Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Bennet vs. Buck in Colo. - Blumenthal message: 'I will fight' - Georgia GOP deadlocked - Clinton stumps for Sestak - Scott lashes out at McCollum - Poll: Adler at risk
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:46:31 -0400 (EDT)

By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, [email-masked])

STORY OF THE WEEK -- THE COLORADO SURVIVOR: Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet emerged battered but victorious Tuesday night from his nomination fight with former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, claiming an eight-point win and joining a tiny group of senators to hold back serious primary challenges this cycle. Bennet's victory has a thousand fathers, including President Barack Obama, who visited Colorado for Bennet and held a tele-town hall for his campaign last week; the DSCC, which praised Bennet last night for “waging a hard-fought, aggressive campaign while staying true to his reformer, independent record”; the League of Conservation Voters, which dropped $100,000 on live and recorded phone calls in the last few days of the race; and the SEIU, which went two for two last night after endorsing Bennet and the winning Democratic candidate for governor of Connecticut. Bottom line is, Bennet ran a solid campaign from the start and had all the backup a Democratic incumbent could want.

ON THE GOP SIDE -- INSURGENTS RULE: Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck defeated former Lt. Gov. Jane Norton in the Republican Senate primary, while the AP called Colorado's gubernatorial primary for first-time candidate Dan Maes over former Rep. Scott McInnis just before 4 a.m. on the East Coast. Neither Buck nor McInnis was the favored candidate of national Republicans; for the GOP, both general election campaigns will be case studies in going to war with the army you have.

TODAY -- SENATE SNEAK PEEK -- BLUMENTHAL'S CASE: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, unchallenged in last night's Democratic Senate primary, will launch his general election campaign against Republican wrestling executive Linda McMahon today with a six-stop tour of the state and new television commercials due out this morning. A source familiar with Blumenthal's plans told Score he'll kick things off from a diner in Stamford, before traveling to Hamden, East Hartford, Middletown, Milford and then back to Stamford. In his ads, the veteran prosecutor will tell voters: “The people of Connecticut know me and one thing they know about me for sure is that I will fight for them.”

As Georgia waits, Ben Quayle changes his story and Mark Dayton rides again, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections.

THE MORNING AFTER -- STILL IN THE BALANCE: Former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and former Rep. Nathan Deal remain locked in mortal combat for the Republican nomination for governor, separated by less than half a percentage point hours after the polls closed. Deal is clinging to a slight edge over Handel, taking 50.2 percent of the vote to her 49.8 percent with 99.9 percent of precincts reporting.

BARNES JUMPS THE GUN: In case Republicans needed a reminder of why a draining, dragged-out nomination fight will be a problem, former Gov. Roy Barnes -- who locked up the Democratic nomination back on July 20 -- has already launched a television ad framing the general election as a choice between “competent experience or more of the same.” Asks the narrator: “Do we continue down the same path, with the same team that gave us ethics violations, teacher furloughs, tax breaks to special interests, homes foreclosed ... or do we work our way back?” Watch it here. http://bit.ly/95jSrf

RESULTS TICKER -- WHAT ELSE HAPPENED TUESDAY NIGHT: Former Lieberman challenger Ned Lamont lost the Dem primary for governor of Connecticut to former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who'll face former Amb. Tom Foley in the general election ... Former Minnesota Sen. Mark Dayton won a SQUEAKER of a gubernatorial primary, taking the DFL nomination with 41 percent of the vote to state House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher's 40 percent ... Colorado state Rep. Scott Tipton defeated Sarah Palin-endorsed veteran Bob McConnell in Democratic Rep. John Salazar's district, while Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier defeated John McCain endorsee Lang Sias for the GOP nomination against Rep. Ed Perlmutter ... Former state Sen. Dan Debicella, state Sen. Sam Caligiuri and broadcaster Janet Peckinpaugh captured Republican House nods in Connecticut's three potentially competitive races ... FULL RESULTS and maps at politico.com/2010 ...

