Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score, presented by Sinclair Broadcast Group: WESTERN TUESDAY RESULTS — Score Exclusive: One Nation boosts Young in Indiana's primary — Club for Growth endorses Cruz for president
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2016 08:02:16 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 03/23/2016 10:00 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)

BEST WESTERN - "Trump and Cruz shift to trench warfare," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "The Republican primary shifted to a new phase - trench warfare - as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz each won one state in Tuesday's contests and dug in for an increasingly ugly battle that will now likely drag through the final primary in California, if not beyond. Trump won Arizona and its 58 delegates. Cruz scored a victory in Utah and appeared poised to win all of its 40 delegates by winning more than 50 percent of the vote there. But the dueling results only underscored how far the GOP is from unifying behind Trump, who extended his delegate lead and cemented his front-runner status." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301f58da73287d0284e1210751051570c1b9344b0cee44f5b1d

- Arizona's lengthy early voting period played to Trump's advantage: In Maricopa County, Arizona's largest county, Marco Rubio banked over 47,000 votes while Ted Cruz got 53,000. Trump ran way ahead among early voters in the county with over 119,000 overall, which came to about 45 percent. 

- "Clinton cruises in Arizona, Sanders takes Utah and Idaho," via POLITICO's Nick Gass: "A week after scoring a five-state rout against Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton widened her already daunting lead over the Vermont senator by crushing him in Arizona. But Sanders easily dispatched Clinton in Utah and Idaho, the other two Western states that voted Tuesday. Both states held caucuses, a format that has favored the Vermont senator. Arizona, though, was the biggest prize of the night, with 85 proportionally allocated delegates at stake. With more than 70 percent of precincts counted in the state, Clinton was ahead 60 percent to 38 percent, and The Associated Press declared her the winner." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301a80d0f64a6760ca578a8dc374269851954ac7afc6474dae6

- See the results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc3010f35337526d8f71f535e03c09fa44a0b6f7ec109dc591d81

Days until the Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington State Democratic caucuses: 3.

Days until the 2016 election: 230. 

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FIRST IN SCORE - ONE NATION BOOSTS TODD YOUNG ON IRAN: One Nation, the Republican nonprofit with ties to Senate GOP leadership, is playing in a GOP primary: The group is running ads boosting Rep. Todd Young, who is battling Rep. Marlin Stutzman in Indiana's Senate primary. The 30-second ad praises Young for "fighting President Obama's liberal agenda on national security" and notes he's a former Naval intelligence officer. "Todd Young knows what it takes to keep America safe," a female narrator says. Watch the ad here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301c3a048dba383e6b9439a1be4da901a96f882ec98ee80c75b

- One Nation has spent millions boosting GOP Senate incumbents, but with this ad, the group has inserted itself right into the middle of a major Republican primary. The Club for Growth, Senate Conservatives Fund, and (on Monday) FreedomWorks have all lined up with Stutzman, while Young has garnered support from more establishment-oriented figures and groups - now including One Nation, which is run by former Mitch McConnell chief of staff Steven Law, the president of the Crossroads outside groups.

- That means not everyone is happy about the new ad. Senate Conservatives Fund president Ken Cuccinelli: "This is just another sign that the DC establishment is determined to elect more spineless Republicans. The last thing the DC elites want is another principled conservative in the Senate like Marlin Stutzman. This action by Karl Rove and his allies should be a wake up call for undecided Republicans to rise up and help Marlin Stutzman win this race."

IN DA CLUB - Cruz gets the Club for Growth's first-ever presidential endorsement, via POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "'Ted Cruz is the best free-market, pro-growth, limited-government candidate in the presidential race,' Club for Growth President t David McIntosh said in a statement. ... 'This year is different,' McIntosh said, 'because there is a vast gulf between the two leading Republican candidates on matters of economic liberty. Their records make clear that Ted Cruz is a consistent conservative who will fight to shrink the federal footprint, while Donald Trump would seek to remake government in his desired image.' ... Club for Growth Action, the group's super PAC, reported a spike in
 fundraising last month, as it ramped up anti-Trump attack ads. The group's largest donation was $2.5 million from Warren and Jackson Stephens of Arkansas, two investment bank executives." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301e4aab80474a2fac57eac9b8981854d20950cd3b4f4dc5cfd

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, delivers not only TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters, but also targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad solutions. Contact Alan Brittan @ 703-236-9673. Sinclair, busy - Making Political Ads Work! **

HITTING THE AIRWAVES - Up in Wyoming ... Republican Liz Cheney launched her first statewide radio ad on Tuesday, timed with Bill Clinton's visit to Cheyenne today as he stumps for Hillary Clinton. "Bill Clinton thinks he can earn Wyoming votes while Hillary pledges to destroy Wyoming's coal industry, kill our jobs and devastate our communities. He shouldn't set foot in Wyoming until he looks our coal miners in the eye and explains why Hillary is committed to putting them out of work. Wyoming's fossil fuels are a national treasure, and as Wyoming's next Congressman, I'll lead the fight to stop the unconstitutional assault from Washington on our energy jobs and way of life," the ad says.
 Listen to "National Treasure" here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301e53b24104a1da1eac0c6c13f00aa044e3cd2f3477525abfb 

