Days until South Carolina Democratic primary: 3
Days until SEC Primary: 6
Arkansas:
The Club For Growth is unloading $1 million on TV ads attacking Donald Trump in Arkansas and Oklahoma. They took credit for dinging him in Iowa, the only state Trump has lost so far. (Arkansas News)
While that may sound like a lot of money, it's not. One factor limiting the influence of Super PACs and other like organizations is the fact that, by law, TV stations are obliged to offer political candidates their lowest possible rates. Other entities can be charged premium rates.
In other words, the $400,000 that Ted Cruz is set to drop on TV ads in metro Atlanta will probably buy him more air time than $1 million spent by an outside group in Arkansas.
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Arkansans are getting robocalls from Bill Clinton, the former governor, in support of Hillary. (Talk Business & Politics)
SEC-wide:
Starting with an August bus tour, Ted Cruz has staked a claim to the SEC Primary. But as his campaign has stumbled post-Iowa, Cruz's poll numbers have slipped across the region – meaning he needs the SEC to deliver him a comeback. (Houston Chronicle)
Barring a miracle Southern surge, Ben Carson's allies are setting up the SEC Primary as dropout day – and not before. (Politico)
If the Democratic nomination is decided in early March, black voters will play the decisive role, thanks to their big numbers in the South. (Southern Political Report)
Texas:
On the morning after Thursday's GOP debate in Houston, Donald Trump plans a rally in Forth Worth, and Marco Rubio will be in Dallas. Ben Carson swings through nearby Irving on Saturday. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
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Hillary Clinton's television ad strategy in Texas is all about the Latino vote. (Houston Chronicle)
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The Students 4 Bernie at Austin Community College now will be able to distribute literature and register voters freely after they took their school to court on claims they were blocked from any campaign activity on school grounds. (Austin American-Statesman)
Alabama:
Much-courted U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions sounded like he was leaning toward a Donald Trump endorsement, based on Trump's comments on trade policy during his Atlanta speech. (AL.com)
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Atlanta U.S. Rep. John Lewis stumped for Hillary Clinton at a Birmingham barber shop, saying she is "not just a talker, but a doer." (AL.com)
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Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio will appear at a forum Saturday in Birmingham. Other GOP'ers could join. (Yellowhammer News)
Tennessee:
Ben Carson, still out there running for president, will appear at a GOP dinner outside Nashville on Friday night and at a Memphis church on Sunday. (The Tennessean)
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Gov. Bill Haslam is nearing a presidential endorsement. (The Tennessean)
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The Rev. Harold Middlebrook, a Memphis native and Martin Luther King Jr. associate during the Civil Rights era, is backing Bernie Sanders. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
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At the close of early voting in Knox County, which includes the city of Knoxville and University of Tennessee, the number of ballots cast was up more than 10 percent from 2008. (Knoxville News Sentinel)
Virginia:
Virginians are only seeing television ads, thus far, in support of Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio. (Washington Post)
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Bernie Sanders drew a crowd of 3,500 for a stump speech in Norfolk, telling them to stay involved in his "political revolution" because "democracy is not a football game." (Virginian Pilot)
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Bill Clinton is set to campaign for his wife in Richmond and northern Virginia today. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
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In the SEC Primary, Virginia is acting more like the nation as a whole than a Southern state. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Oklahoma:
Marco Rubio is holding a Friday rally in Oklahoma City, a couple hours before Donald Trump arrives. (The Oklahoman)
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Marco Rubio picked up a prominent Jeb Bush backer – former Gov. Frank Keating. (The McCarville Report)
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