Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score, presented by Pandora: Edelen won't challenge Rand after auditor loss -- AFP responds to Ayotte
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2015 09:02:55 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 11/09/2015 10:01 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard and Theodoric Meyer

The following newsletter is an abridged version of Campaign Pro's Morning Score. For an earlier morning read on exponentially more races - and for a more comprehensive aggregation of the day's most important campaign news - sign up for Campaign Pro today. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

KENTUCKY POST-MORTEMS CONTINUE -- Edelen won't challenge Paul: Kentucky Auditor Adam Edelen, who lost reelection last week, formally ruled out a bid for Senate against Rand Paul in an interview with Insider Louisville's Joe Sonka. He said Paul was vulnerable but doubted any top-tier Democrat would enter the race. "I think you could make a strong case that Rand has badly neglected the needs of Kentuckians to serve his own political ambitions," he said. How off was polling in the state? Edelen had a poll on Friday showing him winning by 11 percentage points. He lost by four points. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a59242ced16faa2d00da45e0706874fedd4249ccadaa6c8cd5a48 

-- "Jack Conway ran the lamest campaign of any Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial candidate in my memory. Since I'm 68 years old, the time span of my memory covers considerable ground," Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Larry Dale Keeling writes. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a592415bc14350ab4104087e0ed923630a56218ea4e7079774044 

-- In his first interview since taking office, Bevin told WHAS' Joe Arnold he has a "mandate" because of his 9-point victory. "It is the type of thing that rarely happens politically where we have a clear mandate from people," Bevin said. "Where people clearly say, 'We want something new. We want to be heard.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924af5c2bb896812ded86c64b52fb8b3b7c7ddc6efaf4d9636b 

ONE YEAR OUT -- "Democrats look to ride Clinton wave to Senate control," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "One year out from Election Day, neither party claims a clear upper hand in the showdown for the Senate. Democrats have an early edge in Illinois and Wisconsin, while some Republican incumbents who expected serious primary or general election challenges are still breathing easy. The biggest battlegrounds remain the same as they were at the outset of the election cycle: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada and New Hampshire. The real drama right now is in the search for quality candidates. Democrats notched early recruitment successes across the board,
 even as they've come up painfully empty in other places where they should be competitive. ...Republicans acknowledge the landscape tilts heavily against them but believe most of their incumbents are well-positioned." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a59249841dc26cdeadfd5fd0da15e81ba7f9d8f984b7c9232ad4d

- "State of the 2016 race: One year out," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher and Annie Karni: "...The split screen of the two front-runners - one leveraging the entertainment value of his bid, the other attempting to wrap up her party's nomination as early as possible - offers a snapshot of the state of the race with exactly 365 days to go before Election Day. ...But while Clinton appears to be shoring up her support and widening her lead, the Republican side remains splintered, with no signs of coalescence on the horizon. Remarkably, eight different Republicans have led respected national surveys since early 2014: Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Mike Huckabee, Chris
 Christie and Rand Paul. In contrast, the Democratic contest has been the picture of stability. Clinton has led every national poll for two years running, and only twice by less than double digits." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924ab20f74d1816e14c4cc192d4a61782b99736f733659ebaea 

Days until the Louisiana runoff: 12. Days until the 2016 election: 365.

Thanks for joining us. Email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked] and [email-masked].

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about football: @politico_steve, @kyledcheney, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer.

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"I WANT YOU TO EXPLAIN IT YOUR BOSS" -- Justice traffic-stop video leaks: The Bluefield Daily Telegraph posted a dashcam video of West Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Justice, the state's richest man, arguing with a police officer after being pulled over for speeding. The officer ignores the fact that Justice's tags are out of date, and knocks the ticket down from going 54 MPH in a 40 MPH zone to just 44 MPH. Justice continues to argue with the officer, who volunteers to explain the ticket. Justice's response: "I want you to explain it to your boss." Watch the video here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a592459a9c935bc8c0f23ac72fad2e179b46df8168eb20b02786e

