Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Warren endorses Clinton — Tough post-redistricting races continue with Virginia primaries — One Nation boosts Portman
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2016 08:03:36 -0600

By Theodoric Meyer | 06/10/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard, Elena Schneider, Scott Bland, Marc Caputo and Edward-Isaac Dovere

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)

GETTING THE NOD - "Warren, Biden endorse Clinton, call Trump racist," by POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere: "Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren both ripped into Donald Trump as a 'racist' on Thursday - but not before Biden tipped his hand for his official endorsement, saying 'God willing,' Hillary Clinton will be the next president of the United States. Biden made the comments, delivered in an offhand tangent, shortly after meeting with Bernie Sanders at his Naval Observatory home. Warren had already taped her endorsement of Clinton in an appearance on MSNBC that aired after she spoke. And of course, both followed President Barack Obama's official endorsement of Clinton
 released earlier in the day." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6b5287564afd1f8af347a3f579849e63b50f410eb02c0e067ca5d4b313f3e5b

- After Warren endorsed Clinton, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow asked the Massachusetts senator whether she felt confident she could be commander-in-chief if she became Clinton's vice president and had to assume the presidency. "Yes, I do," Warren replied. "The statement comes on the heels of intense speculation over whether Clinton, by picking Warren - a darling of the progressive wing of the Democratic party - could help bring wayward Bernie Sanders supporters into the fold. Earlier on Thursday, Clinton told POLITICO in an interview that Warren was indeed "qualified" to be vice president." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6b5287564afd1f8dbfc3f1121d03e82469e3ed220b8e548509a2eee0b0ff690

PRIMARY PREVIEW - "Redistricting threatens to shake up Virginia House delegation again," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "A week after redistricting endangered several North Carolina members and condemned GOP Rep. Renee Ellmers to a primary loss to a colleague, Virginia's congressional map redraw from earlier this year has plunged another incumbent into a tough race for his future. GOP Rep. Randy Forbes ... is going full throttle with costly television ads and mailers as his primary run draws to a close, outspending opponents 10 to 1. But challenger Scott Taylor, a Republican state legislator, has picked up traction nonetheless, observers say." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6b5287564afd1f85f65387aea24572abed4e925e15a2cd419fb76bf79324016

NEW THIS MORNING - One Nation ad boosts Portman on Medicare: The Republican nonprofit One Nation is airing a new ad in Ohio boosting GOP Sen. Rob Portman on Medicare, which starts with a warning: "An Obama administration proposal to change Medicare threatens Ohio seniors, especially cancer patients." The ad then showcases Dr. Charles Bane, an oncologist in Dayton, who warns the changes will make care more expensive and says it "could reduce access to cancer treatment." The ad tells viewers to call Portman and thank him for fighting the Obama administration. The ad is the start of $4.8 million buy in the state for June and July. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c76326fd462c9a6858b4fa04df440955ddead97cb8de952986e

Days until the District of Columbia Democratic primary and the Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia congressional primaries: 4. Days until the 2016 election: 151.

Thanks for joining us. You can 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 almost as much about the Congressional Women's Softball Game: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

AIR SUPPORT - Rand Paul super PAC ad links Senate opponent to Hillary Clinton: America's Liberty PAC, one of the super PACs that backed Rand Paul's presidential bid, will start airing a new TV ad in Kentucky this evening during the NBA Finals. Its target: Paul's Democrat opponent, Jim Gray, whom the PAC is linking to Hillary Clinton. Digital ads from the NRSC and others have done this before, but this is one of the earliest TV efforts seeking to link Clinton and down-ballot Democrats. "Hillary Clinton is so deeply disliked by middle class, working Americans that she is going to be an anchor on the Democrat ticket, not just in Kentucky but in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and elsewhere," said
 America's Liberty PAC President John Tate.

- The ad calls Clinton "Crooked Hillary" and includes video of her recent quote about coal: "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." A narrator then says, "Jim Gray backs Hillary because they're the same kind of liberal, big government, coal-hating politicians." Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a6b5287564afd1f8224435aba84c3a897ae6cdb40a03911f88d4bdbee5f80244

- Rooney goes up with first TV ad in FL-19: Francis Rooney, the Republican fundraiser turned Florida congressional candidate, started to spend some of his fortune this week as he unveiled his first TV and radio ads. "The D.C. insiders from both parties have let us down. We need change," a narrator says in the ad. "Francis Rooney is a businessman, not a politician. Rooney is from the construction industry - where he's created thousands of jobs." Rooney, a former ambassador to the Holy See from 2005-2008, faces consultant Chauncey Goss in the GOP primary in 19th District, which GOP Rep. Curt Clawson unexpectedly decided to retire. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c766905113deb2a5e2c7eeec3a630340ec0c56c84a496bc230d

