Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Ten House primaries to watch tonight — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski releases first TV spot — Crowded Arizona GOP House field thins
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2016 08:03:13 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 06/28/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Theodoric Meyer, 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)

TUESDAY'S CURTAIN RAISER - "10 House primaries to watch Tuesday night," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: "Tuesday is one of the biggest congressional primary nights left on the calendar. Five of the most competitive general election battlegrounds in the country feature primary showdowns that could affect the national battle for the House, several incumbents are facing primary challenges of varying intensity, and Democrats in New York City will choose one of nine candidates to replace Rep. Charlie Rangel, who's represented Harlem for the past 46 years.

- A sampling ... General election battlegrounds ... New York's 1st District: "... Democrats have become even more enthusiastic about taking [GOP Rep. Lee] Zeldin down since he became a vocal surrogate for Donald Trump. Two Democrats, Anna Throne-Holst and Dave Calone, are closely matched heading into the primary. Throne-Holst, a former Southampton town supervisor, has the backing of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and EMILY's List, which has poured more than $700,000 into the race. Calone, an entrepreneur, has The New York Times' endorsement. President Barack Obama twice won the swing district by narrow margins."

- ... New York's 19th District: "Democrat Sean Eldridge lost in a blowout in 2014, after moving to this Hudson Valley swing district and running against popular GOP Rep. Chris Gibson. But Gibson isn't running for reelection this year, and Democrats feel far more optimistic about their chances. Zephyr Teachout, a law professor who became a progressive hero when she ran against Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary two years ago, has more than $900,000 in her campaign account, thanks in part to a fundraising email Bernie Sanders sent on her behalf. She's leading Will Yandik, a farmer with degrees from Princeton and Brown, by nearly 40 points in the most recent poll. On the Republican
 side, John Faso, a former state assemblyman and gubernatorial nominee, is leading businessman Andrew Heaney by almost as large a margin. One of the reasons: He's benefited from a super PAC funded by two of the top Republicans donor in the country, which has shelled out nearly $1 million." Click here for more on N.Y. battlegrounds, Charlie Rangel's safe-seat primary, and a few incumbent primaries to keep an eye on: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd632feff9e8b4b846f66e95173d5d66ad75bc6fef90cf6eb87e

- MORE ON PRIMARY EVE - Colorado Republican Senate candidates prep for final day: Businessman Robert Blaha, who said he wanted to go further than Donald Trump on the Muslim immigration ban, tried to tie Darryl Glenn to the #NeverTrump movement. Meanwhile, Glenn picked up an endorsement from Utah Sen. Mike Lee to join his endorsement from Ted Cruz, per a statement from his campaign. Former state Rep. Jon Keyser told 9News that he would be watching the election results "at home with his wife and kids," not hosting a party. Kelly Maher, a GOP strategist, aptly pointed out that is "a really bad sign" for Keyser. And lastly, the Denver Post and National Review spotted two mailers sent by a
 "mystery" group called Keep Colorado Great Project. (Post confirmed that ProgressNow Colorado, a liberal leaning group, is behind the mailers.) One hits the Republican primary field for including "two ultra conservatives and three frauds" and a second mailer targets Keyser for fraudulent signatures. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd6339a37db157664c7698bc4ea876ed57054ef0b50f3b0ac09b 

BUELLER, BUELLER, BUELLER - "Republicans hit Hassan as absentee governor," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "If you believe the political messaging in New Hampshire, the state has no governor and is short a senator. Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, locked in one of the tightest Senate races in the country, each argue that the other isn't showing up to work. Republicans have noted Hassan is frequently leaving the state to raise money for her Senate bid, while Democrats argue Ayotte's spotty attendance at Senate committee hearings is disqualifying. The latest salvo: Republicans are arguing Hassan is failing to live up to her responsibilities by missing
 meetings of University System of New Hampshire's Board of Trustees. Hassan is an ex officio member of the board, but has attended just one of the 18 board meetings during her tenure." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd6375b1189cb72e43dc093923240bd46a428f1016928bf63ecb

- "U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez misses House votes, gun control sit-in during week in Spain," by The Los Angeles Times' Sarah D. Wire: "U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez remained in Spain for a week after a trade mission this month, missing nine recorded votes and the Democrats' dramatic attempt to force a vote on gun control through a sit-in. Sanchez is running against state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Barbara Boxer. Sanchez's staff initially said that the Santa Ana Democrat missed the sit-in because she was returning from a trade mission to Ourense, a city in northwestern Spain. While Sanchez participated in a trade mission this month, the
 trip ended June 17. The sit-in took place from midday Wednesday mid-day to midday Thursday. When asked Monday, Sanchez's spokeswoman said the congresswoman stayed in Spain after the trade mission and didn't fly back until Thursday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63f44ddb6c3645134a484316b1d8d033f6e35e346b802e3d1b 

Days until the 2016 election: 133.

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 Bob Dole: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer, @maggieseverns.

