Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Dems run triage on House candidates - House Majority PAC makes buys in 24 districts - Sullivan ad touts Club endorsement - Friday standings - Final weekend in FL-19 primary
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 08:02:08 -0600

By Emily Schultheis (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @emilyrs) and Jose DelReal (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] ; Twitter: @jdelreal)

With help from Elizabeth Titus and Juana Summers

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro&#39;s Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races - and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day&#39;s most important campaign news - sign up for Campaign Pro today. (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac03bf998e2b6f28e685907ba10d1f276c0fa790bae8715fbcc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a709f928792234fe611ae204b7f3dff907b9417162ff0784fffe92526855db9 )

THE BIG PICTURE - DEMS RUN TRIAGE ON HOUSE CANDIDATES: POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt looks at how Democrats are responding to the shifting midterm environment: "The aim of the strategy, detailed in nearly two dozen interviews with party officials and strategists, is a tacit acknowledgement of the ominous political environment Democrats are up against this year. The goal is to stop Republicans from padding their 17-seat edge and keep the party within striking distance of the majority in 2016, a presidential election year that could well be more favorable to Democrats. On Friday, House Majority PAC, a leading Democratic super PAC and one of the biggest players in congressional races, will begin
 placing its first round of TV ad reservations, according to an outline first shared with POLITICO. Of the 24 districts the group is reserving commercial time in, 18 of them are occupied by party incumbents. The ads will begin running around Labor Day, when the midterm sprint begins in earnest. Some of the reservations are intended to prop up lawmakers long seen as vulnerable, such as Massachusetts Rep. John Tierney and Minnesota Rep. Rick Nolan. But the group says it's learned a valuable lesson from 2010, when the party waited until too late to help incumbents they believed were safe but who ended up losing. House Majority PAC will buttress several Democrats who've been favored to win,
 such as New York Rep. Dan Maffei and Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac01d577782f48f8b50a394fa9df0ca446ad9c5490428d07ca2 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac01d577782f48f8b50a394fa9df0ca446ad9c5490428d07ca2 

[House Majority PAC's fall TV ad reservations in 24 districts are available to Campaign Pro subscribers: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac00b1d91b620e80a1523c6335a1a4d37cd8a7757b68803c5e1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac00b1d91b620e80a1523c6335a1a4d37cd8a7757b68803c5e1 ]

As Dan Sullivan touts his Club endorsement, Paige Kreegel works to win over women and the West Virginia airwaves heat up, here&#39;s POLITICO&#39;s Morning Score: your daily guide to the 2014 midterms.

DAYS UNTIL THE ELECTION: 200!

Good Friday morning and welcome to an abridged version of Campaign Pro's Morning Score. As always, send your tips, thoughts, and suggestions to 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or tweet them to @
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0fb9c15671120be870e7fbfbd4d2e32e563abcce31f14d670 
emilyrs . You can also get your Campaign Pro news at @
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac09b53b8e45797d885c67b40e6d4f1665262dd7fd1d7bf0a2c 
politicopro  and @
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0e7df4cbcd56686db39a5388037504eccca7c8b8ec8a5257c 
promorningscore .

TODAY ON CAMPAIGN PRO -

http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac097926b7fe9d71e5916fe21afa70bbfcd50c256cdf2e74347 
Sharing website language and establishment scorn 

http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0c973b87e8b5a8e2ca4b615495184dfb73657128b76adc781 
Tillis accuses Democrats of meddling in N.C. primary 

http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0c11e3cac3b062a59993103197a56f90b6b66203170cb5913 
As polls vanish, so do clues about 2014 

FRIDAY STANDINGS - Here&#39;s Morning Score&#39;s take on how some of the most important candidates, campaigns and political players should answer the question: Are you better off now than you were a week ago?

YES: (1) Georgia Rep. Jack Kingston, who picked up the backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (in addition to his strong Q1 fundraising haul); (2) Vulnerable Democratic House incumbents, many of whom just got good news in the form of House Majority PAC's big post-Labor Day ad buys; (3) Idaho GOP Rep. Mike Simpson, who had Mitt Romney cut an ad for him in his GOP primary that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is putting a quarter of a million dollars behind, not to mention an ad from Steve LaTourette's Defending Main Street super PAC.

NO: (1) North Carolina Senate candidate Thom Tillis, who got a taste this week of what Democrats will use against him in the general election as Kay Hagan and her allies try to force him into a costly runoff; (2) Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, whose good first ad was overshadowed by talk about the staged footage of a Senate hearing (even though she couldn't have used real footage legally); and (3) Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, whose Democratic opponents are edging toward going negative against him.

NEW THIS MORNING - SULLIVAN AD TOUTS CLUB ENDORSEMENT: Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan will release a new ad in the state's GOP primary today, talking up his conservative credentials and calling him "the conservative choice" to face off against Democratic Sen. Mark Begich. "Endorsed by the conservative Club for Growth, they say Sullivan is a &#39;fiscal conservative with a stellar track record,'" the ad says. "In Alaska, Sullivan has fought for pro-growth tax reform, taken on Obamacare in court, and beaten back federal overreach by Obama&#39;s EPA." Sullivan doesn't mention in the ad that he also received the backing of - and had ads run for him by - Americans Crossroads, which backs
 more establishment-type Republican candidates. Watch: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0c37ce23eb92932b85b3905978601c61861db565c132d0011 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0c37ce23eb92932b85b3905978601c61861db565c132d0011 

