Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Forbes falls in Virginia — (But GOP incumbents are still having a great year) — Heck, Cortez Masto advance in Nevada — Kihuen, Tarkanian win contested Nevada House primaries
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2016 08:03:49 -0600

By Kevin Robillard | 06/15/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Scott Bland, Maggie Severns 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)

PRIMARY RESULTS - GOP INCUMBENT NUMBER TWO FALLS AS FORBES LOSES IN VIRGINIA: Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns has the story: "GOP Rep. Randy Forbes lost his primary Tuesday night, marking the second time in two weeks that redistricting played a role in felling a Republican House member." State Del. Scott Taylor now has the inside track to Congress after winning the GOP nod. "Forbes currently represents Virginia's 4th District, but he decided to run for reelection in the Virginia Beach-based 2nd District after court-ordered redistricting made his old seat heavily Democratic. Republican Rep. Scott Rigell left the 2nd District open when he retired, and Forbes campaigned there on his clout on
 military issues, including a powerful naval subcommittee chairmanship, which Forbes argued would help him boost the region's military economy. But Forbes' insider pitch fell flat. Taylor, a former Navy SEAL and current state lawmaker, painted Forbes as both a Washington insider and a 2nd District outsider. Ultimately, the populous Virginia Beach area - which Forbes had never represented but where Taylor had previously run for mayor as well as Congress - voted strongly in Taylor's favor, dooming Forbes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e701ffa96fe4237d69ffe28334ffaa2da8e99688f943c29a3

- Taylor will face Democrat Shaun Brown, who ran unopposed for her party's nomination, in the general election. VA-02 has been a talked-about Democratic target for years, but it appears to have fallen off the map despite the district's evenly split recent presidential results. Brown has little political experience; in 2010, she ran for Newport News City Council and received only 15 percent of the vote. 

- Heck, Cortez Masto cruise in Nevada Senate primaries: "GOP Rep. Joe Heck and Democratic former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto will face each other in Nevada's Senate race this fall after easily winning their primaries tonight. Heck, a three-term congressman, had 69 percent of the vote percent when The Associated Press called his nine-way primary with 10 percent of precincts reporting. 2010 GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle, who lost to Democratic Sen. Harry Reid that year, had 19 percent in a failed comeback attempt. Cortez Masto, who is running keep the retiring Reid's seat in Democratic hands, had 82 percent of the vote in her primary when it was called with 10 percent of
 precincts reporting." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e25c48aa4b46f420867fc6468159cf3d7df18bdbcdbd86a06

- Kihuen wins Dem nod to take on Hardy in NV-04: State Sen. Ruben Kihuen will be the nominee in one of House Democrats' top target districts after running away with the primary. Kihuen, who had support from Reid, the Culinary Union, and Bill Clinton, had 41 percent of the vote to 25 percent for Lucy Flores and 21 percent for Susie Lee when the AP called the primary. Lee had support from EMILY's List and Flores was backed by Bernie Sanders - she was the first of Sanders' endorsed down-ballot candidates to compete in a primary this year. See the Nevada House results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ed55d7a7dc40fca7c4ddca667084304b2745c53810ee3bfa6

- Republican Tarkanian, Dem Rosen win primaries in battleground NV-03: Tarkanian withstood a late barrage of outside money from Ending Spending to win the GOP nod over state lawmakers Michael Roberson (whom Ending Spending backed) and Michele Fiore. Tarkanian, a frequent candidate for office in Nevada, had 34 percent to Roberson's 24 percent and Fiore's 18 percent when The Associated Press called the race with three-quarters of precincts in. (Heck left the seat open to run for Senate.) Tarkanian will face synagogue president Jacky Rosen in the general election; Rosen cleared 60 percent of the vote in her primary. Results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ed55d7a7dc40fca7c4ddca667084304b2745c53810ee3bfa6

- McEachin wins Dem nod in open Virginia seat: "State Sen. Donald McEachin easily won the Democratic primary in Virginia's open 4th District, which was recently redrawn and now favors Democrats." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ec132259e3aa9dc9c85922b7694d3db580a7d392cf4f5fd39

BIG PICTURE - "House Republicans dodge tea party defeats - so far," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: Forbes and Renee Ellmers are the only GOP incumbents to lose primaries so far this year, and both were casualties of recent redistricting. "Many conservative Republicans are flummoxed that [anti-incumbent primary] challengers haven't had more success, though Republican operatives point to several factors that have helped make this a banner year so far for GOP incumbents, despite widespread voter anger." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ea21d8f1ec7cc7081728f2bfa716053e7c6e391ea79cfcd37

There are 145 days until the 2016 election. There are 13 days until the Colorado, New York, Oregon and Utah congressional primaries. Thanks for joining us. I'm Kevin Robillard, taking a spin at the wheel of Morning Score this week. 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 the weirdest gate at DCA: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

WATCH ELENA PLAY SOFTBALL TONIGHT: Campaign Pro's own Elena Schneider will take the field for the Bad News Babes (journalists) against a team of congresswomen in the annual Congressional Women's Softball Game. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. with a 7 p.m. pregame at the Watkins Recreation Center, 420 12th Street SE. All the proceeds benefit the Young Survival Coalition, "the premier global organization dedicated to the critical issues unique to young women who are diagnosed with breast cancer." Tickets are available here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152eca34cca8a00999042eba8fb3f98c783f1eaf68adc3482a01

