Notable Quote of the Day

“During the 2008 Democratic primaries, the endorsements of black lawmakers were spread out over just four candidates. Just nine Democrats were competing in the primaries at that time. And in 2016, CBC endorsements went to just two of the Democratic candidates.

Although nine candidates have received current endorsements during the 2020 primary, it’s worth noting that most endorsements have gone to Biden — the candidate leading with black voters. This should be of little surprise, given that many black lawmakers in Congress worked with Biden when he was vice president to the country’s first black president and when Biden was a lawmaker himself. ...

But despite that, the most influential endorsements for candidates might not be those that come from black lawmakers, but from black mayors — leaders of cities with large black populations, said Bakari Sellers, a CNN political analyst and former state legislator who previously interned for a black lawmaker and a black mayor. This might suggest that political power and influence in black America could increasingly be shifting from Washington to the cities where black voters actually live.”

– Eugene Scott, The Washington Post

Democrats

• The Democratic National Committee announced on Wednesday that it would begin its first multi-million dollar investment in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona, calling this initial wave of spending "The Battleground Build Up 2020.”

• Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren were in Washington, D.C., for the impeachment trial.

• The Boston Globe profiled Bennet and his New Hampshire state campaign. He launched a new ad in the state contrasting himself with Trump called “Two Weeks at a Time.”

• Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg endorsed Joe Biden on Wednesday. Biden said he would not testify at the impeachment trial in exchange for certain Trump administration officials to also agree to testify.

• San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorsed Michael Bloomberg on Thursday. Axios profiled the campaign and data operations of Bloomberg’s staff at his New York City headquarters.

• Pete Buttigieg will campaign in South Carolina on Thursday with stops in Orangeburg and Moncks Corner. 

• Tulsi Gabbard is continuing to campaign in New Hampshire with a town hall in Claremont on Thursday. She also filed suit against 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, alleging Clinton lied about Gabbard's connection to Russia and caused $50 million in personal and professional damages.

• Klobuchar hosted a tele-town hall in Iowa on Wednesday night. She also released a new ad, “Buckle Up,” as part of a six-figure campaign in Iowa.

• Deval Patrick is continuing to campaign in New Hampshire with stops in Merrimack and Berlin on Thursday.

• Politico examined Tom Steyer’s campaign operations in South Carolina, where he has spent more than $1.2 million on Facebook ads and $12 million on television and radio ads.

• Andrew Yang is holding a town hall in Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday.

Republicans

• Donald Trump will attend the annual, anti-abortion March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday. The organization’s president, Jeanne Mancini, said it will be the first time a president attends the event.

Flashback: January 23, 2016

The Des Moines Register issued primary endorsements for Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio.