Jan 25, 2016 6 min read

Wake Up To Politics - January 25, 2016

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Monday, January 25, 2016
7 Days until the Iowa Caucuses
289 Days Until Election Day 2016 I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!
To send me questions, comments, tips, new subscribers, and more: email me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com. To learn more about WUTP and subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or like me on Twitter and Facebook. More ways to engage with WUTP at the bottom. 2016 Central

Where Iowa Stands: One Week to Go With just one week until the Iowa caucuses, presidential candidates on both sides are going all out to win favor with Hawkeye State voters.
On the Republican side, Donald Trump has pulled ahead of Ted Cruz in recent days – after weeks of polls showing Cruz leading. Perhaps driven by conservative icon Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Trump, a number of Cruz’s evangelical supports seem to have deserted him.
The three most recent Iowa polls show Trump ahead of Cruz – with 11-point leads in FOX News and CNN polls, and a 5-point lead in the CBS News poll. Both Fox and CBS showed Cruz leading in polls conducted in early January, just weeks prior.
A shift is visible on the Republican side as well. The two most recent polls in Iowa show Bernie Sanders pulling ahead of Hillary Clinton, with CBS giving Sanders a 1-point lead and CNN showing him 8 points ahead of Clinton. The last CBS and CNN polls showed Clinton with leads of 18 and 5 points, respectively.
With both contests seeming to shift in the race’s final week, turnout will mean everything on Caucus Day: if voters who have caucused before show up, Cruz and Clinton benefit; Trump and Sanders stand to gain if new caucusesgoers vote.
CNN Hosting Democrats for Final Iowa Debate Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, and Bernie Sanders will meet today for a final time before the Iowa caucuses next week.
The trio will individually field questions from Iowa Democrats in the audience and from moderator Chris Cuomo, co-host of CNN’s “New Day,” at the Town Hall. Each candidate will have 30 minutes onstage at Drake University’s Sheslow Auditorium – with Sanders appearing first, then O’Malley, and finally Clinton.
Tonight’s event comes after the Democratic primary race has heated up in past days, with Sanders painting his campaign as the one with enthusiasm and Clinton declaring herself the pragmatist in the race.
The Town Hall will air from 8pm to 10pm Central Time on CNN and other Iowa affiliates, as well as on radio with SiriusXM and online via CNNgo.
Invisible Primary Tracking endorsements in the 2016 presidential race:
Hillary Clinton picked up the support of two publications over the weekend: the Des Moines Register, Iowa’s largest newspaper, on Saturday; and the Boston Globe, New England’s largest newspaper (with big readership in New Hampshire), on Sunday.
Ted Cruz gained the support of former Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) early Monday. Perry, the longest-serving governor in the history of Cruz’s home state, will join Cruz on the Iowa campaign trail Tuesday, and will attend a Wednesday rally with Cruz and Rep. Steve King (R-IA). Perry himself waged a presidential campaign from June to September 2015, once commanding the support of 3% of Iowans.
Marco Rubio was also endorsed by the Des Moines Register, support that could possibly lift him from his current far third-place showing in the state.
Donald Trump announced Friday that he had been endorsed by the National Black Republican Association, a conservative African-American group.
Today on the Trail Where are the 2016 presidential candidates?
IOWA Ben Carson (Trust in God Town Halls, Meet and Greet), Hillary Clinton (Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines event, Get Out the Caucus Events), Ted Cruz (Retail Stops), Carly Fiorina (Meet and Greet, Town Hall), Mike Huckabee (Second Amendment event, Rally), Martin O’Malley (Platinum LEED Certified Building Tour, Clean Energy Press Conference, College visits), Marco Rubio (Rally, Town Halls), Bernie Sanders (Town Halls), Rick Santorum (Retail Stops, Town Halls, House Party)
SPOTLIGHT Actress Jamie Lee Curtis will campaign for Clinton at a Des Moines organizing event, to “energize Hillary for Iowa volunteers and supporters” and “highlight Hillary Clinton’s lifelong record of fighting and delivering real results for women and girls”.
SPOTLIGHT At his Des Moines rally, Huckabee will be joined by Grammy Award-nominated country music star Josh Turner, who will perform. In addition, Huckabee will hold an event on “protecting our 2^nd Amendment” at a Hiawatha shooting range, where the campaign guidance informs: “Note: Gov. Huckabee will shoot firearms at this event”.
SPOTLIGHT Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will introduce Rubio at a Des Moines rally. While this is not an endorsement (Ernst is staying neutral), Ernst did praise Rubio when announcing her role in the rally. “Our nation faces exponential threats, and over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Marco Rubio on issues critical to our national security,” Ernst said. “Marco is not only a strong conservative and a good friend, but someone that I trust to secure our country.”
SPOTLIGHT At his Retail Stop in Iowa City, Santorum will “make a special announcement and unveiling”. This stop is part of Santorum’s “inVest in America” tour, likely a reference to the former senator’s known penchant for sweater vests.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Chris Christie (Town Hall), John Kasich (Town Hall), Donald Trump (Rally)

Capitol Hill News

Snow Day! As Washington, D.C. faces the effects of Winter Storm Jonas, a historic blizzard raging across the Mid-Atlantic, both house of Congress have cancelled their Monday sessions.
“Due to the severity of the winter storm in the D.C. area, and its adverse impact on travel,” the House will not meet again until Monday, February 1, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced Sunday. All votes scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday have been pushed back a week.
Meanwhile, the Senate will still meet with this week, but on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, to give members more time for travel.
And it’s not just Congress who can stay home today: the entire federal government will be shut down for the day. The Office of Personnel and Management announced the closure of all federal offices in Washington, D.C. on Sunday.

Question of the Day

Today’s Question Hoover-era Vice President Zoey Fleisher Charles Curtis, whose birthday is today, was the first person with what ancestry to be elected President or Vice President?
Answer by emailing me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com by today, and get your name in tomorrow’s Wake Up!