FIRST IN SCORE - AIR WARS - Murkowski goes up with first TV ad: GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is going up with her first TV ad Tuesday, a positive spot that opens with images of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "Sometimes it feels like people in Washington and the lower 48 speak a different language," Murkowski says. "They certainly don't understand Alaska. Every day, I speak up for our values, demanding respect from federal bureaucrats to defend our jobs and our way of life." The ad never mentions Margaret Stock, the independent candidate challenging Murkowski in the general election and her most serious rival. The ad is airing statewide on broadcast and cable through July
 4. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd6342e0abfe63a464d5edefc55930fdd6b4a1b3b6f2b87c4a4c

- NRSC ads to attack Patrick Murphy - on D.C. cable: The NRSC is airing a "new minute-long TV ad attacking Florida Rep. Patrick Murphy - on Washington, D.C., televisions ... according to a source tracking the media buy, as the GOP committee seeks to burn in a bad press week for Murphy." Watch the ad here. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63b52a87e9085e580e0a6305ccb86ff1f01b776d6fafa6c3f1

SUPER POLL - Marshall internal shows tight race with Huelskamp: "Kansas Republican challenger Roger Marshall is closing in on GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp ahead of their Aug. 2 primary, with a new internal from Marshall showing him at 41 percent and Huelskamp at 42 percent of the vote. Marshall has picked up 16 percentage points since April, according to the memo from his polling firm, Public Opinion Strategies, while Huelskamp has fallen" significantly since an earlier Marshall internal that showed him up since an earlier survey" that showed him leading 64-25. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd6395a5e6dc8e2de0e34a781b1d7ad55a7422e3f6c56c6ac8a1 

- PPP has North Carolina governor's race still tied: Gov. Pat McCrory and Democrat Roy Cooper are still tied after a year and a half, per a new Public Policy Polling automated survey. McCrory and Cooper are tied at 41 percent each. Libertarian Lon Cecil got 6 percent, while 13 percent are still undecided. Key numbers from the approval section: Nearly half of voters disapprove of McCrory, while one-third still don't regard an opinion of Cooper. The poll surveyed 947 voters from June 20-21, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points. Read the full polling memo here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63eb4eccbcdf5af5f51690e2b45a629aeb28c03767b1f0e4fa 

- PPP is also out with a slate of new presidential and Senate robopolls for Americans United for Change, which is pushing Merrick Garland's SCOTUS nomination. The surveys, which asked about senators' job performance before their ballot tests, found 2-point races in Arizona (McCain lead) and New Hampshire (Hassan lead) and 1-point races in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where GOP Sens. Portman and Toomey had slim advantages over their challengers. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin and Sen. Chuck Grassley in Iowa had wider leads. See the polling memo (including links to individual state poll results) here: bit.ly/2904G4T

CROWDED FIELD GETS LESS CROWDED - Carlyle Begay drops House bid ahead of crowded AZ-01 GOP primary: GOP state Sen. Carlyle Begay, whom some Republicans saw as the most electable in a field of troubled candidates, said Monday that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, the Arizona Republic reported. Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's seat is one of the GOP's few House pickup opportunities this year as she runs for Senate, but Babeu is embroiled in a controversy over physical abuse complaints at a boarding school he once ran. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63277286bfacfba2a4359fe43e80ed85afde2caf2692500a94

GETTING THE NOD - FIRST IN SCORE - Steny Hoyer endorsement in CA-46: House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer endorsed Democrat Lou Correa, writing in a statement that the results of the June primary "only further prove that Lou's indisputable record of delivering results to Orange County residents and his long history of serving local neighborhoods strongly resonates with the voters." Democrat Bao Nguyen, who finished second in the primary, endorsed Bernie Sanders. 

- EMILY'S List endorses Terri Bonoff: EMILY's List has endorsed Terri Bonoff, a Minnesota state Senator running for Congress in the 3rd district. The organization cited Bonoff's commitment to women's health care access and college affordability as reasons for the endorsement . Democrats hoping that Donald Trump will hurt the GOP down the ballot have made Minnesota's 3rd District, currently represented by GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen, a target.

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Does Hillary Clinton still need Elizabeth Warren?" by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti in Cincinnati: "Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren appeared together Monday in a cavernous hall before an army of adoring fans, amid rampant speculation that their joint swing state rally was an audition for the Democratic ticket. ... But as the party increasingly consolidates around Clinton - and a new series of polls shows her nationwide lead expanding over Trump - the political logic behind the once widely held idea that Clinton needs the progressive icon on her ticket in order to win over skeptical Sanders voters, is beginning to erode." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63ff3bbce5dee1553ffa828a8bb599ba4475734f304deabb20 

- "Trump campaign hires former top Cruz aide," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck: "A former top aide to Ted Cruz is now joining Donald Trump's campaign, the first prominent ex-Cruz staffer to join the likely GOP nominee's team. Jason Miller will serve as a senior communications adviser to Trump, he confirmed Monday night. Miller, a partner at the conservative firm Jamestown Associates, was a senior communications aide to Cruz during the Texas senator's presidential bid. The race between Cruz and Trump grew increasingly contentious before the senator exited the race in May, and he has yet to endorse Trump." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd6396175804ec2906e9d69906816c83d2e950126d74325cc158 

- "No Speaking Slots? Ted Cruz and John Kasich Brush Off Trump's Threats," by The New York Times' Jeremy W. Peters: "Ted Cruz and John Kasich have a message for Donald J. Trump: They don't care if they are not invited to speak at his convention. As Mr. Trump tries to plan a convention that will run as smoothly as possible, he said in an interview with The New York Times last week that he would not invite either Mr. Cruz or Mr. Kasich, both former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, to speak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland unless they endorsed him. That is fine, both said on Monday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd63e2aa2cb04ed962b152bc5314537d1ae5e1a77538bbd37bed 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "No. I've got to mow my lawn," Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said about whether he'd be attending the GOP convention, Associated Press reporter Erica Werner tweeted. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=646874fe80efdd632861d4956cf05a82a29adad87da2f9931207e218d21f3903

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