MORE TUESDAY RESULTS - Outsider Burgum romps in North Dakota: Former Microsoft executive and entrepreneur Doug Burgum romped to victory over four-term Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in North Dakota's GOP gubernatorial primary, putting him on a path to be the state's next governor. Stenehjem was the favorite, and won at the state's GOP convention, but Burgum's outsider message and heavy spending won over the state's broader Republican electorate. Results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e0e224d966802dd3032efde84fc7a70d913e05b03b28fa5dc

- Sanford inviting a 2018 challenger? - GOP Rep. Mark Sanford only took 56 percent of the vote in his primary Tuesday night in SC-01. He barely spent out of his campaign account, despite having nearly $1 million on hand. His challenger, Jenny Horne, didn't raise much - just over $100,000 - but her strong performance indicates there still might be enough anti-Sanford sentiment in the district to make him vulnerable to a stronger challenge. Results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152efe60ea8e9e760f7ae5e7612e4acee2726d7ac0396f790349

NAVIGATING TRUMP - McCrory attends fundraiser, but not rally: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory appeared at a fundraiser for Trump yesterday, a step some other statewide GOP (and Democratic) candidates have not taken with recent visits by presidential nominees. The fundraiser was at the home of Louis DeJoy and Aldona Wos. Wos was McCrory's first Health and Human Services Secretary. A federal investigation into employment and outsourcing contracts at the department is now in its 11th month and started a week before Wos resigned last year.

AIR WARS - NEW THIS A.M.: Portman begins airing radio ads: GOP Sen. Rob Portman will run radio ads hitting opponent Ted Strickland in southeastern Ohio, saying he's "changed" and works against the coal industry. A narrator touts Portman's recent endorsement from the United Mine Workers of America and calls him "the leader we can trust." The ad is Portman's first radio ad of the cycle. It's airing amidst an escalating war over which candidate can best represent the area's interests."Ted Strickland is no friend to southeast Ohio," the radio ad says. 

- House Majority PAC hits Garrett: House Majority PAC is airing a new ad attacking Republican Scott Garrett in New Jersey's 5th District over his anti-gay comments in a closed-door meeting. "Businesses are horrified and by his bigotry against gays," the narrator says. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ea9f005a06e18799abfafdd276bca6a0aabc1f3892dae2051

- Senate Majority PAC attacks Hassan, Portman: Senate Majority PAC is up with new ads in New Hampshire and Ohio. The New Hampshire spot attacks GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte over a "vile" ad aired by a GOP outside group on the heroin epidemic: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e282cdef1c8dd11c1f13586a4b226dd517e4f84cb9430f612 The Ohio spot returns to attacking GOP Sen. Rob Portman on China and trade: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ec944afe0be564f1cb930c891d0db6f6f0ed68524911a2f02

- Club for Growth links Boustany to Obama, Richmond: The Club for Growth attacks Reps. Charles Boustany and Cedric Richmond for supporting the Export-Import Bank in a new ad, linking them both to Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. The ad has an obvious side benefit for the Club, whose PAC has endorsed Rep. John Fleming over Boustany in Louisiana's Senate race. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e68134a15c50855739c15443f8c918789043ddcfe86434d74

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Clinton wins D.C. primary," by POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum: "Hillary Clinton won the final Democratic primary Tuesday night as voters in Washington, D.C., delivered a resounding win to the party's presumptive nominee, one week after she clinched the nomination." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152ee1085375c913bdc24f10de111d81c40c50825abf62045a44

- "Sanders scripts his primary-season finale," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "With the campaign staff dramatically downsized in recent days, senior aides have been holding more frequent calls with their counterparts at Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn than ever before, starting conversations about what exactly Sanders wants in the convention platform or the Democratic Party's rules before he throws his support to Clinton or formally bows out. Neither of those concrete steps is expected anytime soon, but they're both on the table over the longer term. The animating question for people close to the Sanders operation now is not whether he slides out of the race before the convention -
 that won't happen, they believe - but how he finds a comfortable position campaigning against Trump while still agitating for his desired changes within the Democratic Party." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec9d46bf8e0152e22752fad54e408ca9b6161b6eac1d4ab540b2a7c650a7e83

- "Convicted Ponzi schemer: I'll conduct $50 million marketing campaign for Trump," by POLITICO's Hanna Trudo and Kenneth P. Vogel: "Steven Hoffenberg filed paperwork in late April to create a super PAC called Get Our Jobs Back, Inc. The PAC, which has yet to disclose any cash donations, filed a report on Tuesday indicating that a company called Statware, Inc. was making an in-kind donation of services worth $50 million. The PAC listed the services as 'Digital Media Marketing, Revenue Sharing,' though there's little evidence yet of such a campaign. ... Hoffenberg, a born-again Christian and a former owner of the New York Post, spent more than a decade in federal prison for committing what
 the SEC called 'one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history.' ... Reached by phone, Hoffenberg initially said he would charge $1 million for an interview, then said he doesn't do interviews and referred questions to a spokesman. When a reporter pointed out that it was a federal crime to knowingly report false information on an FEC form, Hoffenberg threatened to sue if the reporter suggested that the FEC form contained false information." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=260aeac96d2d962c602cc71365640a4e5d60274d77eafd2b274a4683118bfb2a

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We're in politics. Nothing is surprising." - Jeb Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz, on whether he's surprised former #NeverTrump operatives are working to get Trump elected, in an excellent Huffington Post interview with Diaz, Cruz campaign manager Jeff Roe and Rubio communications director Alex Conant. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=260aeac96d2d962ce0f2aee698f74cd1121b11d7dd21de99af6246dc4a1da47b

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