Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: SUPER TUESDAY SPECIAL — Trump wins seven states, Cruz takes three, Rubio one — Clinton wins seven states, Sanders four — GOP congressional incumbents all survive
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2016 09:01:55 -0600

By Theodoric Meyer | 03/02/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard, Elena Schneider and Alex Isenstadt

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)

THE GOP WINNER - "Trump takes 7 Super Tuesday states, Cruz takes 3," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "Donald Trump supercharged his hostile takeover of the Republican Party on Super Tuesday, scoring big wins in at least seven states as he threatened to break away from his GOP rivals in the delegate chase. Ted Cruz kept hold of his home state of Texas and won neighboring Oklahoma as well as Alaska. And Marco Rubio saved his campaign from a dispiriting disaster, as he carried Minnesota's caucuses for his first win on an otherwise brutal night." Trump carried the South and the Northeast, winning Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. His best state:
 Massachusetts, where he took nearly 50 percent of the vote. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c97c0be875f5dbfe144979d11aef9cca35b5c68a7299b9b078b88b8445eea518

THE WAY FORWARD - "Cruz pins his hopes on two-man race," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck in Stafford, Texas: "It wasn't the Super Tuesday result that Ted Cruz might have envisioned a month ago, but his victories in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska gave him a rationale to continue his campaign - and to attempt to seize the title of Trump alternative, as he looks to build momentum in the series of states that vote ahead of March 15." Cruz's campaign argues "that his wins in Texas and Oklahoma, on top of his victory in the Iowa caucuses, prove that he is the only candidate capable of beating Trump. They got a boost from an unlikely source - South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a frequent Cruz critic who
 nonetheless suggested it may be close to the time for anti-Trump voters to rally around the Texas senator. And Cruz's top surrogates quickly began pushing for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whose only Super Tuesday win came in the Minnesota caucuses, to step aside." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c97c0be875f5dbfe028efa579a1e7ba9c1eaec3dc2b6f56d2e8514e29754a6c0

-"Rubio gasping after Super Tuesday," by POLITICO's Anna Palmer: "Donald Trump pummeled Sen. Marco Rubio on Super Tuesday, leaving the Florida Republican with a nearly impossible path to the GOP nomination. Rubio won just a single state on the biggest night yet of the 2016 contest - bringing his overall win tally to one with Minnesota - and it's still unclear whether he will climb over the 20 percent threshold in several of the primaries to secure enough delegates to make a credible case for staying in the race." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c97c0be875f5dbfed3fa4ac56b6709b37274a304549244a4221543a3feda4713

THE DEMOCRATIC WINNER - "Clinton's new problem: How to let Bernie down easy," by POLITICO's Annie Karni in Miami: "Fresh off a commanding Super Tuesday performance, Hillary Clinton now faces her newest problem: How to win over Bernie Sanders while he refuses to give up.The results of the 11 states that voted March 1 widened Clinton's delegate lead and made Sanders' task of catching up to Clinton even more daunting - and implausible. While Sanders held his own in a handful of states - he won Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma and Vermont - the former secretary of state carried Massachusetts and steamrolled him in the South with decisive wins in Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia,
 where she won black voters by landslide margins, according to exit polls." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c97c0be875f5dbfefc0f06dd9b4abd5768da1ceff98b71e266ec62d87a9e7c97

Days until the Louisiana primary, the Kansas caucuses, the Nebraska Democratic caucuses and the Kentucky and Maine Republican caucuses: 3. Days until the 2016 election: 252.

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DOWN THE BALLOT - "Congressional incumbents survive as Trump, Cruz thrive," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard, Theodoric Meyer and Elena Schneider: "Donald Trump's outsider campaign may be ripping the Republican Party apart. Further down the ballot, though, Republicans incumbents are doing just fine. In dozens of races Super Tuesday, House and Senate incumbent Republicans largely won easily - from five-term Sen. Richard Shelby in Alabama to House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and dozens of other members in Texas, Arkansas and Alabama - showing that Trump's insurgent, populist presidential campaign has yet to infect state and local races as Republicans had feared. A combination of
 loyalty to local officeholders, increased vigilance (and paranoia) since Eric Cantor's surprise primary loss in 2014, and a lack of oxygen for all down-ballot candidates helped protect incumbents in a primary season defined so far by voters' overwhelming anger at government and the political class."

- "'Ted Cruz had a great night in Texas and so did a lot of current congressmen who people perceive as a part of establishment,' said Josh Robinson, a Texas Republican consultant. 'Guys who endorsed Cruz and guys who endorsed other presidential candidates won reelection. So I don't think this so-called Trump phenomenon is changing the electorate.' In Alabama, Shelby spent millions on TV advertising while facing his most vigorous primary in years, but he won approximately two-thirds of the vote even as Trump and Cruz combined for a similar margin. In Arkansas, fellow Sen. John Boozman easily dispatched a primary challenger of his own." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c97c0be875f5dbfefe964208e3bc731d0ef64e69a5d76963c5c9e8686e973c88

- The race ahead: The results are encouraging for other House Republicans, including Reps. John Shimkus of Illinois and David Joyce of Ohio, who are facing challenges from the right in the states that hold their congressional primaries at the same time as the presidential ones. The Illinois and Ohio primaries are March 15 - and Donald Trump has been riding in the polls in both states. It's still unclear what kind of candidates Trump voters will boost in GOP primaries, including open races like the one to fill former House Speaker John Boehner's seat in Ohio's 8th District, where more than a dozen candidates are competing for votes.

