First Read: “We can count as many as 18 potential GOP presidential candidates… So the questions become: How do you fit them all on one stage in the first debate set for August? Do you leave some out, including current and former governors and senators? Or do you hold two different debates in one night — with nine candidates in one hour, and another nine the next? Those are all questions after an earlier suggestion that Republicans might cap the first debate to nine to 12 participants, which would mean that some prominent names might be excluded. National Journal reports that the Republican National Committee is walking back the talk about a cap.”
American Idol is being cancelled next year. They should just have a singing and dancing competition for the GOP nomination.
It is Primary Election Day in Philadelphia. The current Mayor, Michael Nutter, has served two full terms and is term limited. So with this being an open election, we have several notable candidates: former longtime District Attorney Lynne Abraham, City Councilman Jim Kenney, State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, former City Solicitor Nelson Diaz and insane crazy man Milton Street (entitled brother of horrible former Mayor John Street). Until recently, this looked like a close contest between ex-City Councilor Jim Kenney and state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams. While labor is heavily backing Kenney, Williams is benefiting from a super PAC funded by wealthy pro-charter school businessmen. However, a recent independent poll gave Kenney a massive 42-15 lead, with former District Attorney Lynn Abraham also at 15, and no one has released any contradictory numbers.
In addition to his labor support, Kenney scored some key endorsements from notable African-American politicians, even though Kenney is white and Williams is black. Indeed, Williams has badly fumbled racial politics, and his biggest blunder came when he called for the dismissal of the city’s very popular police commissioner, Charles Ramsey. Williams tried to attack Ramsey as the architect of Philadelphia’s stop-and-frisk policies, but Ramsey, who is black, has the support of two very prominent African Americans: outgoing Mayor Michael Nutter, who appointed him in the first place, and Barack Obama, who named him chair of a special panel to investigate police reforms in the wake of Ferguson. It would end up being a disastrous move for Williams, and it looks like this primary is Kenney’s to lose, but we’ll find out on Tuesday. Polls close at 8 PM ET.