Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Strickland, Sittenfeld sharpen primary rhetoric — Heiner leading GOP pack in Kentucky — Edwards announces Senate run
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 08:02:03 -0600

By Kyle Cheney

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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With Sandhya Raman

TODAY ON CAMPAIGN PRO - "Poll: Heiner ahead in Kentucky primary," by Campaign Pro's Kyle Cheney and Steven Shepard: 
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OHIO SENATE CANDIDATES SPAR AFTER DSCC BACKS STRICKLAND - Back-to-back appearances as primary ramps up: P.G. Sittenfeld declined to indicate Tuesday whether he reneged on a promise to drop out of Ohio's Democratic Senate primary in deference to former Gov. Ted Strickland, telling WOSU-FM's Ann Fisher that the matter was "inside baseball" and not what voters care about. But he added that he and Strickland have spoken regularly. "Gov. Strickland and I have stayed in regular touch and sort of kept each other updated basically in real time as things have unfolded," he said. The 31-year-old Cincinnati councilman said that despite increasing efforts by national Democrats to elbow him out of the
 race, he feels like he presents the best contrast to incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman. "I'm not constrained by the rigid ideology of yesterday," he said, a line that's also a subtle jab at the 73-year-old Strickland.

Strickland, appearing on the show separately said he generally likes to "avoid primaries, but there's no way to guarantee that." He kept his fire trained on Portman when asked if he's worried about his primary challenger. And he rejected claims by critics who say he's moved too far to the left since he left the governor's mansion - particularly on gun rights. "As a Congressman I had an A and most of the time an A+ rating with the National Rifle Association. That has been my position ... I know I have some political enemies who would like to reinterpret my beliefs," he said. "I was the guy who voted against the assault weapon ban." Strickland also said he supports legalizing medical
 marijuana.

- In a separate personnel update, the Strickland campaign announced it had appointed Rebecca Pearcey, who ran Strickland's field operation in 2006 and President Barack Obama's political operation in 2008, as his campaign manager. Pearcey most recently was the DCCC's northeast political director.

SENATOR BLASTS INDICTMENT LEAK - "Menendez fires back at the feds," by POLITICO's Manu Raju and John Bresnahan: "Sen. Robert Menendez fired back at the Justice Department Tuesday, calling for an investigation into leaks that he's about to face a criminal indictment over his actions to allegedly aid a political benefactor. 'All I can say is: Leaks are in violation of the law,' the New Jersey Democrat told POLITICO. 'And I hope there is an investigation as to however, whomever is conducting such leaks.' ... Menendez has strongly denied any wrongdoing, vowing not to give up his Senate seat and refusing to say if he would step down as ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
 if the indictment is handed down as expected. 
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As Maryland's Senate race gets messy and its House races get even messier, 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: 237; Days until the 2016 election: 608

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

EDWARDS GETS IN - Maryland Rep. announces bid for Senate: Rep. Donna Edwards formally announced her campaign for Maryland's open Senate seat on Tuesday with a pointed pledge to protect Medicare and Social Security at all costs. Edwards, who's preparing for a difficult primary against fellow Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen, said in a two-minute announcement video that she wouldn't compromise on the entitlement programs - "no ifs, ands, buts or willing to considers." It's a likely preview of the way she'll hit Van Hollen, who progressives have argued has been open to cutting Social Security because of his support for a federal budget deal like the now-defunct Simpson-Bowles plan. Van Hollen
 allies say the line of attack isn't accurate - and that he's voted repeatedly to preserve and strengthen both programs.

Ripple-effect in MD-04: Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard reports that former Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, the Democratic nominee for governor in 2014, is 'seriously considering' a run for the House seat now held by Edwards 'and will likely make an announcement in the coming days,' according to a source close to Brown. Edwards&#39; announcement she will run for the state's open Senate seat could result in another Democratic free-for-all in Prince George&#39;s County. Brown, who once served as a state delegate from the county, will have high name recognition, but his loss in the governor&#39;s race last year may have damaged his personal brand among Democrats. President Barack Obama won 78
 percent of the vote in the district in 2012. Other possible candidates for the seat include former state&#39;s attorney Glenn Ivey (
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d09995c55ba67cc60157891588fc152c655c662dcc2cfd92fe052111e7b57699 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d09995c55ba67cc60157891588fc152c655c662dcc2cfd92fe052111e7b57699 ) and former Del. Aisha Braveboy.

