Former Biden Backer in Iowa Endorses Buttigieg: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- An Iowa state senator who withdrew his endorsement of Joe Biden after concerns about his operation in the state is now backing Pete Buttigieg.

Tony Bisignano, a longtime Iowa politician who now serves in the State Senate, supported Biden during his previous presidential runs in 1988 and 2008. He had endorsed Biden again earlier this year, before withdrawing the endorsement.

“If my endorsement is worth anything and if our friendship of 32 years had meant anything, I would think I would have the opportunity to talk to the vice president,” Bisignano told Bloomberg News in October. “I understand some of the issues Iowans are talking about, and no one has really asked me for any input.”

On Tuesday, less than two months before the Iowa caucuses, Bisignano endorsed Buttigieg. “At a time when our politics feels more divisive than ever, Pete is offering a fresh approach that brings people together,” Bisignano said in a statement.

The campaign also announced the endorsement of Iowa State Representative Brian Meyer.

Biden Gets Clean Bill of Health From Doctor (3:40 p.m.)

Joe Biden’s doctor says the former vice president is in good health despite having suffered two cerebral aneurysms more than three decades ago and having a handful of long-term medical conditions that he treats with medications.

The Democratic presidential hopeful, 77, has not had additional aneurysms since the 1988 episode, his doctor said. Biden is being treated for non-valvular atrial fibrillation with the common prescription drug Eliquis. He is also being treated for hyperlipidemia with Crestor and for seasonal allergies with one prescription drug and one over-the-counter drug.

“Vice President Biden is a healthy, vigorous, 77-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency, to include those as chief executive, head of state, and commander in chief,” Kevin O’Connor, who was Biden’s physician in the White House and has continued to care for him from his current post at George Washington University, said in a statement released by Biden’s campaign.

Biden’s height clocked in at an extremely specific 5 feet, 11.65 inches and he weighed 178 pounds. O’Connor said Biden reports working out five days a week.

Elizabeth Warren, 70, was the first top-tier Democratic candidate to issue a doctor’s statement. According to the statement, she was in “excellent health.” Bernie Sanders, 78, has said he would release his medical information but so far has not.

Conservatives Launch Effort to Defeat Trump (11:50 a.m.)

A group of conservative critics of President Donald Trump have launched a super political action committee opposing his re-election and targeting congressional Republicans they call his “enablers.”

The group, called the Lincoln Project, was co-founded by George Conway, the husband of Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, and includes political consultants Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson. It is one of the only organized efforts on behalf of the so-called Never Trump movement of disaffected Republicans committed to defeating the president in 2020.

“Over these next 11 months, our efforts will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line,” they wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Tuesday.

“Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain, but our shared fidelity to the Constitution dictates a common effort,” the writers said.

Schmidt is a former adviser to the late Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. Weaver advises former Ohio Governor John Kasich and had ties to McCain. Wilson is a longtime Republican strategist and ad-maker based in Florida. -- Jordan Fabian

Union Threatening to Picket Debate Reaches Pact (10:04 a.m.)

The union that had been threatening to picket Thursday’s Democratic debate in Los Angeles reached a tentative agreement that will allow the debate to proceed.

All seven candidates who had qualified for the debate said last week they would not cross a picket line at Loyola Marymount University if the labor dispute continued. The Democratic National Committee and Chairman Tom Perez stepped in to help with negotiations between Unite Here Local 11, food service provider Sodexo SA and the university.

“As Democrats, we know the fight for fair wages is about more than just dollars; it’s about dignity. It’s not about sound bites; it’s about real solutions. That’s what we were able to achieve today – a real solution for hardworking Americans,” Perez said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are the party that lifts up working families and defends the right to organize, and we’re excited to showcase that commitment at our debate on Thursday at Loyola Marymount University.”

The union said a three-year agreement will include a 25% increase in compensation and a 50% reduction in health care costs, as well as improved job security. -- Jennifer Epstein

Trump Tops 2020 Rivals on Eve of Impeachment (8:53 a.m.)

President Donald Trump tops his main Democratic rivals in head-to-head matchups, even as he faces impeachment, according to a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

The survey shows Trump beating former Vice President Joe Biden by about 3 percentage points, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by a little more than 5 points and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren by almost 8 points.

He’d also defeat South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg by roughly 10 points and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg by almost 9 points, the poll found. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

The poll of 1,000 registered voters was conducted Dec. 10-14 and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points, Its findings come as the U.S. House prepares to vote Wednesday on two articles of impeachment against Trump.

Among the top Democratic hopefuls, Biden still leads the field, with 23% of those surveyed backing him, although that’s a decrease of 3 points from an October USA Today/Suffolk University survey.

Support for Sanders increased 1 point from the October poll, with 14% backing the Vermont senator. Warren dropped 4 points from October, with 13% now backing her, and Buttigieg dropped 2 points, snagging the backing of 8% of respondents this time.

More than half of voters surveyed, 58%, said they had seen ads from Bloomberg -- a new entrant to the race -- and about 35% of those who’d seen the ads said they found them at least somewhat convincing. -- Kathleen Miller

COMING UP

Biden, Warren, Sanders, Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer will participate in the final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 in Los Angeles on Dec. 19.

(Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

--With assistance from Kathleen Miller, Jennifer Epstein and Jordan Fabian.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tyler Pager in Washington at tpager1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Max Berley

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