Notable Quote of the Day

“If the Democratic Party is paying attention to this actuarial action—and I think it is—their next veep nominee won’t be another no-name ticket balancer picked to satisfy the geographic, gender, and ethnicity needs of the ticket. Rather, he (or she) will be selected based on the understanding that he stands a higher statistical chance completing the term of the presidential nominee than veeps before him. Instead of nominating one prospective president, the Democrats especially will effectively be nominating two.”

– Jack Shafer, Politico senior media writer

Debate Night

Six Democratic presidential candidates debated Wednesday night in Las Vegas, Nevada: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren.

The candidates discussed electability, healthcare, criminal justice, foreign policy, sexism, climate change, economic issues, and immigration. Warren had the most speaking time at 16.8 minutes. Bloomberg spoke the least at 13.1 minutes. 

For highlights from the debate for each candidate, click here.

Democrats

• The Democratic Party said it would not commit to releasing unofficial Nevada caucus results on Saturday night. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said, “We’re going to do our best to release results as soon as possible, but our North Star, again, is accuracy.”

• Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas) endorsed Joe Biden on Wednesday. Biden is participating in a CNN town hall in Las Vegas on Thursday. The super PAC, Committee to Protect the President spent $255,000 on a television and digital Spanish-language ad in Nevada criticizing Biden on immigration.

• Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin and South Carolina House Minority Leader J. Tood Rutherford endorsed Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday. Reps. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), and Nita Lowey (N.Y.) endorsed Bloomberg on Thursday. He is holding a rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Thursday.

• Pete Buttigieg requested recounts in 54 precincts in Iowa on Wednesday. Buttigieg is holding a town hall at the USC Political Student Assembly in Los Angeles on Thursday. 

• Tulsi Gabbard is holding a town hall in Boulder, Colorado, on Thursday.

• Amy Klobuchar is airing two new 15-second ads in Nevada focused on healthcare. She is holding an event in Aurora, Colorado, on Thursday.

• Bernie Sanders requested recounts in 10 precincts in Iowa on Wednesday. Emgage PAC, which describes itself as the biggest Muslim political action committee in the U.S., endorsed Sanders.

• Tom Steyer made a seven-figure ad buy featuring clips of Bloomberg discussing stop-and-frisk policing and redlining. The ad will begin airing on Monday.

• Elizabeth Warren is participating in a CNN town hall in Las Vegas on Thursday. Persist PAC spent $800,000 to air a biographical ad supporting Warren in Nevada this week.

Republicans

• Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee will spend more than $10 million to challenge Democratic voting-related lawsuits.

• Bill Weld discussed his campaign with The Republican and MassLive on Wednesday.

Flashback: February 20, 2016

Jeb Bush suspended his presidential campaign after placing fourth in the South Carolina Republican primary.