Welcome back to Hotline Sort. Cain faces allegations of inappropriate behavior, and he's in Washington today to deal with what will be a swarm of media at his appearances. Meanwhile, Rangel may get a primary challenge from a former Clinton adviser, Matheson won't challenge Hatch and team Perry says he'll debate after all. Here's today's rundown:
7) Jon Huntsman meets voters -- and a goat -- in New Hampshire.
6) Here's the latest sign that establishment Republicans are coalescing around Mitt Romney: The Wall Street Journal finds that many of George W. Bush's top donors are giving to the former Bay State governor. Romney has won maximum contributions from twice as many of the top Bush backers as Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Meanwhile, after floating the idea that Perry might skip future debates, his campaign said over the weekend that the governor plans to participate in at least five more.
5) The New York Times reports that Clyde Williams, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, is considering a challenge to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. Williams, who also has ties to President Obama, has commissioned a poll and met with donors.
4) Rep.
Jim Matheson, D-Utah,
said that he won't be running against Republican Sen.
Orrin Hatch. He could still run for re-election in the House (either in the newly-drawn 2nd District or newly-created 4th District), or pursue a gubernatorial campaign. Hatch, meanwhile, has yet to attract a primary or general election opponent.
3) Businessman
Herman Cain and Romney sit atop the field in Iowa, according to the latest
Des Moines Register poll which was released Saturday night. Cain and Romney are at 23 and 22 percent while Rep.
Ron Paul, R-Texas, is third at 12 percent. The latest troubling sign for
Rick Perry: The Texas governor is at just 7 percent in the poll.
2) Aware of the gains he needs to make in the Hawkeye State, Perry is
up with a new TV ad in Iowa. It's a simple and direct
30 second spot in which Perry underscores his job creation skills. "If you're looking for a slick politician or a guy with great TelePrompTer skills, we already have that -- and he's destroying our economy," Perry says at the top of the ad.
1) As Cain got some good news in Iowa, a
Politico report on Sunday was bad news for the GOP presidential candidate. Two female employees complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain while he was heading the National Restaurant Association, the report says. Cain's campaign
responded with a statement that blasted "Inside the Beltway media," but was short on specifics.
Expect the story to continue to dominate the news cycle today, as Cain is here in Washington for speeches at AEI and the National Press Club.
Already the conservative women's group Concerned Women for America president Penny Nance
is out with her reaction: "I know in a very personal way that sexual harassment exists and that it's demeaning and painful. It should never be tolerated in the workforce and certainly not the White House."
Leave A Comment