Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Florida brightens GOP Senate hopes — NRSC might skip Colorado Senate race — Coffman's first TV ad calls him 'not like other Republicans'
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2016 08:04:14 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 07/01/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Scott Bland, Kevin Robillard 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)

SUNSHINE GOES SUPERNOVA? - "GOP smells blood in critical Florida Senate race," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Kevin Robillard: "Republicans are trying to end the Florida Senate race before it even begins. In one dramatic day this month, the entire race - one of roughly a half-dozen on which control of the Senate rests - was turned on its head. First GOP Sen. Marco Rubio dropped his retirement plans and announced plans to run for reelection. Within hours, the CBS affiliate in Miami aired a bombshell investigative story accusing the Democratic establishment's chosen candidate, 33-year-old Rep. Patrick Murphy, of rampant resume inflation. Now Republicans smell blood in the water, and
 they're looking to damage Murphy so badly that Democrats are forced to spend heavily on his behalf ahead of the state's Aug. 30 primary - or abandon the race altogether. The GOP is adopting a strategy that's been used against them repeatedly in recent election cycles: Propping up a politically toxic, outside-the-mainstream candidate in the other party's primary, in this case firebrand liberal Rep. Alan Grayson."

- Money quote from Rubio: "You can't believe anything [Murphy] says ... this guy's lied about everything he's ever done," Rubio said in an interview. And "Alan Grayson is insane." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2bed64745c9307c67a7e4c723ab019870813df5c7619c640402f6a0dd3f91b7 

ON THE FLIP SIDE - Colorado may be fading from the GOP map: The National Republican Senatorial Committee isn't jumping into Colorado's Senate race any time soon, even though it is one of only two real GOP pickup opportunities as the party tries to keep its majority. Republican nominee Darryl Glenn got primary support from the Senate Conservatives Fund, which spent more than half a million dollars in television ads boosting a candidate who raised very little money of his own. "It is very unlikely the NRSC will spend money in this race now," a Senate Republican aide said. "SCF got him through the primary and they should commit to spending in the general." Campaign Pro previously reported that
 SCF pledged to do "everything we can to help [Glenn] win the general election."

FIRST IN SCORE - GOP Sen. Richard Burr campaign geo-targets Ross attacks this weekend in North Carolina: Burr's campaign will be using Snapchat over July 4 weekend to attack Democrat Deborah Ross in an ad that will "highlight how then-top ACLU lobbyist Ross railed against a Constitutional Amendment in Congress that would have banned flag desecration, saying that everyone has a 'right to burn the flag as symbolic speech,'" per a statement from the campaign that will be released today. In addition to the Snapchat effort, Burr's team will also run a targeted digital ad campaign that will "allow people to demand that Ross explain her radical position regarding one of our nation's most respected
 symbols." Burr's is one of several GOP Senate campaigns leaning into Snapchat use this cycle.

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PROGRAMMING NOTE: Due to the July Fourth holiday, Morning Score will not publish on Monday, July 4. Our next Morning Score newsletter will publish on July 5.

MEET AND GREET - "Trump to meet with Senate Republicans," by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim: "Donald Trump will meet with the Senate Republican Conference next week, less than two weeks before the presumptive GOP nominee is set to formally become the party's standard-bearer in Cleveland, according to sources. The meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. on July 7 at the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to one source. Trump is also scheduled to meet with House Republicans that same day." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea405e1aae6981af1e8dbfc5897d43433cfc3569280f3cc741af 

LEADING INDICATOR? - Rep. Mike Coffman's first TV spot in CO-06 features voter saying "he's not like other Republicans": The Colorado Republican's first ad of the 2016 election features a collection of voters speaking about their experiences with Coffman - including one who says, "He's not like other Republicans." The 60-second ad, which was produced by former NRCC executive director Liesl Hickey and partner Tad Scarborough, is slated to run on digital, cable, and "targeted broadcast," according to the Coffman campaign's release.

- The spot splices together clips of constituents - mostly non-white women - talking to the camera about Coffman. One person says, "Mike's one of us." But the really eye-catching section is when three voters say: "Mike's not like other politicians." "He's not like other Republicans." "I think he's better." The spot could end up being a model for other down-ballot Republicans running in diverse, Democratic-leaning terrain this fall, a Coffman adviser said. President Barack Obama twice carried Coffman's district, which is 62 percent white. Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea402a98dfe974c66f3afa40566c1986387b75000ca5b5579cab

- The Coffman adviser added: "Mike Coffman's putting out his first TV ad; the timing is pre-Trump's visit to Colorado, and obviously this is a very diverse battleground district. ... We're trying to capture the story of Mike here."

- The DCCC responded to the ad with a statement, harkening back to the days before Coffman's evolution on immigration and other issues, when he represented a more heavily Republican district. "Telling non-English speakers to 'bring a dictionary' to the polls doesn't make Mike Coffman 'one of us' or a 'different type of Republican.' It makes Mike Coffman a Trump Republican, which is why he's pledged to put his party over Colorado Latinos and support the nominee," DCCC spokesman Javier Gamboa said.

