Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: On deck: Colorado, New York, Oklahoma, Utah go to the polls Tuesday — Big spending in New York House races — Freedom Partners ads in Nevada, Ohio
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2016 08:02:36 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 06/27/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard and Maggie Severns

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)

NEW YORK'S BIG SPENDERS - "Upstate New York House races take expensive turn," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: "Nobody expects running for Congress in the New York City area - the most expensive media market in the country - to come cheap. But it's two upstate New York House races that seem poised to become major money pits for the candidates, their parties and a host of super PACs this year. Money has already flowed into the races to replace retiring GOP Reps. Richard Hanna and Chris Gibson, and there are no signs the deluge will stop after voters cast their primary ballots on Tuesday ... Several other upstate House races figure to be hotly contested this fall ... but the races for
 Gibson and Hanna's seats are already absorbing millions of dollars." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed70b4b0ce6aeef902a07765cc7be171e8fcaea1b93fa775cff7

- In NY-24, Auburn's The Citizen did a final check in with the three Democrats running to take on GOP Rep. John Katko. Read up on their final words: With Colleen Deacon: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed706b5ad080a197eec900c01df6899450a158252e0dcc852bcd ... With Steve Williams: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed709510ad2aaa896747614b46654a95c76b93d32d3a38eca28b ... With Eric Kingson: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed705b8c6abb82e51696fb60f7ebceb466d5708c9f47a30b143c 

- Bernie Sanders rallied for Kingson on Friday; WSYR has the write-up here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed7090922e6d313b4e45baf8dea283b5c3362fb2039645c9f675

NEW ON TV - "Freedom Partners hitting Cortez Masto, Strickland in new Senate ads," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Freedom Partners Action Fund, the Koch brothers-backed super PAC, is spending nearly $4 million on new attack ads in two critical Senate races. The group is spending $1.2 million on TV and digital ads to attack Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto for working to bar Uber and other transportation apps from the state when she was attorney general. Republicans have long hoped Democratic moves to block Uber and similar companies in different states and cities around the country could help drive tech-savvy young voters toward the GOP. ...The super PAC is also spending $2.7
 million on digital and television ads criticizing former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland for his handling of the state's budget. Like an earlier ad in the state featuring a worker who lost his job, this ad features a testimonial from a small-business owner." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed702aa303c09502a6d8ec08b6f8ec45acc5487a1a9c860e1771

COURT DRAMA - Duckworth settles lawsuit: A lawsuit against Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth settled Friday, a setback for opponent Sen. Mark Kirk, whose campaign has frequently used the case as fodder for attacks on Duckworth. The lawsuit, which alleged Duckworth retaliated inappropriately against two employees while at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, settled for $26,000. There was no finding of wrongdoing, The Chicago Tribune reports. The case was set to go to trial in August, which would have allowed the Kirk campaign to extract maximum political mileage. In a statement, Duckworth spokesman Matt McGrath said that the settlement was "appropriate for what was always a frivolous
 workplace case." More from The Chicago Tribune: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed70d2c9ff1c10d3dd1c3df4a21909e5000c633bf714b5e264b1 

- But the Kirk campaign is keeping the heat on. Campaign spokesman Kevin Artl kept the heat on in a statement Friday, saying that "the simple truth is that if Tammy Duckworth was innocent, she would not have settled this case... Duckworth has chosen to stay silent and settle the case at taxpayer expense in order to hide from the truth. Duckworth's actions have cost Illinois taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars while prolonging the legacy of Rod Blagojevich corruption."

Days until the 2016 election: 134.

Days until the Colorado, New York, Oklahoma and Utah congressional primaries: 1. 

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 cicadas: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer, @maggieseverns.

FIRST IN SCORE - Senate Majority PAC reserves $9 million in fall TV in Pennsylvania: The leading Democratic Senate super PAC has reserved $9 million worth of time this fall in Pennsylvania to boost Democrat Katie McGinty and attack GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, and says that number should grow. The buy start September 6 and runs through Election Day. Both Senate Majority PAC and the DSCC held off on placing Pennsylvania buys this spring because it was unclear who would win the state's Democratic primary. "Pat Toomey has spent his time in the Senate working for big banks and Wall Street at the expense of middle-class families across Pennsylvania," Senate Majority PAC spokesman Shripal Shah said.
 "We're going to hold him accountable." 

NRSC WORKS TO KEEP MURPHY ATTACK ALIVE - The NRSC is determined to amplify CBS Miami's damaging report on Florida Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy's resume enhancements as much as possible, buying digital banner ads in the state that link directly to the report. 

