.S. Civil War.
  • 1933 – President Franklin Roosevelt presented the first of his New Deal policies, the Emergency Banking Act, to Congress.
  • 2005 – Dan Rather stepped down as the anchor and managing editor of CBS Evening News. His departure followed acknowledgment of significant flaws in a broadcast about President George W. Bush’s National Guard service.