FOUR WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE RETURNS: (1) The Democratic establishment flexed its muscle, giving Michael Bennet the boost he needed and letting Roy Barnes and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper coast to general-election races for governor; (2) The left fell short, as Andrew Romanoff joined Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter on the list of primary challengers who couldn't close the deal, and Ned Lamont's second act came to an early close; (3) Republicans lost control of the vehicle, allowing candidates like Ken Buck and Dan Maes to actually win primaries and giving Nathan Deal, viewed as a more vulnerable general election candidate than Handel, a shot at facing Barnes; (4) Campaigns just matter, a lot, and the most basic lesson from last night's results is that it is perfectly possible for frontrunners to screw things up (McInnis, Norton) or for aggressive underdogs to make up the difference (Malloy, Deal).

THE BIG 2010 PICTURE: “Primary night yields good news for Obama, Dems,” from POLITICO's John F. Harris: “In each of the four states that held primaries Tuesday, the GOP either nominated or gave an overnight lead to candidates tarnished by scandal, gaffes or some other significant vulnerability. ... The Colorado results, combined with Tuesday returns in Connecticut, Georgia, and Minnesota and other recent primaries, suggest it may be time to scrutinize a treasured 2010 storyline-about an angry electorate, determined to punish insiders and professional pols of all stripes, rushing to embrace ideological insurgents.” http://politi.co/de3QIo

ALSO ON TUESDAY -- (ALMOST) TOGETHER AT LAST: Former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pennsylvania to lend his support to Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak's campaign, a little more than two months after the White House admitted to having enlisted Clinton in an effort to coax Sestak out of the race. Clinton, who stumped for Sestak in his two House campaigns and worked with the former admiral during the 1990s, told voters in Scranton: “I want you to vote for Joe Sestak, not just because I love him and I'm grateful to him, or because he served me well and I know how good he is on national security ... We need people there who have the best interests of ordinary Americans at heart and can solve problems.” The only thing missing: Joe Sestak, who addressed the rally from Washington after staying in the nation's capital to vote for the FMAP bill. http://bit.ly/c7B2cV

THE NEXT MONSTER PRIMARY -- COUNTDOWN TO AUG. 24: Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary is the next titanic nomination fight on the calendar, and the duel between self-funding health care executive Rick Scott and state Attorney General Bill McCollum is as harsh and theatrical as ever. Scott, who has held a sizable lead in most recent polls, escalated his fight with McCollum even further Tuesday, comparing his opponent to Tonya Harding and accusing McCollum of abusing his office by pushing an investigation of Scott's company, Solantic. The Miami Herald's Marc Caputo reports: “Scott, the Republican front-runner for Florida governor, said Thursday that a video deposition he gave in a lawsuit over a healthcare company is none of the public's business. 'It's a private matter and I will not release the deposition,' Scott said ... at a hastily called press conference in which he unexpectedly flew to Tallahassee to accuse his Republican rival, Attorney General Bill McCollum, of abusing his power by attempting to sic state investigators on the company involved in the lawsuit, Solantic Urgent Care, which Scott founded in 2001. He said the attorney general's campaign staff were also phoning and knocking on the doors of current and former employees, and customers of Solantic's to trash the chain of walk-in clinics.”

MORE FROM CAPUTO: “[B]efore he could even start addressing the media, Scott was approached at the podium by a process server who hit him with a subpoena in a new lawsuit that was filed the day before by Tallahassee trial lawyer Steve Andrews, a contributor to both McCollum and Democrat Alex Sink ... Andrews' subpoena seeks to take Scott's deposition Aug. 20 at the press center, home of the Capitol press corps. 'I'm doing God's work. I'm not doing this for any campaign,' Andrews said. 'This guy Scott is the corporate spawn of Satan.'” http://bit.ly/bvKmp7