FIRST IN SCORE - President Obama sends fundraising missive for Feingold: Former Sen. Russ Feingold, who is already outraising Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and is the top fundraiser among Democratic challengers this cycle, should get an additional money boost as President Barack Obama sends out a fundraising email for him this morning: "Russ is an honest, independent-minded public servant who's not driven by what's politically expedient: He's driven by what he knows is right for the people of Wisconsin," Obama will write in the email.

CALIFORNIA CANDIDATES, STILL DREAMING ABOUT SECOND - Some House races still undecided, per AP: Two weeks after the primary, a handful of House races are still too close to call to set up the , according to the Associated Press. In California's 24th District, Democrat Salud Carbajal has a 10-point lead over his opponents, but the second-place finisher is still undecided between Republicans Justin Fareed and state Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian. Fareed leads by just under two percentage points, per the AP. It's stil unclear who will take GOP Rep. David Valadao, as Daniel Parra and Emilio Huerta are separated by one percentage point. Parra, who disappointed Democrats with poor fundraising,
 stayed in the race even after Huerta, son of labor leader Dolores Huerta, got in. 

- Add another Dem-versus-Dem race ... Two Democrats will face off to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who's in her own Democrat vs. Democrat battle for the Senate, as local mayor Bao Nguyen finally advanced to the general alongside state Sen. Lou Correa, the AP called. Keep an eye out for progressive groups and money getting involved in this race; Nguyen endorsed Bernie Sanders for president earlier this year. 

- Several other safe-seat primaries are still too close to call ... Including California's 8th District (where GOP Rep. Paul Cook is up for reelection and could face 2014 GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly). Others include: California's 12th District (House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's district), California's 29th District (where Rep. Tony Cardenas is running for reelection), California's 32nd District (where Rep. Grace Napolitano is up), California's 37th District (where Rep. Karen Bass is the lead incumbent), California's 41st District (where Rep. Mark Takano is running for reelection) and California's 53rd District (where Rep. Susan Davis is running again). See the California
 primary results here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed70a7b4597cd18cb27fe3b2a7bd63b7e885c5926b813374aec1

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Anti-Trump 'advance team' to land in Cleveland this week," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Anti-Trump forces will be sending an "advance team" to Cleveland this week to begin preparing their effort to strip the Republican presidential nomination from Donald Trump. In a Sunday night conference call with allies around the country, the leaders of the effort described a slow-building organization that would begin setting up a command center outside the arena where the Republican National Convention will be held next month. ...The central focus of these anti-Trump activists is a push to "unbind" the delegates who will choose the GOP nominee at the convention." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed7041ec208930a7d9acded2ff059790cfb88e78ef71615a99b5 

- "Democrats see danger signs in states where Clinton has not fully engaged," by The Washington Post's Philip Rucker and John Wagner: "Hillary Clinton's campaign strategists look at the general-election map and see a bounty of electoral college votes that are hers for the taking: in Florida and Virginia, Colorado and Nevada - all places where Donald Trump has badly damaged his standing with nonwhites and women. Yet as Clinton plots her march to the White House, there are warning signs elsewhere - in states where her campaign is not yet making a full investment. And that has sparked concern from allies who say Trump must not be underestimated. In Michigan, Pennsylvania and, to a lesser
 extent, Wisconsin, an affinity for Trump's message of economic populism and nationalism has surprised many Democrats. These are big, industrial states they have carried for the past three decades - and where Clinton, so far, has not fully focused." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed70ff9f62e940512a38c8e9c3e01e3bfb231a48ed8ccb7ad88f 

- "Trump campaign sees hope in Brexit vote," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "In the face of dispiriting new poll numbers and fundraising woes, Donald Trump and his supporters took solace Sunday in last week's stunning Brexit vote as the latest evidence of an anti-establishment mood that's also seen in the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's meteoric rise. Paul Manafort, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that Brexit was about "people taking back control" after facing "the same issues that cause the angst in America today" and will be driving themes in the 2016 election." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed706c3060d6411efd726850e6ca41177919de761191ccd01b99 

- "Trump Says He Knows Nothing About Hank Paulson, Whom He Praised by Name In 2008," by Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski: "Donald Trump reacted to the news that former Bush administration Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has endorsed Hillary Clinton with a familiar retort. "Don't know anything about him," Trump told reporters in Scotland, where he is visiting his golf properties in an overseas trip. Convenient memory lapses are a common dodge for Trump over the years. ...In the case of Paulson, who headed up the Treasury Department's response to the financial crisis in 2008, the Republican nominee actively praised him at length in an appearance on CNN in October 2008." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=05cb6e61d72aed7070069c6b0a8ca1d22d0d1a45083832213fb6fb92223831a1 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I am boring. But boring is the fastest-growing demographic in this country," said Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on NBC's "Meet the Press," on Hillary Clinton veep speculation. 

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