LEAVING THE PARTY - O'Connor will run as an independent in NH-01 battleground: Shawn O'Connor, one of two Democrats running against GOP Rep. Frank Guinta in New Hampshire, says he will run instead as an independent. His decision injects new uncertainty into a volatile race that's a top Democratic pickup opportunity. Guinta is unpopular and faces a strong primary challenge from Rich Ashooh. O'Connor, a businessman, could have the resources to support his own campaign; he seeded it with $1 million last year. O'Connor's move comes after a feud with former Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, the remaining Democratic candidate... it's unclear whether O'Connor's high-powered consultant roster will stick by
 him. More on that here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c766be827f235733b098921b8758bfeef1bddbb30346b5cef36

THE BIDEN TOUCH - Biden to headline fundraiser for Wasserman Schultz: One week after President Barack Obama was in Miami fundraising for the Democratic National Committee - and declaring that Democrats needed to "have her back" like the DNC chairwoman has had his back over the years - Vice President Joe Biden is headed to Florida to headline a fundraiser just for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Biden will be at the home of Stephen and Sabine Bittel on June 12 for a fundraiser asking for the maximum $2,700 contribution or co-hosts to come in at $10,000 to come to a special reception. Wasserman Schultz is facing Bernie Sanders-backed Tim Canova in a primary. 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c764f9e71e808edc274af9411ee25f15bb5d1544654564fab6a

CANARY IN A POLL MINE - Johnson hits 12 percent in Fox News poll: Could the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson make it onto the presidential debate stage alongside Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump? A new Fox News poll released Thursday evening has Johnson at 12 percent - his best showing in any poll this cycle, and closing in on the 15 percent that Johnson would need to be achieve in an average of polls to make it into the debates. "The only chance we have of winning is to be in the presidential debates, and of course that is a 15 percent threshold," Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico said in an interview this week in POLITICO's newsroom.

- Johnson has been critical of both Trump and Clinton, but it's clear that he feels more animus toward Trump - and sees him as a deadweight on Republicans down the ballot. "As an elected Republican, you've got to back the nominee," Johnson said, pausing. "I can't believe they're all going to go down together. They're gonna all go down."

A SUNNIER SIDE - "Charles Koch and his company launch 'end the divide' ad campaign," by USA Today's Fredreka Schouten: "Working to soften his partisan image, conservative billionaire Charles Koch's industrial conglomerate this week will launch a television and digital advertising campaign that calls for Americans of all political stripes to 'end the divide' as he seeks broader support for his free-market ideas and defends his corporate brand. The advertising, which starts Friday, aims to 'get a national conversation going,' Koch told USA TODAY. 'Let's stop attacking people we disagree with and trying to silence them.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c76775409691e6eec1f5787d98b24d0f58f3d5ffd40e86cf591

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Why Obama waited," by POLITICO's Glenn Thrush: "Democrats are finally getting their dream ticket, Clinton-Obama, eight years after many expected - and months later than some on Clinton's campaign would have hoped. ... Sitting presidents often endorse their favorites much earlier in the primary process. But Obama and his team deferred an announcement, a half dozen top officials close to the 2008 rivals told POLITICO, to protect the president - and Clinton - from a backlash born from the belief that the election was rigged. It was a characteristically cool political calculation: Loyalty was a powerful motive to jump sooner but preserving Obama's credibility with
 rebellious progressives was even more important." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c766b08b32ec2c6773525affec0afaa184f9521c49609e596bb

- "The Sanders wind-down begins," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "The courtship letters [that Bernie Sanders'] campaign had planned to send superdelegates have been put on hold. His go-to argument - that he polls better against Donald Trump than Clinton - has been scrubbed from his public statements. There are mass staff departures, and his digital firm set up a new site to help laid off staffers find their next gig. ... It's a swift denouement for a campaign that had been bleeding money and staff for weeks, hastened by the surprising margin of Sanders' loss in California on Tuesday night - which his aides hadn't anticipated partly because they stopped polling in California days earlier
 due to the cost." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c7604e07ea38a83c1851fd39b5c40ebaa8ca04aa9ba9506b1b3

- "Carson says Trump knows judge attack was wrong," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "In public, Donald Trump insists his racial attacks on an Indiana-born judge of Mexican descent have been "misconstrued." But in private, Trump concedes he made a mistake, according to Ben Carson, a top advisor and former rival for the Republican presidential nomination. 'He fully recognizes that that was not the right thing to say,' Carson said in an interview, noting he's heard Trump say so himself during a private meeting this week at Trump Tower." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c76f11eafe6213e8f3c2eee549f926c67d6349b2bfead3cb586

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You know me. I will f***ing kill you if I don't get this." - Paul DiGaetano, allegedly. State Sen. Kevin O'Toole, a New Jersey Republican, told The Star-Ledger that DiGaetano had threatened to kill him in 2005 if he didn't support DiGaetano's gubernatorial bid. DiGaetano has denied it. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3193a25708123c76ba8fe166fd6e7c33017fe34f599bdc21fb60e08fa4278999

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