Good morning! Check out our highlight reel below of the top stories in federal politics. As always, click the button below and launch the full edition for a full review of the week, plus a look ahead.

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Buttigieg becomes third Democratic candidate to receive nine thousand pageviews in a single week

• Last week, Pete Buttigieg led all Democratic campaigns in pageviews. His campaign page was viewed 9,207 times, equaling 19.1% of pageviews for all Democratic campaigns this week. He was followed by Bernie Sanders with 15.1% of pageviews and Michael Bloomberg with 12.9%. Buttigieg became the third Democratic candidate to break 9,000 pageviews in a single week; Kamala Harris and Marianne Williamson each did so the week of June 29, following the first debates in Miami.
• The top three Democratic presidential candidates in lifetime pageviews are Andrew Yang with 170,842, Buttigieg with 165,805, and Joe Biden with 156,705. Joe Walsh, who ended his presidential campaign last week, received 101,341 pageviews since August 2019, and accounted for 17.2% of all Republican presidential campaign pageviews.
• All Democratic candidates received more pageviews this week relative to last week. The candidate with the greatest increase from last week was Buttigieg. His campaign page increased in pageviews by 395.8%. Andrew Yang saw the smallest increase in pageviews relative to last week among Democratic candidates with 73.7%.
• Donald Trump ranked second of the three Republican candidates in pageviews last week. Trump received 5,285 pageviews, while Roque de la Fuente received 6,215 and Bill Weld received 5,210.

Sanders, Trump win New Hampshire presidential primaries

• Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, receiving 25.7% of the vote. Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar followed with 24.4% and 19.8%, respectively. No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote.
• No other candidate received more than 10% of the vote. Democratic candidates must cross a 15% threshold to be allocated pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Sanders and Buttigieg each received nine delegates; Klobuchar earned six.
• President Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 85.6% support. He was allocated all 22 of the state’s delegates. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld came in second with 9.1% of the vote.

Bennet, Patrick, Yang end presidential campaigns

• Following the New Hampshire primary, Sen. Michael Bennet and Andrew Yang ended their presidential campaigns on Tuesday night. Bennet said, “I love our country. I love the idea of democracy. And I want to pass it on to the next generation. I feel nothing but joy tonight as we conclude this campaign and this chapter. Tonight wasn’t our night. But New Hampshire, you may see me once again.”
• Yang said in a speech to supporters, “While there is great work left to be done, you know I am the math guy, and it is clear tonight from the numbers that we are not going to win this race. I am not someone who wants to accept donations and support in a race that we will not win.”
• Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick also ended his presidential campaign on Wednesday afternoon, saying “the vote in New Hampshire last night was not enough for us to create the practical wind at the campaign’s back to go on to the next round of voting.”

Senate confirms five federal judges

• The U.S. Senate confirmed five nominees to U.S. federal court judgeships—one to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and four to U.S. District Court positions. The Senate has confirmed 192 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 137 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
• The confirmed nominees are:
  • Andrew Brasher, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on a 52-43 vote. After he receives commission, the court will have:
    • No vacancies
    • Five Democrat-appointed judges and seven Republican-appointed judges.
  • Philip Halpern, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on a 77-19 vote. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), one of Halpern's home-state senators, voted against his confirmation. After Halpern receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have:
    • Three vacancies
    • 19 Democrat-appointed judges and six Republican-appointed judges.
  • John Kness, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on an 81-12 vote. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have:
    • Two vacancies
    • 13 Democrat-appointed judges and seven Republican-appointed judges.
  • Matthew Schelp, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on a bipartisan vote of 72-23. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have:
    • No vacancies
    • Five Democrat-appointed judges and four Republican-appointed judges.
  • Joshua Kindred, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on a 54-41 vote where Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined 52 Republicans to confirm the nominee. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have:
    • No vacancies
    • One Democrat-appointed judge and two Republican-appointed judges.

Governmental Sessions:

• The House is not in session.
• The Senate is not in session.
• SCOTUS is in session and is not hearing any arguments this week.

Session Calendars:

• Calendar for the 116th Congress
• Supreme Court case schedule for October term, 2019-2020

Pennsylvania filing period for congressional candidates ends Feb. 18

• The filing deadline to run for elected office in Pennsylvania is on February 18. In Pennsylvania, prospective candidates may file for 18 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  • The primary is scheduled for April 28, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. Pennsylvania’s filing deadline is the 13th to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on March 2 in Nebraska.

Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District special primaries Feb. 18

• Primaries for the special election to fill the seat representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House will be held on Tuesday, February 18. The seat was vacated by Sean Duffy (R) in September 2019.
• Lawrence Dale and Tricia Zunker are facing off in the Democratic Primary.
  • As of January 29, Zunker had around $64,000 in cash on hand; Dale did not file a financial report.
  • Endorsements in the race have focused on Zunker, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and Wisconsin 7th Congressional District Democratic Party, as well as Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
• Jason Church and Tom Tiffany are running in the Republican Primary.
  • As of January 29, Church had around $189,000 in cash on hand, and Tiffany had around $208,000.
  • U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), U.S. Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), and organizations including SEAL PAC and Combat Veterans for Congress have endorsed Church. Duffy, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), former Wisconsin Govs. Scott Walker (R) and Tommy Thompson (R), and organizations including the Club for Growth PAC and Americans for Prosperity Action have endorsed Tiffany. Satellite spending in the Republican primary has included Americans for Prosperity Action, Club for Growth, House Freedom Action, and United States Chamber of Commerce spending supporting Tiffany and With Honor Fund and Americans 4 Security PAC spending supporting Church.
• The special general election will be held on May 12. Duffy, who was first elected in 2010, won his last election in 2018 by a margin of about 22 percentage points.

Democratic candidates to debate ahead of Nevada caucuses

• The Democratic Party will hold its ninth presidential primary debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, three days before the state’s presidential caucuses take place.
• Five candidates have already qualified for the debate: former Vice President Joe Biden, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. All five received at least one delegate following the Iowa caucuses.
• Candidates can also qualify for the debate by receiving 10% support or more in four national, Nevada, and/or South Carolina polls. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has three of the necessary four polls.
• The debate, hosted by NBC News and MSNBC, will be held at the Paris Theater. Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Hallie Jackson, Vanessa Hauc, and Jon Ralston will moderate the event.

Where was the president last week?

• On Monday, Trump spoke at a Keep America Great rally in New Hampshire.
• On Tuesday, Trump participated in a signing ceremony for The Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act.
• On Wednesday, Trump met with the President of the Republic of Ecuador and spoke at a fundraising committee reception.
• On Thursday, Trump visited his campaign headquarters and met with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
• On Friday, Trump spoke to National Border Patrol Council members.

Federal Judiciary

• 82 federal judicial vacancies
• 25 pending nominations
• 8 future federal judicial vacancies

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