Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score, presented by Sinclair Broadcast Group: New York primary aftermath, Clinton, Trump win big — McCain super PAC blasts primary challenger — DSCC, NRSC load up on fall ad buys
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 08:03:03 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 04/20/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard, Theodoric Meyer and Scott Bland

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)

TRUMP, CLINTON WIN BIG AT HOME IN NEW YORK - "Trump trounces rivals in New York," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Donald Trump crushed his rivals in a New York minute on Tuesday, easily defeating Ted Cruz and John Kasich on his home turf and beginning what he hopes is a late surge to the Republican presidential nomination. Early results showed Trump on track to cross a crucial threshold in the state: 50 percent support. If he clears it, he'll automatically win a batch of 14 delegates to the Republican National Convention, but it he falls short, Cruz and Kasich may pick off support of their own, which could block Trump from an outright victory." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec802e2f9a2463382d0c0433ea180b6e6eee9fc92c9fb944efc8 

- "How Bernie lost New York," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti in New York: " ... In New York, Sanders finally hit the wall, his winning streak ended by a daily pummeling that forced him on the defensive and erased the developing Comeback Kid narrative. The tabloids dealt him punishing hit after punishing hit. The Democratic establishment, most of it in Clinton's camp, piled on harder than the Sanders campaign expected. Caught up in one distraction after another - the quarrel over debate details, the back and forth with Clinton over her qualifications, a trip to the Vatican in the run-up to the election - Sanders never gained his footing, or even came close to pulling off the upset victory
 he once predicted with frequency. ... But with his position in the polls at a standstill - and in a state where the closed primary rules disadvantaged Sanders - his top advisers conspicuously started talking less about winning New York and more about his longer-term ambitions to woo super delegates before the July convention." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec807c3d4a94cb2b7548026892dcafef204806ff423fed62d411 

SUPER FRIENDS - "Donna Edwards' biggest backer," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Rep. Donna Edwards' ... [has] been lifted by millions from a prominent financier, in one of the most striking examples yet of the effect a single donor can have on one Senate candidate's fortunes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80c244cc509d673ba115c6eb5da992c506aaf21e4aafa17b55

Days until the Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island primary: 6. Days until the 2016 election: 201. 

Thanks for joining us. You can email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at [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 startups: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, and @theodoricmeyer.

NEW THIS MORNING - NEW SUPER PAC-TION - McCain super PAC launches hard-hitting ad against Republican primary opponent: Arizona Grassroots Action, a super PAC backing GOP Sen. John McCain for reelection, will attack primary opponent Kelli Ward with a new ad starting today. The 30-second spot calls Ward's national security record "dangerous and weak" and says that her votes in the state Senate left "Arizonans vulnerable to attack from terrorists." The ad also hits Ward for opposing the defense authorization act, saying she sided with "conspiracy theorists and liberals." Arizona Grassroots Action spent a few thousand dollars on online ads in 2015, but this is its first major expenditure
 against Ward. Watch the ad here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80e3158742212f1449361ce58ac3b2876373ffc56dd48e9a5f

- "Frugal Hoosiers" hit Hollingsworth in IN-09: The wealthy Indiana businessman Bill Oesterle started a super PAC last year to help Republican Senate candidate Eric Holcomb, but since Holcomb dropped out, the group has a new purpose: attacking Trey Hollingsworth, a wealthy Republican running in a crowded open-seat primary. The super PAC, Frugal Hoosiers, will launch a $170,000 radio ad campaign attacking Hollingsworth ahead of the May 3 primary, The Indianapolis Star reports. Oesterle is funding the ad buy himself, according a spokeswoman. The ads may help Hollingsworth's GOP rivals counter ads run by a super PAC funded by Hollingsworth's father. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80559db7b714dc6a752255a8a215a704fe5a5bd2292b2e0faf

