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For the Record: The worst way to spend your Powerball jackpot

Brett McGinness ,  Joanna Allhands ,  Jessica Estepa   | Paste BN

In case you were wondering which candidates you could buy with Wednesday's Powerball jackpot of $1.4 billion, we ran the numbers. The answer: everyone. All the candidates. Sure, we all know the old sayings about how "the candidates aren't for sale," and "that's not really how this works," and "this would be a complete perversion of democracy." Still, based on the numbers compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, it would take a mere $473,551,702 to equal the donations given directly to every candidate, plus their super PACs. That's chump change, even after taxes! Now imagine having that kind of cash to throw at your favorite candidate — why, seemingly limitless cash might be able to buy them 6% support in Iowa.

Speaking of polls, we have the latest for both parties in Iowa and New Hampshire, with Hillary feeling that Bern-ing sensation, Cruz controlling Iowa, and Trump trumping everyone in New Hampshire. Before we get to it, remember to sign up for our daily For the Record newsletter, and follow the FTR folks on Twitter (Brett McGinness, Joanna Allhands and Jessica Estepa).

Not even close to running out of burn/Bern idioms yet

We admit it: We die a little inside every time we throw out a stale "feel the Bern"-type pun in a headline. We're working to figure out something else instead; hang with us. But for now, Hillary Clinton is really feeling the Bern in Iowa, where one poll has her lead over Bernie Sanders has narrowed to just 3 points; our Presidential Poll Tracker powered by Real Clear Politics had Hillary's Iowa lead at 30 points just over two months ago. Sanders continues to lead in New Hampshire by a slim 4 points, and he's also outperforming Clinton in hypothetical head-to-head matchups with Republicans in the general election. Clinton is going on the offensive now, promoting herself as the only one who can stop Trump, Cruz, Christie et al.; Sanders says her new push shows she's "nervous" and "panicky" about his gains in the polls. Looks like Bernie is really "Sanding" down Hillary's lead, eh? Ugh, never mind, that's even worse.

Cruz, Trump leading early states; everyone else fighting among themselves

On the GOP side, there's a split between Iowa and New Hampshire as well: Cruz leads Trump in Iowa by 4, while Trump is more than doubling up second-place Marco Rubio in New Hampshire, 30% to 14%. Ted Cruz is presumably doing pretty well in his home province of Alberta, though current polls are difficult to find. Meanwhile, all the non-Trump candidates are playing "crabs in the bucket," dragging each other down as much as they're attacking front-running Trump.

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll in New Hampshire, "the four Republicans vying in the establishment lane of the GOP contest — Rubio, Christie, Kasich and Bush — are dividing up 44% of the total vote," the poll said. And while it's true that support for all the so-called "establishment" candidates combined would top Trump, it's also true that support for all the so-called "outsider" candidates — Trump, Cruz, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina — adds up to 47%. Hoping for the outsiders' supporters to shift to establishment candidates when their own candidates drop out is a bit of a stretch, but hey, whatever keeps the dream alive, guys.

Join us for politics and beer in Des Moines this week at presidential nerd-con

If you’re going to decide the 2016 election, you might as well have fun doing it, right? A ballot box selfie is one way to get the party started or you could go check out the USA Today Network series, One Nation. It’s not Republican. It’s not Democrat. It’s a conversation series focused on the issues. The party kicks off in Iowa with a discussion about the future of energy on Jan. 14. They’ll have beer, music and food at each stop, so bring a friend or two. Join the conversation at onenation.usatoday.com. (Did we mention, they’ll have beer?)

More from the campaign trail

One damn song that will make us break down and cry

The great David Bowie passed away yesterday at 69; we're going to close with his cynical take on American life and politics in the 1970s. And for the record: Yes, we do remember our President Nixon.

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