Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Rahm to a runoff — Villaraigosa passes on Senate bid — Dem operatives to outline 2016 course at EMILY’s List conference
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2015 09:01:59 -0600

By Kyle Cheney

With Sandhya Raman and Steven Shepard

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. (
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SECOND CITY - "Rahm heading to a runoff," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Campaign Pro's Kyle Cheney, with POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere: "Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel fell short of an outright win in his reelection battle Tuesday - despite President Barack Obama putting his hometown political clout on the line to push his former top aide over the finish line - and will face the second-place finisher in an April runoff. Emanuel pulled in 45 percent of the vote - well short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia finished second at 34 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. There is nothing to suggest that Obama is at fault for
 Emanuel's showing. ... But the result is also a disappointing one for Obama, who put himself at the forefront during the final days of the campaign. He cut radio ads for Emanuel, his first White House chief of staff. And on Thursday, just five days before the election, the president flew into Chicago to give the mayor a boost. They appeared together at a stop in the Pullman neighborhood, where the president declared that he could not "be prouder of [Emanuel] and the extraordinary service he's provided.'" 
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- The Chicago Sun-Times's Fran Spielman:"The 33 percent turnout - down from 42.5 percent four years ago - should have benefited the incumbent with the $15 million warchest and the most sophisticated get out the vote operation. But, it was not enough to spare Emanuel from the political embarrassment of a runoff and a grueling Round 2 ... If there was any doubt Emanuel's decision to close a record, 50 public schools had alienated black voters, it was erased by the ward-by-ward vote totals. The mayor's vote totals were way down in virtually every black ward. In the West Side's 28th Ward, Emanuel got 40 percent of the vote, down from 60 percent four years ago. The story was the same in the 3rd,
 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th,9th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 29th and 34th Wards." 
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"Ex-Los Angeles mayor won't run for Boxer seat," by Campaign Pro's Kyle Cheney: "Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa won't run for California's open Senate seat next year, a move that boosts Attorney General Kamala Harris, who's working to consolidate Democratic support behind her candidacy. Villaraigosa, who served as mayor from 2005-2013, announced the decision in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday afternoon. 'I know that my heart and my family are here in California, not Washington, D.C.,' he wrote. His statement leaves open the prospect of running for governor in 2018, which would pit him against Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who's already announced his bid to succeed
 term-limited Gov. Jerry Brown. 
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As Wasserman Schultz's feud festers and Aaron Schock lawyers up, here&#39;s POLITICO&#39;s Morning Score: daily news, notes and essential information for the 2015 and 2016 election cycles.

Days until the 2015 election: 251; Days until the 2016 election: 622

Thanks for joining us. We're eager for your news and feedback. Email us at 
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kyledcheney .

DEM CAMPAIGN BIGS HEADLINE EMILY'S LIST PANEL - The executive directors of all the major campaign committees will come together Tuesday on a panel at EMILY's List's 30th anniversary conference. That's the DSCC's Tom Lopach, the DCCC's Kelly Ward and the DGA's Elizabeth Pearson, along with EMILY's List executive director Jess O'Connell. The 2 p.m. panel will focus on 2016 political map and the Democrats' best opportunities in down-ballot races.

- The two-day conference begins Monday, and the first day features a redistricting panel on Democrats' efforts to influence political boundaries after the 2020 census. The panel includes Nina Turner, a former Ohio Senate minority whip; Carolyn Fiddler, communications director of the DLCC; Greg Speed, president of America Votes; and Muthoni Wambu-Kraal, EMILY's List's senior director of state and local campaigns.

MISSISSIPPI SPECIAL - Field shapes up to succeed Nunnelee: The Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports that a field has begun forming to run in the special election to succeed Alan Nunnelee, the Republican Congressman who died earlier this month. The first election will be on May 12, the state announced on Tuesday, with a runoff for the top two finishers on June 2. Among the prospective candidates: freshman state Rep. Chris Brown, a Republican, who says he's definitely running; Republican Mike Tagert, a former elected transportation commissioner, who says he's considering a bid and might move over the border into the district; attorney Quentin Whitwell, a Republican who visited Washington yesterday
 to talk about running; and Chip Mills, a Republican prosecutor who's thinking about a bid. The Clarion-Ledger story: 
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DEBBIE DOWNER - "Behind Wasserman Schultz's marijuana feud," by POLITICO's Marc Caputo: "Party loyalists remain somewhat surprised by Wasserman Schultz's opposition to a medical marijuana initiative that's widely popular among Democrats. But they're more perplexed over how she allowed such a rupture to develop with a renowned powerbroker like [John] Morgan, who raised about $2 million for President Barack Obama in the 2012 cycle alone ... Morgan, who has raised millions of dollars for Florida and national Democrats, including an event with Bill Clinton at his home, said he still mistrusts her.