- Senate Leadership Fund has also upped its buy backing Todd Young ahead of the Indiana Senate primary, USA Today reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec806962f4c58859d2d88904eedb880b0a4bcf7827d9f7e7bb2d

FIRST IN SCORE - Internal poll shows Tenney ahead in NY-22: GOP state Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney leads her Republican primary rivals by a wide margin in the race for the open seat that GOP Rep. Richard Hanna is vacating, according to a new internal poll released by Tenney's campaign. Tenney leads with 48 percent of the vote, with George Phillips taking 13 percent and Steve Wells taking 9 percent. Barry Zeplowitz & Associates conducted the poll of 400 registered Republicans last week in New York's 22nd District, an upstate swing seat. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

FUNDRAISING ROUNDUP - "House primary first quarter FEC charts," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80ac0f44e508addd99a75277b1c4e5ef82c96d72466ced2201

- The National Republican Campaign Committee raised $26.8 million in the first quarter, according to an NRCC aide, making the first three months of 2016 the committee's most lucrative ever. That gives the committee $50 million on hand, also its highest total ever at this point in an election cycle. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80541db8dfd71162e19628161b8cdbc81136533feb0a4e5695 

** 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! **

AUTUMN IS COMING - "Republicans plan $28 million in ads for fall battle over the Senate," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett: "The Senate Republicans' campaign arm is reserving nearly $28 million in TV time for the fall air wars in ... New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the NRSC aide said, locking down reservations in states they believe will be presidential battlegrounds and will become more pricey as November approaches. The NRSC will place the bulk of their money in an effort to aid their at-risk incumbents." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec8056ae4cdfa327507fe0ea8348bd2982af0a2188380fd5f29e 

- DSCC reserves $40 million in fall TV: The DSCC is reserving $40 million in TV airtime for the fall across five states: Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Colorado and Nevada. The total buy, first reported by CNN, will include $10 million each in Florida and Ohio, where Democrats are trying to win the seat of the retiring Sen. Marco Rubio and lift former Gov. Ted Strickland to victory in Ohio. The committee will reserve $8 million in New Hampshire, where Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan is in a tight race against GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte. The effort to defend the seat of Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet gets $5 million, while helping Catherine Cortez Masto win in Nevada gets $4 million.

TREND-SPOTTING - Portman out with heroin-focused web ad: Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman's campaign is out with a new ad focused on drug abuse. The ad features Wayne Campbell, who lost his son Tyler to a heroin overdose. "Rob Portman isn't just talking about the situation," Campbell says. "He's getting things done." The ad is part of the Portman campaign's ongoing digital buy. This is becoming a theme for GOP incumbents: Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey recently released an opioid-themed ad, as have groups backing New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte. See Portman's ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec8092eed2f8e5d037d0f8905917388174431954ba87b70e0158

GHOSTS OF PAST LIVES - State Sen. Darren Soto, who's running to replace Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson in Florida's 9th District, got into some hot water yesterday when Gawker published a rap Soto wrote while a member of George Washington University Law School's Law Revue, a musical and sketch comedy show. It includes lines like, "back when we were both 1-L's you were in my section/I spent everyday in Con Law, hiding my erection" and "I want to insert my dicta and give you my full case load." Soto admitted that he did write the song, "as a college student over a decade ago" for "a comic skit among a co-ed comedy troupe that was in poor taste," he said in a statement to Campaign Pro. "But, the
 fact is that in public life I have been a responsible, consistent and effective advocate for women. ...In Congress, I'll do even more by fighting for pay equity and against Republican efforts to cut health care and defund Planned Parenthood." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec804e52d202b8289753b3c51ad71087b903688ac2fcd0c05853 

GETTING THE NOD - Mosby backs Edwards for Maryland Senate: One year to the day of Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby - the state's attorney who is prosecuting the police officers involved - endorsed Rep. Donna Edwards. Mosby is the rare prosecutor to win plaudits for her handling of a police-involved death in the the Black Lives Matter era. While a planned endorsement event in Baltimore was scrapped due to a scheduling conflict, Mosby's support continues a string of recent endorsements from prominent black politicians for Edwards, including former NAACP head Kwesi Mfume. Edwards' relations with other pols have never been great, and many kept their powder dry waiting for Rep.
 Elijah Cummings to enter the race. But the endorsement should help rebut criticism that Edwards is difficult to work with. 

