The Note: Democratic Fight Night in Wisconsin
— -- NOTABLES
--SANDERS AND CLINTON GET READY TO RUMBLE: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will share a stage tonight at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for their sixth debate of the campaign. The two are meeting for the first time since the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucuses in a debate hosted by PBS News. Moderators for tonight’s debate are NewsHour co-anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. The debate kicks off at 9 p.m. Eastern. There’s more on the line tonight than there ever as the Democratic race has turned into a real dogfight, ABC’s VERONICA STRACQUALURSI notes. Sanders is fresh off his historic win and after her stinging loss, Clinton is expected to fight aggressively.
--THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: Perhaps the only surprise Tuesday night was Bernie Sander’s competitiveness among nonwhites and mainline Democrats. A further thought this morning, sparked by Rick Klein, was to look at those groups by age. Voilà: It’s about those pesky youngsters. Overall, as we’ve reported, nonwhites in New Hampshire divided evenly, 50-49 percent, Clinton-Sanders. That was unexpected, given that nonwhites have been among Clinton's strongest groups in national polls. ABC’s NEWS ANALYSIS DESK has more. http://abcn.ws/1T83qwu
--LOOKING AHEAD: ABC’s PAOLA CHAVEZ and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI have five things to know about how New Hampshire changed the race leading into the next contests in Nevada and South Carolina. http://abcn.ws/1QW9Ah2
--ANALYSIS -- ABC’s RICK KLEIN: Yes, Hillary Clinton has a big, enormous, ridiculous lead among superdelegates. No, this is not necessarily the best time for her campaign to be bragging about that fact. According to ABC’s delegate count, Clinton currently leads Bernie Sanders 394-44 among delegates, despite her blowout loss in New Hampshire and only the narrowest of wins in Iowa. Clinton campaign aides are touting that lead, at least implicitly, in arguing to supporters and donors that the delegate math is overwhelmingly in her favor. That, though, makes a few dangerous assumptions. First, it presumes that if superdelegates matter, they would openly deny the nomination to someone who won more delegates via actual voting. (Remember 2008, anyone?) Second, and more urgently, it presumes that Sanders supporters won’t wake up to this possibility and use it as motivation. A line about how the establishment is trying to subvert the judgment of the people could slip rather easily into a Sanders stump speech.
YESTERDAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC’s PAOLA CHAVEZ and VERONICA STRACQUALURSI
CHRIS CHRISTIE, CARLY FIORINA SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie formally suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday. The New Jersey governor held a meeting with his campaign staff at 4pm this afternoon to thank them and announce the news, ABC’s JOSH MARGOLIN and JORDYN PHELPS report. The decision comes a day after the New Jersey governor came in a disappointing 6th place in New Hampshire. http://abcn.ws/1QVFnPd Former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina also called it quits: "While I suspend my candidacy today, I will continue to travel this country and fight for those Americans who refuse to settle for the way things are and a status quo that no longer works for them," Fiorina wrote in a statement released Wednesday, one day after finishing in 7th place in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary. http://abcn.ws/1RqFFQq
TRUMP RALLIES SOUTH CAROLINA CROWD. Fresh off his victory in the Granite State, Donald Trump told a crowd at Clemson University in South Carolina it’s now their turn to deliver the billionaire another win. “Believe me if you vote for Trump, and again I don't want your money, I want your vote,” the real estate mogul said, predicting a win here would eliminate his competition for the GOP nomination. "You vote for Trump, we win here, we’re going to run the table.” With nine days left until voters in the Palmetto state go to the polls, the Trump campaign has staff and volunteers hitting the phones and the streets to get out the vote –- even driving around several RVs with Trump’s face and his “Make America Great Again!” slogan pasted all over, ABC’s JOHN SANTUCCI reports. http://abcn.ws/1Q9Nhrm
