Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Gardner, Tillis plot NRSC co-chairmanship — House case study: GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen's suburban Minneapolis district — Fresh Q2 Senate fundraising figures
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 08:02:08 -0600

By Elena Schneider | 07/11/2016 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)

DYNAMIC DUO? - "Gardner, Tillis eye NRSC co-chairmanship," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Anna Palmer: "Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Cory Gardner of Colorado are floating a novel idea: Sharing the job of leading the Senate GOP's campaign arm. The freshmen lawmakers are gauging support for a proposal to become co-chairmen of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2018 election cycle, a prime opportunity for the GOP to pick up seats or recapture the Senate if they lose it this year. Democrats will be defending 25 seats vs. just eight for the GOP, and Tillis and Gardner are aggressively pursuing a leadership role at the organization to capitalize on the opportunity.
 Though both won Senate races in 2014 in purple states, each has a different specialty that could help make such an unusual arrangement work. Gardner has a sunny disposition and has refused to endorse Donald Trump given the diverse population and libertarian bent of his state. Tillis is a former statehouse speaker and has become one of Trump's most vocal surrogates in recent weeks. Donors and lobbyists have been informed of the co-chairmen idea, and Tillis confirmed in an interview that it's under consideration." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb1918334b92d76dde4de1e1ed1e1e2e6732109890cae56e0106ba9

CASE STUDY - "Democrats' 2016 plan: Rocking the suburbs," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns reporting from Minnetonka, Minn.: "In this low-key Minneapolis suburb, Democrats see a Donald Trump-fueled opportunity to pick up a House seat that has long been in Republican hands. Republicans see a lot of Democratic bluster but little threat that their popular local incumbent will be defeated. ... In Minnesota's 3rd District, Democrats are counting on Terri Bonoff to put them over the top. ... She's raised more than $620,000 during the first three months of her campaign and embarked on an arduous, down-to-the-wire bid to ride an anti-Trump wave to Washington. 'I got the call from the DCCC in April,
 and it was like somebody lit a match,' Bonoff said."

- "Republicans balk at the mere suggestion that Paulsen, who has won by double-digit margins since he was first elected to the House in 2008, is vulnerable. ...'It's wishful thinking,' said Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Keith Downey. 'I think Democrats are talking big about the 3rd, but I don't know if there's a lot of reality behind that.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb191837754ae101b9ffb33694d068f5a6049a387f9c256a6afb1a2

SENATE FUNDRAISING - FIRST IN SCORE - Indiana's Young raises $1.4 million: GOP Rep. Todd Young raised $1.4 million in the second quarter, as he secured the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. Dan Coats. Young, who had $2 million on hand at the end of April, now has $1.2 million in the bank after spending during the hard-fought primary against fellow GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman.

- NEW THIS MORNING - Kirkpatrick raises $1.8 million for Arizona Senate race: Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick raised $1.8 million in the second quarter for her race against GOP Sen. John McCain. The haul, her largest of the campaign so far, gives her nearly $2.5 million in cash on hand. McCain hasn't released his second-quarter numbers yet, though he likely retains a major cash advantage despite starting to spend on TV ads last quarter. McCain's campaign had $5.5 million in cash on hand at the end of the first quarter.

FALL RESERVATIONS - Freedom Partners reserves time in Wisconsin: The Koch Bros.-linked super PAC has placed $1.3 million in reservations starting August 3 and running until October 4.

Days until the 2016 election: 120. Days until the Republican National Convention: 7.

Thank 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 the Durham Bulls: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

MORE FUNDRAISING - Kirk raises significantly less than Duckworth in second quarter: "Sen. Mark Kirk raised only $1 million during the second quarter of 2016, the Illinois Republican's campaign said today - far less than his Democratic challenger, Tammy Duckworth. Kirk finished the quarter with $3.1 million cash on hand, slightly less than he had at the end of the first quarter. He's spent money on television ads in recent months. Duckworth, meanwhile, raised $2.7 million and finished the quarter with $5.5 million cash on hand, a $2.2 million advantage over Kirk." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183e00f62119fcacc74206b6ce62c7b519ccce9b588d1d5a6ee

FIRST IN SCORE - California Rep. Pete Aguilar "had his strongest fundraising quarter to date this cycle," per a campaign spokesman, bringing in more than $470,000 in the second quarter, closing with more than $1.5 million in cash on hand. 

- Angelle raises $418K for Louisiana House race - Former gubernatorial candidate Scott Angelle raised over $418,000 in the second quarter for Louisiana's jungle primary in Louisiana's 3rd District. Angelle now has just shy of $679,000 on hand in the race to replace Rep. Charles Boustany.

- EVEN MORE FIRST IN SCORE - Lindbeck raises $419,000 for race against Young: Democrat Steve Lindbeck has raised about $419,000 for his campaign against GOP Rep. Don Young of Alaska in the second quarter after entering the race in April, according to his campaign. He had about $325,000 in cash on hand. Young, who's represented Alaska since 1973, has not released his fundraising numbers yet. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183ece1bd6bc2950abff048456dc4521e1c5795b9c0aec23ca7 

BIG DONOR WATCH - Club for Growth makes six-figure ad buy to support Huelskamp: "The conservative Club for Growth's super PAC will launch a six-figure ad TV buy next week, boosting Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp in a contentious Republican primary, a spokesman for the group confirmed. ... [Roger] Marshall has campaigned as a more pragmatic voice than Huelskamp and has gone after him for losing his seat on the House Agriculture Committee after angering with House Republican leadership. Marshall won the endorsement of Kansas Farm Bureau on Friday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183217250e1df5444a3985e07f031133e7452adfd93eedc4248

