Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Nevada, a new Suffolk University/Reno Gazette Journal poll of likely Democratic caucusgoers shows Joe Biden leading, but his margin over Elizabeth Warren is shrinking. The former vice president has 24% support, followed by Warren at 19%, and Bernie Sanders at 14%. Every other Democratic presidential hopeful was below 5% in this poll.
* Speaking of Sanders, the Vermont senator unveiled a new wealth tax today, including a steep tax specifically targeting billionaires. The longtime independent added that he hopes “the day comes when” billionaires no longer exist.
* According to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, a combined 69% of voters say they don’t like Donald Trump personally, “regardless of their feelings about his policy agenda.” Before Trump, the worst any modern president has fared on this question was George W. Bush in March 2006, right after Hurricane Katrina, when 42% of voters said they didn’t like the president personally, regardless of his policies.
* The Democratic National Committee announced new qualifying thresholds for the party’s November presidential primary debate: participants will need to reach 3% support in four polls and 165,000 unique donors. There is, however, a notable twist: the DNC also said that candidates can reach the polling threshold by reaching 5% support in two approved polls from the early nominating states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and/or South Carolina). * With virtual caucuses ruled out as a result of cybersecurity concerns, Iowa Democrats are moving forward with a series of “satellite” caucuses that will be held on February 3, though not necessarily at the same time. * A year after 67% of voters ages 18 to 22 voted Democratic, the Republican National Committee is launching a voter-registration campaign intended to mobilize Donald Trump’s on-campus supporters. According to the Associated Press, the effort is called the “Make Campus Great Again” initiative.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
