Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Allies expect Edwards to announce Md. Senate campaign this week — GOP piles on Menendez — Selma anniversary reopens political wounds
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 2015 08:02:58 -0600

By Kyle Cheney

With Sandhya Raman

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=281e709aec47626360d1887d1006c97222d551a43f54cf51c0275d42c748177a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec47626360d1887d1006c97222d551a43f54cf51c0275d42c748177a )

BREAKING - Sen. Sherrod Brown has backed former Gov. Ted Strickland in Ohio's Democratic Senate primary. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263c6f875062eb325712efaf9dccf4bcee8a80061d1050c7f80 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263c6f875062eb325712efaf9dccf4bcee8a80061d1050c7f80 

DEMS SQUARE OFF IN THE FREE STATE - "Maryland Senate primary taking shape," by Campaign Pro's Kyle Cheney and Kevin Robillard: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's endorsement of Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the Maryland Senate race on Friday was a sign that national Democrats hope to clear the field for Van Hollen, a seven-term congressman from Montgomery County who's held posts in party leadership. But it's not likely to work - and Maryland could be the next example of the simmering divide between the Democratic establishment and liberals who would rather see Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the 2016 ticket than Hillary Clinton ... Two potential national allies of [Rep. Donna] Edwards told Campaign
 Pro on Friday they expect her to announce a Senate bid [this] week."

 - "Already, one of her potential rivals has signaled he's likely to bow out of the race with Edwards in the field. A source close to former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, the party's unsuccessful gubernatorial nominee last year, said he's unlikely to run against the congresswoman." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762639f5cd5c76e648075f6528afe8b2a807053c763b9d606368d 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762639f5cd5c76e648075f6528afe8b2a807053c763b9d606368d 

(Late-breaking update: The Washington Post reports that Edwards is planning to formally enter the race Tuesday, news her campaign team declined to confirm.)

MENENDEZ UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - "McConnell: It's Reid's call on Menendez," by POLITICO's Adam Sneed: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday it's up to Democrats to decide if Sen. Robert Menendez keeps his party's top spot on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if he faces federal corruption charges. Menendez says he plans to retain his Senate seat and fight any charges. But the GOP Senate leader from Kentucky said on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Mendedez's post as the ranking member on the powerful committee is in the hands of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "Typically, when these kinds of charges are brought, people step aside from their leadership positions,"
 McConnell said. "But that will be up to the Democratic leader, Sen. Reid, to make that call."

 - And the NRSC piled on Reid, questioning whether he'd return $10,000 that Menendez gave his campaign committee, since he's previously returned donations from indicted donors.

 - Chris Christie flashback: "The only job left for me to run for is United States Senate, and let me just say this: I would rather die than be in the United States Senate. Okay? I would be bored to death. Can you imagine me bangin&#39; around that chamber with 99 other people? Asking for a motion on the amendment in the subcommittee? Forget it. It would be over, everybody. You&#39;d watch me just walk out and walk right into the Potomac River and drown. That&#39;d be it.' - Chris Christie, in remarks last year to the New Jersey NAACP, as reported by NJ.com. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762639602bbb0f03013e75af5c421a4c6bc488ab76ebfb415fcdb 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762639602bbb0f03013e75af5c421a4c6bc488ab76ebfb415fcdb 

As Jeb goes retail and Rand gets his caucus, 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: 239; Days until the 2016 election: 610

Thanks for joining us. We're eager for your news and feedback. Email us at 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or find us on Twitter at @
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263e6063198d69e504cd2cfba1bb70a45f6907b7e6766103118 
kyledcheney .

SELMA, REVISITED - "Selma highlights hypocrisy on voting rights, Democrats say," by POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere in Selma, Ala., with Lauren French: "Hypocrisy. Disappointment. Frustration. That's how Democrats described their feelings about Republicans as they listened to President Barack Obama call for a renewal of the Voting Rights Act in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, on the anniversary of the march that helped get the law passed 50 years ago. Republicans who came here for the ceremony but aren't prioritizing action back in Washington are frauds, they said. Republicans who didn't show up at all - like House Speaker John Boehner and most of the rest of the GOP Congressional
 leadership - should be ashamed for not even making the effort."

"But there are Republicans who say they're more open to movement on voting rights - sort of. 'In the wake of the court's decision, I think it's probably appropriate for us to take it up,' said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Portman said he'd just heard about Lewis's bill Saturday morning, ahead of the ceremony, and had neither read it nor learned the details, so he couldn't commit. Voting rights legislation is 'good, sound policy, and it's time to get that done, taken care of,' said Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.). 'We're here at Selma today on a historic day, coming together as Democrats and Republicans to stand for not only at a historical moment, but how we're going to move forward.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263ef298e260141c0cd1c1eda4c26a47b267d0530946ab71643 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263ef298e260141c0cd1c1eda4c26a47b267d0530946ab71643 

