Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score, presented by Sinclair Broadcast Group: The decision: Rubio back in — GOP Senate campaigns ignore Trump visits — Previewing the June 28 primaries
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2016 08:05:59 -0600

By Theodoric Meyer | 06/23/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Scott Bland, Maggie Severns and Kevin Robillard

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)

IN - "Rubio blasts opponents, Trump as he announces reelection," by POLITICO's Marc Caputo and Burgess Everett: "In a complete about-face, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio officially announced an eleventh-hour reelection bid Wednesday, making him the instant front-runner in a key battleground state and lifting Republican hopes that they can hang on to the U.S. Senate. ... Rubio said the election is too important to miss since the GOP could potentially lose the Senate majority. And in a sign he recognizes the damage his party's de facto presidential nominee could do to his bid, Rubio said he wouldn't hesitate to criticize Donald Trump when he makes inflammatory statements or advocates ideas he
 disagrees with. ... He dismissed [Rep. Patrick] Murphy, the favorite of national Democrats, as a spoiled rich kid." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785e27a06a04c68d00da0c5523e98ff9b2fd58a51320d914ce8

- "Rubio decision instantly reshapes Florida races," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: "Two Republican Senate candidates - Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Rep. Ron DeSantis - moved to drop out of the race after news that Rubio was seeking reelection." DeSantis is running for reelection to his House seat instead. "State Rep. David Santiago, a Republican running for what had been the open congressional seat, will not challenge DeSantis and will instead run for reelection to his [state] House seat." BUT: Senate candidate Carlos Beruff, "a Manatee County developer, continued to frame Rubio as a Washington insider, a narrative his campaign has been building as the Rubio re-election rumors
 grew." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785ab4e617b6aef28b9165d8a0fd8061121aa290235c25e2bdb

- Fifty-seven percent of registered Republicans back Rubio, according a new robopoll conducted on Sunday and Monday for Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC. Carlos Beruff, who's vowed to stay in the race, had 5 percent support, and Todd Wilcox had 4 percent. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Here's the polling memo: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785af58593c005fa9661007ecfbe3aa4ca7ea2f7a00e166766a

- "Democrats set out to finish Rubio," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Democrats hope not to just defeat ... Rubio, but to finish him. Make no mistake: Rubio's decision to run for reelection instead of retiring will make it more difficult for Democrats to win his seat. But Democratic operatives working on the Florida Senate race were outwardly giddy about the opportunity to defeat the Republican star before he can get back to the national stage, an opportunity they missed with Rubio, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and other leading Republicans in their states in recent years." More on the Democratic gameplan: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785c196816e593532b77cc7b1abc4c4ab1b5baed87d4169b016

- Investigation finds Murphy never won contracts to clean up Gulf oil spill: Jim DeFede, a reporter for the CBS station in Miami, spent months digging into Rubio's likely Democratic opponent, Rep. Patrick Murphy, and found he's repeatedly misrepresented his business background. Murphy frequently touted his experience as an accountant, but DeFede found that he'd taken the CPA exam nine times before passing. He's also talked up his experience as a small business owner who won contracts to help clean up after the Gulf oil spill in 2010. But Murphy's father owned the business, not Murphy, and it was "never awarded single contract to clean up oil in the Gulf." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd978581df20e079782a38a2fd9d6dc7af0fdff3984f68599c5062

Days until the 2016 election: 138.

Days until the Colorado, New York, Oklahoma and Utah congressional primaries: 5. 

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 occasionally about Louis CK's take on 2016: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer, @maggieseverns.

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SWING STATE SWINGS - "GOP Senate campaigns ignore Trump visits," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "Hillary Clinton and Ted Strickland, Democrats' nominee for Senate in Ohio, lavished each other with praise Tuesday at Clinton's rally in Columbus. 'It's wonderful to be here with the next president of the United States,' Strickland said. Clinton returned the favor: 'I want to thank Gov. Ted Strickland, who I hope is soon to be Sen. Ted Strickland!' Will Republican senators be as effusive when they share a stage with Donald Trump? So far, they haven't given us a chance to find out. Two weeks into the general election, the only battleground GOP Senate candidate to attend a local event with Trump
 is Kelli Ward, Sen. John McCain's tea-party primary challenger. Since closing out the primary season in California, Republicans' presumptive presidential nominee has given speeches in four states with major Senate races - New Hampshire, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada - without an appearance by a GOP senator or Senate nominee." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd978568c4f846c6bd400fa6499d61c63c8fb8de36439ced10ba67

PERENNIAL PRIMARIES - "Recurring primary threat hangs over Lamborn in Colorado," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785dcd84fe88991be2575dad2406055f35d7b1932ff8b35c012