- SEE POLITICO'S FULL HOUSE AND SENATE RESULTS.

- Brady avoids runoff in TX-08 primary: GOP Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, who faced his stiffest primary fight in years, held on to win renomination Tuesday night, The Associated Press reported. Brady led with 53 percent of the vote when the AP made its call with 66 percent of precincts reporting. State Rep. Steve Toth came in second in the four-candidate field with 38 percent at the time. Brady's was the closest incumbent race of the night. Elsewhere in Texas, Democratic Rep. Gene Green and GOP Reps. Blake Farenthold, Bill Flores, Lamar Smith, and others saw their races called relatively quickly Tuesday night.

- Roby and Byrne defeat tea party challengers in Alabama: Two House Republicans in Alabama facing tea party challengers have both prevailed by double-digit margins, according to calls by The Associated Press. GOP Rep. Martha Roby beat back a challenge from Becky Gerritson, a local tea party leader, in Alabama's 2nd District. With 64 percent of the vote counted, Roby was leading 64 percent to 30 percent. (A third candidate, Bob Rogers, took 6 percent.) And GOP Rep. Bradley Byrne defeated Dean Young in a rematch in the 1st District. Byrne led with 63 percent with nearly half of precincts in.

- Ramirez, Palacios head to Democratic primary runoff in TX-15: The race to replace Democratic Rep. Rub&eacute;n Hinojosa in Texas' 15th District will head to a runoff election, with none of the six Democratic candidates commanding a majority of the vote. Vicente Gonzalez and Sonny Palacios, both lawyers, will face off in the May 24 runoff. Gonzalez won more than twice as many votes as Palacios, taking 42 percent of the vote to Palacios' 19 percent. On the Republican side, Tim Westley, a pastor, and Ruben Villarreal, a former mayor of Rio Grande City, advanced to the runoff. Westley took 45 percent of the vote, and Villarreal took 32 percent. But the district is solidly Democratic -
 President Barack Obama won the district twice with 57 percent of the vote - so whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely win the election.

- Robertson, Arrington advance to GOP primary runoff in TX-19: Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson and Jodey Arrington, a George W. Bush administration veteran, beat out seven other Republicans to make the Republican runoff in Texas' 19th District, where GOP Rep. Randy Neugebauer is retiring. Robertson came in just ahead of Arrington, with 27 percent of the vote to Arrington's 26 percent with 99 percent of the vote tallied. The district is deep red, and no Democrats are running.

OUTSIDE MONEY - Super PAC talks to rich donors about stopping Trump: Hoping to stop Donald Trump's momentum, a super PAC devoted to defeating him held a conference call with some of the Republican Party's top donors this evening. The call was sponsored by Our Principles PAC, an anti-Trump super PAC. Among those on the line, according to one participant, included Hewlett Packard President and CEO Meg Whitman, Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, and New York hedge fund manager Paul Singer. The Ricketts family has played a prominent role in funding the group, which is being overseen by Katie Packer, a former top aide to Mitt Romney. But the group has also won the backing of other major
 contributors alarmed by Trump's rise, including broadcasting executive Stan Hubbard. Organizers, hoping to fill the super PAC's coffers, briefed donors on the group's progress. They stressed its extensive work against Trump in Iowa, the one state he has failed to win. Our Principles PAC has yet to detail its next steps, but sources close to the group say it's considering spending heavily in four delegate-rich states voting in March: Missouri, Illinois, Florida, and Michigan. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f1d4ddbc1977195ee7f49143f02dd6b6a053e0c9854a6b7d34f382604715154

AIR WAR - Chamber starts pro-Joyce TV ads ahead of OH-14 primary: GOP Rep. David Joyce is getting some air support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as he works to fight off a tea party challenger in Ohio's 14th District. The Chamber will start running cable, digital and radio ads on Wednesday to support Joyce, who's facing Matt Lynch in a rematch from two years ago. Joyce has raised far more than Lynch - he had more than $781,000 in cash on hand on Dec. 31, to Lynch's $21,000. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f1d4ddbc197719538db8c596c0aaa3cc17c948fa9d0e7c5c0d6af3921823ce9

FIRST IN SCORE - Burr has $5.3 million in the bank ahead of primary: GOP Sen. Richard Burr's pre-primary report paints a financially comfortable picture for the Republican incumbent. He raised $519,000 in 2016, so far, with $5.3 million in the bank and spent $500,000 ahead of the March 15 primary. Burr will face Dr. Greg Brannon, who challenged Sen. Thom Tillis in the GOP 2014, but he's expected to beat him. 

RETICENT GOVERNOR - Martinez won't say whether she'll support Trump: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, won't say whether she'll vote for Donald Trump if he's the GOP nominee, The Associated Press reports. But she definitely won't vote for Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, she said. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f1d4ddbc19771959bd49f60805a0440984e061c6679c15d78b592f4c0373fcb

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I can't believe I would say yes, but yes." - GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, when asked whether Ted Cruz was Republicans' last, best hope of stopping Donald Trump. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=1f1d4ddbc19771956322cac2d83870369de4130db1a8524dd482f23508233453

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