- Club for Growth endorses Fleming in Louisiana: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80d75bf4a1e97c39aa4d6a078134bc168f3d98206ef78b4eb6

POLLING DATA - NORTH CAROLINA poll has Cooper 48, McCrory 42: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec806b379465446a75c50e6f1131814a445ee97b7c23d39945a6

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Cruz campaign hunts for delegate deserters," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney and Darren Samuelsohn: "By all accounts, Dick Dever - a recently elected North Dakota delegate to the Republican national convention - is a supporter of Ted Cruz. All accounts, that is, but one: Dick Dever's. The state senator from Bismarck said Cruz courted him in a half-hour phone call the day before North Dakota's state convention this month. Cruz listed Dever among a slate of 25 proposed delegates the next day, and the Texas senator's supporters voted for Dever to represent them at the national convention in July. But Dever says he never actually promised to back Cruz. ...Dever is the face
 of a growing concern for Cruz - one that's dogged Donald Trump for weeks and cast into doubt his ability to win the Republican presidential nomination: delegate loyalty." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80de68a9415bb412fdcaf596d38929f5a9eac4cbd0bedd1a26

- "Donald Trump's Jet, a Regular on the Campaign Trail, Isn't Registered to Fly," by The New York Times' Susanne Craig: "Over the past several months, Donald J. Trump has crisscrossed the country making dozens of campaign stops in places like Sioux City, Iowa, and Jackson, Miss., often in his sleek Cessna jet. There is just one hitch: The plane's registration is expired. Records kept with the Federal Aviation Administration show the aircraft's registration lapsed on Jan. 31. Laura J. Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, confirmed that the plane's registration was not in good standing and said the owner had not renewed it. With few exceptions, aircraft must be
 registered in order to fly. Mr. Trump's plane could be grounded for days, or even months, while the issue is sorted out. In the event of an accident, the company that insures the jet could cite the lapsed registration to decline any claims." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec809f6a00db95d1c5490194c3c3dbcea72dfdd7aff94fb8543a 

- "Trump Campaign Paid A Breitbart Editor For Consulting Work," by Buzzfeed's Rosie Gray: Donald Trump's campaign paid Breitbart News national security editor Sebastian Gorka $8,000 for "policy consulting" last year, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The filings show that the payment to Gorka was made in October. Gorka has been repeatedly identified on Breitbart as Breitbart's national security editor, with an appearance on Monday on Breitbart's satellite radio show being the most recent example. Gorka has also written frequently for the site, though not since December." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec802f2e33e31a9c3b7ed36672a660cd2c6f34a69de6ce694dc6 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Today you proved again, there's no place like home," Hillary Clinton said in her New York primary victory speech, POLITICO reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=7349fac74ea8ec80b5aea55afbc2d3d591b0d1bcf89405452bb0d67fc90d0cd8 

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: News, opinions, and entertainment surround us 24/7, yet a fundamental truth remains, whether for competitive races or impactful ballot measures, the TV commercial reigns as the medium for reaching potential voters. TV helps strongly at the margins. Television is also the easiest way to reach undecided voters. Those passive folks who don't show up at the rallies or ask for email updates, but will be there to pull the levers on Election Day. At the Sinclair Broadcast Group, one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country, we combine TV with targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad
 solutions, to help your messaging break through the noise. Winning is what matters. At the Sinclair Broadcast Group, we have the ad tools necessary to help you to persuade, enlighten and activate. Contact Alan Brittan, Sinclair's Director of Political Ads for more details @ 703-236-9673. **

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