THIS IS WHAT YOU POLL FOR - Mixed results for Dems in Women's Voices Women Vote Action Fund polls of battleground presidential, Senate races: The group released polling data on seven swing state races. Democratic Senate candidates have narrow advantages between 1 and 3 percentage points, well inside the margin of error, in four states (New Hamsphire, 47-46; North Carolina, 38-36; Ohio, 43-40; and Wisconsin, 46-45), while Republicans lead by between 2 and 8 points in Arizona (44-42), Nevada (45-40), and Pennsylvania (46-38). As of right now, there is no clear pattern connecting the presidential and Senate results in those states. See the full results from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research
 here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea40ab71bdccbc7e58d186db377be6bc9d2b291e18332fd29970

WAR(REN), WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR? - ONLINE FUNDRAISING: Sen. Elizabeth Warren emailed her list twice this week to solicit funds for eight Democratic Senate challengers, as the second-quarter FEC deadline approached. The beneficiaries: Ann Kirkpatrick (Arizona), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Jason Kander (Missouri), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire),Ted Strickland (Ohio), Katie McGinty (Pennsylvania), and Russ Feingold (Wisconsin).

MORE ON THE AIRWAVES - In FL-07 ... "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is placing a major fall TV buy in Orlando, according to two sources, as it seeks to take down veteran GOP Rep. John Mica in his redrawn district." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea40b011f8bc45d355208b122865bd3ddc6476758646f29e22ad 

- In Nevada Senate ... "Senate Majority PAC is attacking Nevada GOP Rep. Joe Heck for taking money from Wall Street in a new ad backed by a $900,000 buy. ...The ad says Wall Street has donated $300,000 to Heck's political career, and Heck has responded by sponsoring $44 million in tax breaks for banks." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea40032e8f659fccc33c3169c3cb21b6a8ec2aea406b4e32696a

- In Florida Senate ... "Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy has reserved just shy of $1.7 million of TV time ahead of his Senate primary against fellow Rep. Alan Grayson. The buy runs for four weeks ahead of the Aug. 30 Senate primary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea40bf39b540fd78c2912cbf456f38e758554c4d43c7dca9c1f5

FIRST IN SCORE - GETTING THE NOD: The Blue Dog Political Action Committee is endorsing seven House candidates who have "shown not only a willingness, but also an enthusiasm to work together," per a statement from the group. The endorsed candidates, who will receive contributions from the PAC, include Lou Correa (CA-46), Gretchen Driskell (MI-07), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Shelli Yoder (IN-09), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Gail Schwartz (CO-03), and Kim Myers (NY-22). The group already announced endorsements for Lon Johnson (MI-01), Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01), Doug Owens (UT-04), and Pete Gallego (TX-23) earlier this year. 

A DIFFERENT KIND OF AIR WAR - House Majority PAC to attack Garrett via airplane banner: House Majority PAC, the Democratic super PAC that has been running TV ads attacking GOP Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey for the past two weeks, is continuing the buy for another week. The super PAC is also spending $5,000 to hire a plane to fly along the Jersey Shore - which is not in the North Jersey district - on Sunday and Monday afternoons urging voters to visit an anti-Garrett oppo website. House Majority PAC is also spending $25,000 on a series of billboards along Route 17 that direct passersby to the website. The TV ad has been criticizing Garrett for saying behind closed doors last year that "he
 wouldn't support a Republican Party that runs gay candidates for office." Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea40e5245c962428d8f5eb61d022fe47f2a8c06ab7ab5dd5e169

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Gingrich, Christie are the leading candidates to be Trump's running mate," by The Washington Post's Robert Costa and Karen Tumulty: "Donald Trump's campaign has begun formally vetting possible running mates, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich emerging as the leading candidate, followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. ... But with little more than two weeks before the start of the Republican National Convention, Gingrich and Christie have been asked to submit documents and are being cast as favorites for the post inside the campaign. Gingrich in particular is the beneficiary of a drumbeat of support from Trump confidants such as Ben Carson. A number of
 senators - including Jeff Sessions (Ala.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.) - are also being reviewed as viable picks, although the extent to which they are being vetted is unclear." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea4073387702b2484175e406e987c64c793252dc1274f57a5302 

- "Trump scolds Clinton on trade," by POLITICO's Ben Schreckinger: "The new, mostly on-message Donald Trump showed up again on Thursday, presenting himself in a speech in New Hampshire as the defender of American workers against bad trade deals and a Democratic opponent controlled by "global financiers." ...And while he spoke, reading from a paper printout, his campaign blitzed reporters' inboxes with supporting material - demonstrating some fresh commitment to traditional messaging strategies as the presumptive Republican nominee seeks to salvage his candidacy from a dismal June. ...In particular, he sought to tie his presumptive general-election opponent, Hillary Clinton, to the
 consequences of Bill Clinton's 1994 signing of NAFTA and China's 2001 entrance into the World Trade Organization, citing statistics about the decline in manufacturing in New Hampshire, Maine and Pennsylvania since those events." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea4034180d606ca8cece71588453d601218539cc4ed1779507ce 

- "Meeting Between Bill Clinton and Loretta Lynch Provokes Political Furor," by The New York Times' Mark Landler: "An airport encounter this week between Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and former President Bill Clinton has welled into a political storm, with Republicans asserting that it compromised the Justice Department's politically sensitive investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices while she was secretary of state. ... Ms. Lynch said the meeting with Mr. Clinton was unplanned, largely social and did not touch on the email investigation. She suggested that he walked uninvited from his plane to her government plane, which were both parked on a tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor
 International Airport." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea402cb923c4aea44eaa1295bf7133fd347a1326c8daa6e98b3b 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "That could be a Mexican plane up there. They're getting ready to attack." - Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, while a plane flew above him during his speech Thursday, POLITICO's Ben Schreckinger reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=11122c5cf3baea405180629e36b91c4943fee5d1ec67921ff204952c6fb7e879 

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