MARCO RUBIO ADMITS DEBATE PERFORMANCE ‘DIDN’T HELP’ HIM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. In an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl on his charter plane to South Carolina, Marco Rubio said that he had made the decision at last Saturday's debate not to attack Republicans, but that "in hindsight, maybe that was a mistake." ABC’s INES DE LA CUETARA reports, Rubio's performance at the Feb. 6 GOP debate, hosted by ABC News, was criticized for being robotic, after he repeated an attack line against President Obama four times. http://abcn.ws/1Xjibgs
NOTED: EXIT POLLS DON’T BACK RUBIO’S CLAIM THAT DEBATE HURT HIM. Given continued coverage of Marco Rubio’s claim that his poor performance in Saturday’s debate caused his fifth-place finish in the New Hampshire GOP primary, ABC’s GARY LANGER put some data behind the point -– that the exit poll just doesn’t back him up. We’ve got two ways to look at it, one direct, the other indirect, and neither shows any evidence that the debate harmed Rubio in terms of vote choices. Indirectly: 47 percent of New Hampshire GOP voters said they finally decided on their candidate either on Election Day itself, or in the previous few days. Twelve percent of them voted for Rubio. The rest decided before the final debate. Ten percent of them voted for Rubio. Directly: 67 percent called “the recent debates” an important factor in their vote. Ten percent of them voted for Rubio. The rest said the debates were not an important factor. Twelve percent of them voted for Rubio. http://abcn.ws/1Rr8GLQ
WHAT JOHN KASICH NEEDS TO DO NOW. Many people nationwide don’t even know how to pronounce his name. But that didn’t matter for Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who exceeded expectations on Tuesday night to grab the coveted second place spot in the New Hampshire Republican primary with 16 percent of the vote. ABC’s RYAN STRUYK reports, Kasich and his allies, who had placed all of his electoral chips on the Granite State, snatched a majority of the state’s newspaper endorsements and poured millions of dollars into TV and radio ads. http://abcn.ws/1T7GL3k
WHAT SANDERS’ NEW HAMPSHIRE WIN MEANS FOR THE ROAD AHEAD. Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t just beat Hillary Clinton in Tuesday night’s New Hampshire primary; he beat her in an undeniable, resounding victory bigger than either campaign had expected. The Vermont independent’s 22-point win is the largest margin of victory in the state since John F. Kennedy captured 85.2 percent of the vote in 1960. Sanders beat Clinton in nearly every major voting category: young people, women and the elderly. ABC’s LIZ KREUTZ and MARYALICE PARKS have more on what Sanders’ landslide victory Tuesday night means for both candidates going forward. http://abcn.ws/1QVMMhq
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
BERNIE SANDERS TRIES CAMPAIGN-INSPIRED ICE CREAM: 'IT'S EXCELLENT.’ Bernie Sanders finally tasted the specialty ice cream flavor that Vermont sweet-makers Ben and Jerry made in his honor on ABC’s "The View" Wednesday morning. Sanders confirmed it was the first time he had tried the creamy dessert, named "Bernie’s Yearning." It was “excellent,” Sanders said. ABC’s MARYALICE PARKS has more. http://abcn.ws/1KFMCvk
WHO’S TWEETING?
@ryanstruyk: Bernie Sanders has raised $5.2 million in 18 hours since polls closed in New Hampshire, his campaign says. That's $4,814 every MINUTE.
@CNNPolitics: The Congressional Black Caucus picks @HillaryClinton, but @Clyburn declines to weigh in http://cnn.it/1Q9nXvr
@NYTNational: Bernie Sanders's message is resonating in a South Carolina town loyal to Hillary Clinton http://nyti.ms/1RsYu5o
@SenJohnMcCain: Appreciate the service and campaign of @ChrisChristie, a great Republican governor - we need more lawmakers telling it like it is
@AmericanXRoads: .@Citizens_United offers to pay @hillaryclinton to give one of her infamously expensive speeches. http://washex.am/20O4FXI via @DCExaminer