- "The long-term implications for Florida Democrats, however, have less to do with medical marijuana than a rupture between a woman who is arguably their highest-profile leader and a man who is one of their leading fundraisers and power brokers. At 58, Morgan is widely viewed as generous to his friends and allies. But he punishes what he sees as disloyalty. And he views Wasserman Schultz as disloyal, especially because of the March 8, 2012, fundraiser for her, at which his attorneys and some of their clients chipped in $112,000." 
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THE NUMBERS - Burr, McCrory see approval improvements: A new Elon University poll out on Tuesday shows upticks in the approval ratings of two GOP statewide officeholders in North Carolina up for reelection in 2016 - Sen. Richard Burr and Gov. Pat McCrory - though both are still well below majority approval. Burr's approval rating is only 37 percent - although Elon notes that it's the highest he's registered since April 2013. His paltry approval rating is a function of low name-ID for the two-term senator: 31 percent disapprove, and 32 percent don't know enough about him - including 29 percent of Republicans. McCrory's approval ticked up four points from last October but still sits only at
 parity: 41 percent of voters approve of his performance, and 41 percent disapprove. Eighteen percent of voters don't know enough about McCrory's job performance to form an opinion. The toplines: 
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2016 GOP - "In New Hampshire, Rubio leaves a big footprint," by POLITICO's James Hohmann from Manchester, N.H.: "In an unsettled key early state - where the activist class is in no rush to take sides and everyone thinks that the race won't break decidedly until late January - Rubio recently signed top GOP operative Jim Merrill to oversee his New Hampshire efforts. Merrill, who led Romney's 2008 and 2012 campaigns here, qualified as a big get, signaling the seriousness of Rubio's intent in the state&#39;s primary. The senator visited the state twice in 2014 to help down-ballot candidates, but Merrill notes that's far less than either New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

"At each event, where the crowds clearly came to kick the tires, not make commitments, attendees said they liked what they saw. 'He stuck his toe in the snowbank,' said Jack Flanagan, the state House majority leader, after watching Rubio at the town hall in Hollis. 'It is wide open. It's just the beginning. Let's let it play out.'" 
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"Hugh Hewitt to moderate first GOP presidential debate," by POLITICO's Nick Gass: "Radio talk-show host Hugh Hewitt will moderate the first Republican presidential debate as part of a partnership between Salem Media Group and CNN. The debate will take place Sept. 16 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.RNC Chairman Reince Priebus praised the deal between Salem and CNN. 'I'm thrilled that Salem will partner with three of our Republican primary debates that will be aired on CNN. When we set out to improve the debates, I promised conservative media would be part of the process,' he said. 'Salem will help the Republican Party have meaningful debates about new
 ideas for the future, while Democrats simply coronate Hillary Clinton.'"

Fiorina gets a super PAC: Backers of former HP boss Carly Fiorina's presidential bid are launching a super PAC on her behalf as she prepares to deliver remarks at CPAC, the annual conservative gathering near Washington. The PAC's staff includes Steve DeMaura, a former exeutive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party, who will be executive director. William Canfield will be the PAC's general council, and three officials with CRC Public Relations - Greg Mueller, Keith Appell and Katie Hughes - will handle communications roles. The PAC also released a video to showcase Fiorina's supporters. 
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OFFICE POLITICS - "Schock lawyers up," by POLITICO's Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman: "Rep. Aaron Schock has hired two prominent Washington defense attorneys and a public relations firm to respond to the swirling controversy and a potential ethics probe over how he has financed his lavish lifestyle. The move by the embattled Illinois Republican comes amid continuing questions about his use of campaign and office accounts to pay for pricey travel and accommodations. His office has refused to respond to specific questions from POLITICO, including issues raised over the past week about a trip he took to London nearly four years ago as part of an annual event featuring Prince
 Charles. Schock has hired William McGinley and Don McGahn of the Washington law firm Jones Day to lead his legal team. Veteran GOP communication operatives Ron Bonjean and Brian Walsh are helping manage his response, according to sources close to the matter. 
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "In the words of the Beatles, 'Money can't buy you love.' - Andrew Sharp, campaign manager for Chuy Garcia. 
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