PUBLIC SERVER ANNOUNCEMENT - "Hillary leaves some questions unanswered," by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: "Clinton's presser may have actually fanned the flames when she disclosed that she disposed of nearly 32,000 emails her team decided were purely personal. That revelation quickly fired up Republicans who had been calling for an outside expert to verify her compliance with document requests about Benghazi and other issues." The remaining questions: 1. Did Clinton's lawyers' searches capture all her work-related email? 2. Can the emails Clinton's team deemed personal be recovered? 3. Did anyone at State approve her use of a personal email account? 4. Why weren't Clinton's emails collected
 when she left State in 2013? 5. Did Clinton send or receive any classified messages on the account? 6. Did Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton email each other? 7. Did Clinton's use of private email thwart Freedom of Information Act requests? 
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- "2016ers mostly mum as Clinton faces the cameras," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck, with Jonathan Topaz: "Clinton's potential 2016 Republican and Democratic rivals largely steered clear of attacking her Tuesday as she publicly addressed questions over her email use while serving as secretary of state. Some flat out refused to touch the subject. The cautious approach underscored how delicate the subject is for some presidential prospects, especially those with email-related controversies of their own. And politically, there's an upside to keeping a low profile while Clinton struggles in the spotlight. 
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- "Democrats urge Clinton to launch campaign," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "Democrats around the country had a clear and stern message for Hillary Clinton Tuesday after she wrapped up her much-anticipated - if hastily scheduled - press conference on her use of a private email account as Secretary of State: she shouldn't expect this issue to go away in the coming months, and she'd better hurry up and announce her presidential campaign soon. 'The whole situation underscores the need for her to announce her candidacy, as an actual campaign would be the best way to deal with issues like this if they come up,' said Kathy Winter, chairwoman of Iowa's Osceola County Democrats. That
 sentiment echoed in interviews with more than a dozen Democratic activists and operatives, including some in the influential presidential nominating states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. And it wasn't lost on the former Secretary of State's camp: one Clinton confidante told POLITICO the scrutiny of the last week convinced her to speed up the campaign rollout. The internal discussions about delaying the kickoff to July are ancient history; Clinton's announcement is now expected within the next two to five weeks." 
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2016 GOP - Rick Santorum is making a return trip to South Carolina this weekend to address "rising national security threats" at the National Security Action Summit in West Columbia. The Saturday event, at the Brookland Baptist Church Banquet and Conference Center. The event comes as 2016ers increasingly emphasize their foreign policy chops.

THE NUMBERS, CONTINUED - Poll: Rubio in prime position for reelection: Sen. Marco Rubio&#39;s (R-Fla.) approval rating is hovering around 50 percent, according to a new Mason-Dixon Florida Poll, which shows him with a great advantage over two Democrats contemplating a challenge. In hypothetical matchups, Rubio and state CFO Jeff Atwater - the likeliest candidate to run if Rubio forgoes reelection and runs for president - both hold double-digit leads over two potential Democratic candidates, but significantly more voters are undecided about Atwater, giving Democrats more room to chip away. If Rubio opts to run for a second term instead of for president - an increasingly unlikely prospect -
 he&#39;d start with a huge name-ID advantage over Rep. Patrick Murphy - who wasn&#39;t recognized by two-thirds of registered voters - and with a better reputation than Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whose 36 percent unfavorable rating is nearly double the her favorable rating. About a quarter of registered voters couldn&#39;t identify her." Toplines and crosstabs for Pro subscribers: 
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HOW'S IT PLAYING IN PEORIA?: "Aaron Schock: I 'certainly hope' I didn't break the law," by POLITICO's Jake Sherman in Peoria, Ill. - "The question to Rep. Aaron Schock was simple: Do you think you've broken any rules or federal laws? But the scandal-plagued congressman did not have a definitive answer. 'Well, I certainly hope not,' Schock said. 'I'm not an attorney.' The 33-year-old Republican went on to argue that he does his 'best' and takes his obligations 'very seriously,' which is why he's enlisted outside advisers to help audit his office's procedures. 'That's what we can all do, is our best effort,' Schock said. And so it went for six defensive minutes with POLITICO on Tuesday, in
 one of the lawmaker's most extensive interviews with the press since news of his big-spending, sloppy-accounting ways - from luxury hotels and fine dining paid for with public and campaign money to gifts that apparently should have been reported but weren't - erupted a month ago. But Schock did not have many answers. 
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Enjoyed visiting with Butte teacher Amanda Curtis at our office in Washington, D.C., today." - Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), in a tweet accompanied by a photo of him alongside Curtis, the Democrat who ran against him last year. 
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