FIRST IN SCORE - Gov. Bobby Jindal's super PAC, Believe Again, is trying to capitalize on his CPAC appearance, disseminating a video of the governor interacting cheerfully with conservatives. It's a mashup of his speech highlights and impromptu conversations with attendees - the governor tells one person about his love for "Duck Dynasty" and receives a "god bless you" from a supportive conference-goer. The video, set to an upbeat track, includes his call to repeal Obamacare and his rejection of categorizing Americans by ethnic background. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263cd2b23a406a179868aac26a8ef6c94ae73be9c6c0c3258ba 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263cd2b23a406a179868aac26a8ef6c94ae73be9c6c0c3258ba 

2016 GOP - "The return: Jeb in Iowa," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa: "For better and for worse, the Bush name continues to loom large in the first-in-the-nation caucus state - and the third Bush to seek the presidency was reminded of that over and over during his two-day swing. Not long after his arrival Friday, one of the mob of reporters chronicling his visit got right to the point: how did he intend to deal with Bush fatigue, at a time when his brother's name is still toxic in some circles? ... That same night, at a fundraiser for Iowa Congressman David Young, Bush regaled a crowd at the Living History Farms, an agriculture-focused museum, about his trips to the
 Muscatine pork roasts and encounters with the state's popular Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in 1980, the year George H.W. Bush won the Iowa caucuses during his unsuccessful run for president." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263cf929e937e1df77b897ecc1843adeb7e39c7ef0b5b40dee4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263cf929e937e1df77b897ecc1843adeb7e39c7ef0b5b40dee4 

 - "The Iowa Ag Summit 10 takeaways," by POLITICO's James Hohmann: "The politics of ethanol have shifted enough over the last 15 years that several Republican presidential candidates felt comfortable - at an agricultural summit in Iowa Saturday - expressing their disagreement with special government supports for corn growers. Philosophically, that is ... There are limits to just how far the conversation has shifted. Top-tier candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, each said they would love to eventually phase out the Renewable Fuel Standard - which requires refiners to blend a certain amount of ethanol into their gasoline - but that it ought to
 stay in place for at least a few more years." POLITICO's takeaways from the summit: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263522212cc94f26274aae13528fd9483df2c6ffbd4a21f4a8f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263522212cc94f26274aae13528fd9483df2c6ffbd4a21f4a8f 

"Kentucky GOP clears path for Paul's dual campaign," by the Associated Press, from Bowling Green, Ky.: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has taken his first step toward running for president with state party leaders endorsing his plan for a presidential caucus in 2016. The move clears the way for Paul to run for president and for re-election to his Senate seat without breaking a state law that bans candidates from appearing on the ballot twice in the same election. The state GOP&#39;s central committee must still sign off on the proposal in August, but Saturday&#39;s vote along with the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is a clear indication the caucus will happen. Paul has not said
 he is running for president. But the Kentucky Republican told reporters after the vote that he would likely be ex-communicated from the state party if he did not run.

HILLARY'S EMAILS - "5 questions: The Clinton email," by Campaign Pro's Tarini Parti, with Josh Gerstein: "After a week of drip-drip of details regarding Hillary Clinton's use of a personal email account, the response from allies of the former secretary of State has not come close to satisfying political critics trying to make sense of the arrangement ... As we wait for more details to emerge, here are POLITICO's five big questions that remain outstanding:" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263695df4e0244fb9060be292c2277502a543b547e2692fde0b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263695df4e0244fb9060be292c2277502a543b547e2692fde0b 

 - Rick Wilson's advice to his GOP allies: shut up. Via POLITICO Magazine:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263373278e77751994840b82c27ae488935768a34309216e780 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263373278e77751994840b82c27ae488935768a34309216e780 

SCHOCK THERAPY - "Schock to press: I'm still a good congressman," by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: "Rep. Aaron Schock told local press in Illinois Friday that he is still able to represent his district in the midst of a burgeoning scandal regarding his spending of campaign and taxpayer money. The 33-year-old Illinois Republican did not alert national press about his media event, which caught some people in his inner circle by surprise ... At the news conference, Schock admitted that some of the photos he's posted on social media of his activities could raise questions about whether he is a responsible representative, according to the Twitter feed of David van Camp, a local radio reporter
 who covered the event." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263f04afd56ab59886f1dece31f895b0322358ace4609e6f7dc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263f04afd56ab59886f1dece31f895b0322358ace4609e6f7dc 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "If I were king, I'd be benevolent - with a streak of cruelty every now and then, just to keep people on their toes." - Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) at the Iowa agriculture summit. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec47626378111c00f82a65c13fb3de07e744c4583eb1a1e6337ae0fa 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec47626378111c00f82a65c13fb3de07e744c4583eb1a1e6337ae0fa 

Go to POLITICO Morning Score Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762632f995bec71621bb728fcc074974c46d1ed2190bdac11472b

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec4762636703cd3db529bb1c9663f6fdb68fbd0274829a1cb9c90a14

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

2015 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Morning Score.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=281e709aec476263db6dee9e3161ddb259531325dc49c051e2ebe4870e59be9d

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