THE GENERAL BEGINS: Republican House candidates have started running their first general election ads, with Richard Hanna, the challenger for New York Democrat Michael Arcuri, and Robert Dold, the GOP nominee for outgoing Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk's open seat, leading the way. Hanna's ad is a 30-second biographical spot, reintroducing the candidate who lost to Arcuri in 2008 as someone who “built a successful business from the ground up” and “employed over 450 people.” Dold takes a similar approach, emphasizing his business background while taking an extra shot at Washington. Here's the Hanna ad. http://bit.ly/cjWw3M And the Dold ad. http://bit.ly/bY0uqs

POLL OF THE DAY: New Jersey Rep. John Adler holds a single-digit lead in his reelection fight against Republican former NFL player Jon Runyan, the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics reports. Adler currently edges Runyan by six points, 31 percent to 25 percent, with independent Peter DeStefano drawing four percent support. Another warning sign for Adler: Runyan actually has a one-point lead among voters who say they are following the race closely. http://bit.ly/cB4yoV

AND: Forty-one percent of voters in Washington state plan to vote for Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in this month's open primary, while 33 percent plan to support Republican Dino Rossi, according to an automated SurveyUSA poll. Another Republican, former Washington Redskins player Clint Didier, lagged far behind with 11 percent of the vote. http://bit.ly/aWWV8f

PLUS! Former Republican Rep. Rob Portman continues to lead Democratic Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher in Ohio's Senate race, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday. But with Portman taking 43 percent to Fisher's 36 percent among likely voters, neither candidate is within striking distance of a majority. http://bit.ly/bMuagF

NEW RECRUIT -- FISHER EXPEDITION: Holly Shulman, a veteran of Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Critz's sharp-elbowed special election campaign, joins Team Fisher as communications director, starting tomorrow. Shulman worked on Texas state Rep. Rick Noriega's 2008 Senate bid NRSC Chairman John Cornyn; before that she was with Public Citizen's Global Trade watch, giving her a background in one of the key policy issues of the Ohio Senate race.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Your life is a question mark and every day we learn about your business dealings and how you treat your employees and how you come up with versions of why you went to Cuba and why you didn't go to Cuba. You have more versions of why you went to Cuba than Baskins Robbins has ice cream.” -- Florida Rep. Kendrick Meek, to Democratic Senate primary foe Jeff Greene, in one of the only remaining races that can rival the Florida governor's race for sheer personal animus. http://bit.ly/cHmfC7

ACROSS THE BIG MAP -- with POLITICO's Tim Alberta:

-- Quayle's Internet problem. Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle who's running to succeed retiring Arizona Rep. John Shadegg, is struggling to explain a blogger's charge that he -- Quayle -- was involved in founding a risqué local website, DirtyScottsdale.com. After first telling POLITICO he “was not involved in the site,” he admitted to a television reporter: “I just posted comments to try to drive some traffic.” Okay ... http://politi.co/bUuaxF

-- Paul (mostly) denies GQ story. Kentucky Senate candidate Rand Paul rejected the magazine's account of an episode from his time at Baylor University, when he allegedly abducted a woman, pushed her to use drugs and told her to worship “Aqua Buddha.” Paul told Fox News Tuesday: “I will categorically deny that I ever kidnapped anyone or forced someone to use drugs.” He added, however: “I'm not really going to try to go back 27 years and try to remember everything. I don't think politicians should have to answer for something they did 27 years ago.” http://bit.ly/94gewC

-- Better seen than Hurd. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina isn't commenting on the ouster of her corporate successor, Mark Hurd, who resigned from his perch atop HP following an investigation into sexual harassment charges. “I can only say that I wish HP well. It is a great company with great employees,” Fiorina said, explaining she's been “solely focused on my own race.” http://bit.ly/bjqlVi

-- Kitzhaber's new chief. Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, finding himself in an unexpectedly competitive race with Republican former NBA player Chris Dudley, has brought on strategist Patricia McCaig as his new campaign director. McCaig was chief of staff to former Democratic Gov. Barbara Roberts, whom Kitzhaber defeated in a 1994 primary. Campaign manager Derek Humphrey will stay on as McCaig's second-in-command. http://bit.ly/9llaG2

Go to Morning Score Now >> http://www.politico.com/morningscore

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