Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign currently has no active Facebook ads, the morning after another disappointing finish in a series of primary contests.
Why it matters: A pause in digital advertising spend on Facebook has been a good indicator that candidates are dropping out of the 2020 race before. Pete Buttigieg and Michael Bloomberg made their Facebook ads inactive hours before they suspended their campaigns.
The state of play: Sanders and his wife Jane are traveling back to Vermont today to “assess the path forward for our campaign,” per a note from his campaign manager Faiz Shakir.
Slack messages released by Rand Paul appear to show authors of key COVID-19 origin paper held private doubts
WATCH: Smithsonian director pressed on woke exhibits: ‘Is Mickey Mouse racist?’
FBI Director Kash Patel to Make Rare Trip to Russia: Report
Todd Blanche faces lingering GOP holdouts for attorney general post over ‘anti-weaponization fund’
Zelensky sacks Ukrainian Commander in Chief Syrsky in major military shake-up
Louisiana Democrat Cleo Fields abandons reelection bid for House seat
ICE Deports Alleged Cartel Hit Man Living in Texas, Was Wanted for Murder in Mexico
Woman attacked by brown bear while hiking with friend and 3 dogs near Alaska state park
Sharpton offers $50K for Nolan Wells case arrest with lawyer to release autopsy at NAACP
New York City Man Charged After He Allegedly Celebrated Knicks’ NBA Championship by Burning a School Bus
Top Virginia Dem dinged for on-air correction of state’s voter ID law; opponent demands answers
Poll: Roughly Half of Americans Say Supreme Court Rules on Trump Cases Purely on Personal Ideology
Newsom admin faces questions over $6.2M diaper contract after touting ‘competitive’ process
WATCH: Pelosi dodges questions on husband’s new hit-and-run charge
Top Trump official makes new SAVE Act case to Republicans behind closed doors
- Shakir wrote that “last night did not go the way we wanted,” after they lost all three states that voted: Arizona, Illinois and Florida.
- Joe Biden has now accumulated what clearly looks like an insurmountable delegate lead over Sanders, leaving him little room and time to make up for that deficit.
- Coronavirus has profoundly changed the primary race, as candidates on both sides of the aisle are forced to cancel campaign rallies — a natural setting for Sanders that he’s now being denied.
What to watch: How Sanders, his team, and supporters move to rally behind Biden and whether Biden moves left on progressive policy in an effort to win over their voters.
Story cited here.