POLL POSITION - Sen. Richard Burr holds slight lead over Democrat Deborah Ross in PPP robopoll: A new PPP poll found the Republican incumbent has a 5-point lead over Ross. The group tested how voters felt if Burr backed Donald Trump (since he's indicated he will back the eventual Republican nominee) and reported that "voters are less likely to vote for Burr by a 26-point spread if he supports Trump." Kasich does best among general election North Carolina voters. The governor's race continues to be very close, with GOP Gov. Pat McCrory leading Democrat Roy Cooper, 42 to 40 percent. Read the rest of the results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301c011e711b51418ade9b18e69b9cb62141a1d6a96a820a2a0 

FIRST IN SCORE - Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, will endorse Republican Claudia Tenney for the open NY-22, vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Richard Hanna, and donate $5,000 to her primary bid. "With the help of Susan B. Anthony List, I will continue to spearhead the pro-life, pro-woman fight in Washington by speaking up for those who do not have a voice," Tenney said in a statement. 

AND FOR THE REALITY TV FAN IN YOUR LIFE (OR YOU) - Sarah Palin, former vice presidential candidate and former TLC reality star, is in talks to be the next Judge Judy, "if it gets picked up by stations," People Magazine reported. Palin does not have a law degree, "but the source notes that the bestselling author has a variety of other qualities that make her perfectly suited to the job." Will you watch? Let us know. (We may, but it really depends on what else is on.) http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc3017f194bd656ff7d0b23ef541b3a72fc42344bfb3bfda169a7 

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Will terror help Trump?" by POLITICO's Michael Crowley: " ... Trump said that after the November terrorist attacks that left 130 dead in the French capital, soon followed by a terrorist massacre in San Bernardino, California, his campaign "took on a whole new meaning ... And all of a sudden the poll numbers just shot up." Now many national security specialists fear that further attacks like the bombings that killed at least 30 people in Brussels on Tuesday will fuel Trump's further rise, drawing more voters to his clenched-fist approach of closed borders and retribution killings - and could ultimately pave his unlikely path to the White House." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc30138ffea0fc4db51ca0b0266a3fa5901066e6bea1b4cefe26c 

- "Gary Johnson says Libertarians will welcome GOP - and then crush them," by The Wall Street Journal's Reid Epstein: " ... Mr. Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who won 1.3 million votes as the Libertarian presidential nominee in 2012 and is running again this year, said in an interview that he'd welcome an intraparty challenge from a Republican, and predicted he'd wipe the floor with whatever outsider tries to infiltrate his party. ...Libertarians will choose their nominee at a national convention Memorial Day weekend in Orlando, Fla. Mr. Johnson said an insurgent challenge from a Republican would turn the party's typically sleepy gathering into a mammoth political event." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301f9b7c46bc077ce858758e1a38d7f4ce9e7f0d4f6c04a44be 

- "Walker mulling Cruz or Kasich endorsement," by POLITICO's Nick Gass: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is considering an endorsement of either Ted Cruz or John Kasich ahead of his state's April 5 primary, but he says he would not appear with the candidate he decides to endorse. 'I'm not just doing it for the heck of it,' Walker said today, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 'If I think it can have a positive impact, if it can have somewhat of an impact on how voters see the candidates and if that's someone who aligns with my beliefs, I'll make an endorsement. But I haven't made that decision yet.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301af7af717d0e4f1ffa1dbbb589955139c16a36a104ab33423

- "Trump tweets threat about Cruz's wife," by POLITICO's Nick Gass: Donald Trump tweeted and then deleted a message Tuesday evening that threatened to "spill the beans" about the wife of Ted Cruz. Then he tweeted again. "Wow @SenTedCruz, that is some low level ad you did using a picture of Melania in a G.Q. shoot.Be careful or I will spill the beans on your wife," Trump tweeted, before deleting the message seconds later." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc30183f21da5a5e980cbb7a5c4f3e61f53baf8ad1d7951d3e067 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Things could get pretty testy ... My biggest concern is security, whether or not I feel it is safe enough to attend a convention." - Nevada GOP Sen. Dean Heller, about the upcoming Republican National Convention. A spokeswoman for the group "offered assurances ... the event will be secure," The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c91fe250731dc301ae30affa23d7bed10313f5c31255e49a9b4fada10518d73f 

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: The race for influence in the 2016 election cycle is gaining speed. Everyone is looking to reach as big of an audience as possible and get significant portions of that audience motivated and educated enough to vote and mobilize probable supporters. As the pace quickens, more will be trying to find an edge to influence voters their way. Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, can help you break through the clutter. Utilizing both TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters and targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad solutions, Sinclair
 Makes Political Ads Work! The bottom line is the bottom line - winning elections. At the Sinclair Broadcast Group, we have the ad tools necessary to help you to persuade, enlighten and activate voters. Contact Alan Brittan, Sinclair's Director of Political Ads for more details @ 703-236-9673. **

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