-- Justice's rivals -- GOP state Senate President Bill Cole and Democratic state Sen. Jeff Kessler -- both hit Justice for the incident in statements on Sunday, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924d31279b7488c1890b989266b9b0c8d48efe2dab33cbc5357

DIMINISHED ENTHUSIASM - Americans for Prosperity sours on Ayotte: On Friday we reported that Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, the flagship group in Charles and David Koch's network of politically active nonprofits, was enthusiastic about Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). Ayotte "had a really good voting record on a lot of pretty tough issues, in a state that Barack Obama carried twice," Phillips told Campaign Pro in a chat at our Rosslyn headquarters two weeks ago. 

 - But the group has soured somewhat on Ayotte since she came out in support of new power plant regulations proposed by the Obama administration. "We consider her move to support this a very big disappointment," Levi Russell, a spokesman for the group, said in an email. Does that mean the group is less likely to run ads supporting her next year? "Votes like this will be a factor as we make decision on where and how to direct resources over the next year," Russell wrote.

OUT TODAY -- EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock is out with a one-year-away memo on the state of the election for the pro-abortion rights group. She runs through the eight Senate and two House races, so far, where the group has backed Democratic women. EMILY's List has also committed to "working to win back critical state legislative chambers and governors' mansions in 14 states by investing resources and recruiting women to run for seats that will determine control of state legislative chambers and the leadership of the state." Read the rest: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a59244d4c5f947dc66e81e0298757ebde00a83a3f24e16432746f 

NEVER TOO EARLY FOR 2018 -- The Los Angeles Times handicaps the 2018 California gubernatorial race, laying out policy stakes for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who already announced, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is all-but-announced. Newsom wants to legalize recreational marijuana, while Villaraigosa is stumping through the more conservative inland region. "Both men assert that they are driven by core beliefs. But their moves have political utility as well," the Times reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a59241cb8b1f72385e59fddaee223edaf9cd0e56241b945906f8b 

AIR WAR, AGAINST COAL -- Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will spend $10 million on attack ads, targeting four attorney generals who are suing the Obama administration for its environmental restrictions on power plants, including Democrat Chris Koster, who's running for governor in Missouri, the New York Times reported. The ads will also air in Michigan, Florida and Wisconsin, where the attorneys general are all Republican. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924604dd17e27c0078b666879e4d553984e1dedeb99a750c8c8 

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ -- "Bernie Sanders leaves money on the table," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti in San Francisco: "While Hillary Clinton makes Northern California a regular stop in her incessant dash for cash, her challenger isn't even trying to woo the Valley's wealthy, liberal magnates. Sanders has visited the region just once since launching his campaign, and not to raise money, while Clinton has made three fundraising trips here. And his team is doing little to reach potential donors, even the progressives among them, according to Democratic fundraisers. 'He's done nothing out here, they haven't asked me to host any events, unlike Senate candidates,' said Guy Saperstein, a San
 Francisco lawyer and part-owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924aac47b4b2c059336bab44e9f2f22d285ebb1e4c16bb32621

-- Sen. Bernie Sanders' Nevada state director leaving the campaign after recently joining it, the New York Times reported. The campaign cited a "family issue" as explanation for his departure. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a59245cd5f9bbf803e8a5affd170dd549e1d3d534788e98cffd87 

ACROSS THE MAP - Quick takes from races across the country:

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Many of the greats have hosted, as you know, this show, like me, in 2004." -- Donald Trump in his Saturday Night Live opening monologue. Watch here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ede526b8d40a5924b430d3e7e360402e07f88224b15c06689408dc4fc460cf15

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER: LEGISLATIVE COMPASS - POLITICO Pro, POLITICO's premium subscription service, arms policy professionals with the ability to do more than just track bills. With Legislative Compass, Pros can quickly compare bill language, get whip counts, understand where bills originate and track who supports specific legislation in Congress. Become a Pro and empower yourself to make smarter decisions. Schedule your demo today. 

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*Next Big Sound-Midyear Report 8/11/15. **

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