- NEW OVER THE WEEKEND - ESAFund, the super PAC arm of the Ricketts-backed Ending Spending group, has started placing media buys hitting Huelskamp and supporting Marshall. The buys are small so far, according to ESAFund's FEC report, totaling less than $10,000. But keep an eye out for more: Ending Spending just dropped over $1.6 million on a GOP House primary in Nevada last month. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183cbcd5fc80e4d247b20604e9c222ec884eba004f96bd3bb3e 

- Mercer backs anti-Babeu super PAC in AZ-01: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb1918358d631f09e3cf684c78ca9e68de679c7f0c4b3de6240425b

BY AIR OR BY SEA - "Massive Florida algae problem shakes up Senate race," by POLITICO's Annie Snider: "Florida has a long history of floods, droughts and water pollution, but environmentalists and a new wave of online activists hope the rancid blue-green algae that plagued its affluent Gulf and Atlantic coasts could finally make the state's water woes a top issue in its nail-biting Senate race. ... 'I don't care what planet you're from, what color you are, or what political party you support, this is a bipartisan issue,' said Rufus Wakeman, a fishing guide and resort owner from Jensen Beach who has been a life-long Republican." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb1918308ccc08e3c465256fb5d7e23d61d610c85d1f17c4ace8b88

UP ON THE AIRWAVES - In FL-23 ... Tim Canova's campaign released two ads over the weekend - one spotlighting his resume and platform issues, while the other targeting Democratic primary opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, for dodging questions about a possible congressional debate. The ads will run on MSNBC, CNN and BET, per a statement from the campaign. The ads will also air on broadcast stations in Miami from July 9 to July 17, totaling more than $34,000, in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, according to a media tracking source. Watch "#DebbieDodgesDebates" here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183ee1874ffd454f03e20c7c619a781aff33179c8a40ab250c8 Watch "America" here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb191839dae8e7be764b38e6baf56a099729d4910978cae9d95d7d0 

IT'S SETTLED - Throne-Holst wins NY-01 Democratic primary: "Anna Throne-Holst has won the Democratic primary to challenge Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin in New York's 1st District 10 days after the election in the Long Island swing district. Dave Calone, Throne-Holst's primary opponent, called her to concede this afternoon, according to Rahul Kale, Calone's campaign manager. Throne-Holst, a former Southampton town supervisor with the backing of EMILY's List, led Calone by just 29 votes on the night of the June 28 primary, leaving the race too close to call. But her margin increased to 319 votes after roughly 1,800 absentee ballots were counted this week." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183a44c177e944426b180ac0642ac2511d1b6d88284865061d6

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Bernie Sanders, Set for [Tuesday] Rally With Hillary Clinton, Says Campaigns Are 'Closer and Closer,'" by New York Times' Amy Chozick: "The awkward dance between Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, her top Democratic primary opponent, is set to conclude on Tuesday, with Mr. Sanders appearing alongside her at a rally in Portsmouth, N.H. The event, confirmed by a person familiar with the planning who was not authorized to discuss the rally publicly, could do much to appease Sanders supporters who remain skeptical of Mrs. Clinton as she heads to the party's convention this month in Philadelphia." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb191831efc6c5fd8211cb115ee94d73905f4a4a71f0cab630accb2 

- "The fights before the convention fight in Cleveland," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Anti-Trump Republicans will make their final stand this week, a long-shot bid to hijack the rules of the Republican Party and deny Donald Trump the presidential nomination. But as GOP delegates converge on Cleveland to begin the business portion of their national convention, that marquee struggle is just one subplot in a drama that will determine the future of the party. Delegates will also weigh whether to embrace Trump's brand of populism and protectionism, to ban outsiders from voting in GOP primaries or to reconfigure the power of the Republican National Committee - as well as how, and for whose
 benefit, they want to craft the rules for their next presidential primary. Those fights will play out in two powerful committees of delegates. The Platform Committee, which meets Monday and Tuesday, will revisit the core tenets of the Republican Party's policy vision. The Rules Committee, which meets Wednesday and Thursday, will determine the procedures that govern the convention a week later - but also establish the 2020 primary rules." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183ef9f69a16938c04957f7b3a5c9008ed412f45d38c6dba5a7 

- "Kasich lost GOP nomination, but now he's finding his moment," by The Washington Post's Lois Romano: "Gov. John Kasich finds himself in a peculiar situation these days. He's responsible for helping to safeguard a Republican convention he will not speak at, a nominee he will not support and an arena he probably will not step foot in. ... Led by political consultant John Weaver, Kasich's advisers are very aware that he is having a moment in the spotlight, and they are not wasting a minute. Soon, he'll head to New York to pitch to publishers a book proposal about the 2016 campaign and his message of 'Two Paths,'contrasting Trump's doomsday talk with his positive approach. The plan is to roll
 out the book in town halls across the country. His political 501(c)(4) is also being retooled to allow him to campaign for Republicans other than Trump and to promote the issues and values that are important to him." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb19183acdf0917314774926a4c17cc9d8bc93e5ee050338886be5f 

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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm bloody angry. Only anger is keeping me from falling into despair. It's bloody appalling, the whole bloody thing is appalling," said British Labour Party politician Neil Kinnock on his own party, via The Guardian. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0d4c14944fb191833baca0de3b76d8abee8c77b15e6ba338fa9162b78adb5d0f

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