AIR SUPPORT - U.S. Chamber hits the air to defend McCain: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is launching an Arizona TV campaign praising GOP Sen. John McCain and starring a former Arizona Diamondbacks legend. "After 9/11, we were part of the healing process," former outfielder Luis Gonzalez, whose Game 7 hit won the 2001 World Series for the Diamondbacks, says in the spot. "To see our senator in the stands there, to show the people that we're strong - that's a sense of pride that we all have as Americans. I trust John McCain with our national and economic security. He's a fighter." Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd97858b066ea05c73f3701237236f1bf182ecee6093c9afb41477

- Kirk boasts about Trump change of heart in new ad: GOP Sen. Mark Kirk's latest TV ad goes well beyond distancing Kirk from Donald Trump. "Mark Kirk bucked his party to say Donald Trump is not fit to be commander in chief," a narrator says, while headlines on Kirk's decision to withdraw his support for Trump flash across the screen. The ad will run on cable and broadcast television through the end of the month in the Chicago area. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785c046fe778aa9b613e070859e6422ffe1c56c481e29c1eaa2 

- EMILY's List debuts new attack ad against Toomey: Women Vote!, the EMILY's List super PAC, is going up with an emotional new TV ad going after GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. "I survived breast cancer," a Montgomery County woman says in the spot. "If the doctors hadn't caught it early I might not be sitting here. So I'm outraged that Pat Toomey voted to defund Planned Parenthood, which thousands of Pennsylvania women depend on for cancer screenings." The ad never mentions Democrat Katie McGinty, whom EMILY's List has endorsed. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd97855127838d0ddad8b36bf7cd662c5d33fc111c3f19ee20156d

- Johnson's second TV ad continues focus on business career: Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's second TV ad continues a focus on his career in business. The new ad features Johnson speaking direct to camera: "Not many of us start at the top. Most of us start at the bottom. I sure did." Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785d6e1bcd996f81294b4fe9515f1ef82e7144b5e04295e20ac

CASH HUSTLE - Trump campaign says it has raised $3 million online: Donald Trump's campaign has brought in $3 million online since Trump sent the campaign's first fundraising email on Tuesday, Steven Mnuchin, Trump's national finance chairman, told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. Trump had pledged in the email to match what he raised dollar-for-dollar, up to $2 million, bringing in $5 million overall. Sean Spicer, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, also tweeted on Wednesday that the Trump campaign and the joint fundraising committee it has set up with the RNC had pulled in more than $5 million online since Tuesday, though it was not clear how that money was divided.

FINANCIAL TIMES - Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in campaign finance case: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Friday in Republican Party of Louisiana v. FEC, in which Jim Bopp - the lawyer who won the Citizens United case six year ago - is trying to undo state and local party contribution limits. Here's Carrie Levine's recent POLITICO Magazine story about the case: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785799fff0b8b3e019a72e6995e6aaa62632dcaa91e5b96f9f7

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Kaine rises to top of Clinton's veep list," by POLITICO's Annie Karni and Gabriel Debenedetti: "Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine is emerging as the leading candidate atop Hillary Clinton's vice presidential short list, according to Democratic allies and operatives close to the campaign. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and HUD Secretary Julian Castro are also top prospects for the Democratic ticket - both representing nods to important Democratic constituencies. But they have serious drawbacks that make them less appealing for Clinton than the Spanish-speaking, Terry McAuliffe-endorsed, former missionary and swing state governor, who was a finalist in Barack Obama's vice presidential
 vetting process eight years ago."http://politi.co/28TNGOd

- "RNC fundraisers hedge on Trump," by POLITICO's Kenneth P. Vogel: "Donald Trump is relying on the Republican National Committee to help him dig out of a financial hole, but GOP fundraisers are privately encouraging major donors who are leery of Trump to steer their cash to the party instead of to his campaign, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the solicitations. The fundraisers are emphasizing to donors that they can write huge checks to the party, with only a small fraction of the cash - if any - going to the billionaire real estate mogul, according to documents and interviews with fundraisers and donors." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd9785d623014ee790ac6e8c948ac7f8cf3bc9f12f55dcf38a089b

- "Trump's secret plan to quash a 'Dump Trump' convention plot," by POLITICO's Kenneth P. Vogel and Kyle Cheney: "Donald Trump's campaign is preparing a sophisticated operation to fight back against resurgent plans by recalcitrant conservatives to deny him the nomination at next month's Republican National Convention. In a high-level Tuesday night conference call led partly by Trump's top adviser Paul Manafort and including 200 staffers and volunteers, Trump's senior convention aides sketched out a whip operation led by a half-dozen operatives with deep convention experience. The effort will rely on a team of 150 volunteers and paid staff to keep the convention's 2,472 delegates in line,
 and it will utilize a database with information on many of the delegates." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd97856ade28bce35837ca0c855c289144a060ee96d277ae8a6358

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Donald was known to be a bully, I was a little kid, and my parents didn't want me beaten up." - Dennis Burnham, a business consultant in Texas who grew up around the corner from Donald Trump. His parents told him to avoid Trump, who once threw rocks at him. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=e14a5dc249bd978563a75ca68b582b0f94dd0924cd4b70827d320a4284f85a27

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