FIRST QUARTER FUNDRAISING TICKER: IA-Sen: Republican Mark Jacobs raised $1.44 million, including $1.1 million of his own money, and has $353,000 on hand; fellow Republican Joni Ernst raised $275,000 and has $427,000 on hand ... AK-Sen: Republican Joe Miller raised $101,000 and has almost $300,000 on hand ... OK-Sen: GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe raised $284,676 and has $1.6 million on hand (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac051a9a770288739e0f9f01c3c443bac2be1dfd86d4833f871 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac051a9a770288739e0f9f01c3c443bac2be1dfd86d4833f871 ) ... TX-04: GOP Rep. Ralph Hall raised more than $213,000 and has nearly $180,000 on hand; runoff challenger John Ratcliffe raised more than $271,000 and had $158,000 on hand ... AZ-07: Democrat Ruben Gallego raised nearly $162,000; Democrat Mary Rose Wilcox raised $92,132; Democratic state Sen. Steve Gallardo did not raise any money, saying he decided to forego fundraising until April 1 (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0994c61ac0e5d65290732d0b7f5ddb1a22e21956984424cef 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0994c61ac0e5d65290732d0b7f5ddb1a22e21956984424cef ). 

KREEGEL MAKES PLAY FOR FEMALE VOTERS: In the final week of the special GOP primary election in FL-19, former state Rep. Paige Kreegel is making a direct-mail play for older GOP women. The mailer is based on a letter from Kreegel&#39;s mom, Alberta, and started hitting the mailboxes of almost 40,000 women 65 and older on Wednesday, said campaign manager Alex Melendez. Kreegel&#39;s not the only candidate trying to appeal to the female GOP electorate: State Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto has touted her endorsements from Sarah Palin and multiple women&#39;s groups. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0cf58154e20305c7ad82476c005078172329a04c4f0c935a0 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0cf58154e20305c7ad82476c005078172329a04c4f0c935a0 

KINGSTON'S CHAMBER COUP: GOP Rep. Jack Kingston got a big boost in the crowded Georgia Senate primary just over a month before the May 20 vote when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed him Thursday afternoon. Calling him "a conservative leader with a demonstrated record of fighting for Georgia jobs," the organization threw its support behind Kingston, meaning TV ads are likely on their way in the near future. (He joins North Carolina state House Speaker Thom Tillis as a recent Chamber endorsee in a GOP primary.) It's tough to break out of the pack in a primary as big as this, particularly when you're one of three House members in the race - but the Chamber endorsement will be a boon to
 Kingston, who's consistently polling in second place in the race (behind businessman David Perdue). With $1.1 million in the bank and TV reservations on the books between now and May 20 (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0e640801240236a959bf6b9c12e06d4aa9c5a74d58f18e32d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0e640801240236a959bf6b9c12e06d4aa9c5a74d58f18e32d ), Kingston's in a good position to rise in the next month.

WELCOME TO THE COAL WARS IN WEST VA: In West Virginia, this week is dominated by the all-important issue of coal. On Thursday, Rep. Nick Rahall released a new ad, claiming that billionaires are "spending millions of dollars telling lies" about him and touting his role in passing the Miner Safety Act (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac030feacdcfc034d7f2ee012954d4a026f508066e9cd314764 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac030feacdcfc034d7f2ee012954d4a026f508066e9cd314764 ). Not so fast, said the NRCC, which jabbed Rahall as shameless and on the wrong side of the issue. NRCC spokesman Ian Prior said Rahall has "sold out to the anti-coal special interests that are funding his campaign and his deceptive campaign ads." Coal's not just an afterthought in West Virginia - the industry is the lifeblood of the state and a major employer of West Virginia residents. National Democrats' preference for stricter emissions rules has hurt the party's standing in the state.That has Republicans - and some Democratic challengers - banking on tying coal-state Democrats to Washington policies and the EPA. Republican Evan Jenkins
 came out with a new ad this week,slamming Rahall over attack ads run by House Majority PAC on his behalf and calling Rahall "a lying politician like Obama" (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0bfc46f0867392d93a699bbc26b2ef4c51257b4b02da8f0b1 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac0bfc46f0867392d93a699bbc26b2ef4c51257b4b02da8f0b1 ).

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'I&#39;m just making myself available to the people of more than one state. The voters have not yet taken advantage of the opportunity to retain my services, but one lives in hope."-William Bryk, a Brooklyn attorney, running in three Democratic U.S. Senate primaries this year: Idaho, Oregon and Alaska. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac009b5487cc76ebc78e94f00b7aed084a74ff4e7581d7fdd79 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac009b5487cc76ebc78e94f00b7aed084a74ff4e7581d7fdd79 

SIGN UP FOR CAMPAIGN PRO - Designed for you, the political professional, Campaign Pro has what you&#39;ve been asking for: real-time news, analysis and data on more than 60 House, Senate and gubernatorial races - plus an earlier and more comprehensive version of this newsletter - Morning Score. Get the information you need to do your job - first, fast and all in one place. Sign up for Campaign Pro today. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=45b55cd339422ac03bf998e2b6f28e685907ba10d1f276c0fa790bae8715fbcc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a709f928792234fe611ae204b7f3dff907b9417162ff0784fffe92526855db9 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a709f928792234f682dbd43a4902f8204e236ceba1d61d6d86406c1f26b6322

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a709f928792234fc9189d25eceba2d16082457214a0adacc4e26720bda38b64

=================================

2014 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Morning Score.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2a709f928792234ffa15aab7c4ade093fe5ba13b1c5a688e634f3a352aa35a7a

=================================