Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score, presented by Sinclair Broadcast Group: Kaine struggles to pin Trump's scandals on Pence — Harry Reid’s legacy project in Nevada — House Republicans find Trump not so toxic
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 05 Oct 2016 08:02:19 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_5907169.xt.local>

By Elena Schneider | 10/05/2016 10:00 AM EDT

With Kevin Robillard, Theodoric Meyer 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)

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY - "Kaine struggles to pin Trump's scandals on Pence," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney, Burgess Everett and Matthew Nussbaum in Farmville, Va.: "An eager and aggressive Tim Kaine repeatedly interrupted Mike Pence on the debate stage Tuesday night, as Hillary Clinton's running mate tried to pin Donald Trump's controversial statements on the Indiana governor - with limited success. The dynamic stood in stark contrast to last week's debate, in which an erratic Trump took Clinton's bait, spending much of the night on the defense over his checkered financial past, refusal to release his tax returns and his secret ISIL plan. Kaine on Tuesday frequently cut off Pence as he attempted
 to deliver smooth rebuttals to Kaine's repeated - well practiced - barbs, which sometimes missed the mark. Kaine kept returning to one theme as he attempted to land blows: how could someone like Pence support someone like Trump?" Full story. 

- "The 10 most interesting moments of the VP debate," by POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum in Farmville, Va.: 1. Kaine comes out swinging. 2. Kaine the interrupter. 3. Pence laughs off Kaine's attacks. 4. Pence forced to address Trump's taxes. 5. Kaine looks to put daylight between Trump and Pence. 6. Kaine goes scorched earth on Trump. 7. Pence: Trump insulting people? Never! 8. Pence on mass deportation: 'Nonsense!' 9. Quijano: 'Please!' 10. Kaine wants Pence to defend Trump but Quijano moves on. Full story. 

RAINBOW BATON PASS - "Reid's Nevada legacy projects," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider in Las Vegas: "Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid may owe the final six years of his career to Nevada Latinos, who boosted him to victory in the 2010 midterm elections. And in his last act in elected office, Reid is trying to elect the man who was once his voice in the Latino community. ... As Reid calls time on his political career, he has chosen and shepherded a slate of Democratic candidates like [Ruben] Kihuen to replace him at the upper levels of government in Nevada. Strikingly, none of them resemble Reid - they are Latino, African-American, female, young. Those close to Reid say it's a calculated
 move by a tactician who recognized years ago that the Democratic Party in his state (and elsewhere) needed to be younger and more diverse to succeed." Full story.

Days until the 2016 election: 34.

Days until the presidential debate: 4.

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 moon landings: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

THAT'S THE TICKET - "House Republicans: Trump actually not so toxic," by POLITICO's Rachael Bade: "House Republicans spent all summer sweating that Donald Trump's chaotic campaign would cost them dearly in November, and maybe even open a path for Democrats to seize the chamber. But five weeks out from Election Day, those fears have largely subsided: Republicans are still pegged to lose seats, but top party strategists are increasingly bullish that a cascade of defeats isn't at hand. There's still time for that to change, but the telltale signs of a wave election typically surface by this point in the cycle, and it hasn't happened yet. The GOP's internal polling shows not one of their
 incumbents running behind, Republicans claim, and the generic congressional ballot - a critical early indicator of the election outcome - has inched closer to even after trending in Democrats' favor." Full story. 

FIRST IN SCORE - New TV ad touts Cain's record in ME-02: Democrat Emily Cain is going up with a new positive spot today featuring Donna, a woman who credits legislation Cain sponsored with helping to save her life after she was diagnosed with cancer. "The treatment I needed cost thousands of dollars every month," Donna, says in the ad. "Then Emily Cain made insurance companies cover oral chemotherapy just like other cancer treatments. That meant I could get treatment, keep working and not go bankrupt." Watch the ad here. 

- Meanwhile, NRCC goes up in NH-01: The House GOP campaign committee is coming to the aid of GOP Rep. Frank Guinta, despite the campaign finance scandal that has hampered him for the last year-plus. Recent Republican polling showed Guinta with an advantage in the district, and the NRCC has released a TV ad aimed at halting Democratic ex-Rep. Carol Shea-Porter's comeback attempt. The ad boosts Guinta as better for voters' wallets, saying he has a "proven record of cutting taxes," while saying Shea-Porter has "supported trillions in higher taxes." Watch the ad here.

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, delivers not only TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters, but also targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and native) ad solutions. Contact Alan Brittan @ 703-236-9673. Sinclair, busy - Making Political Ads Work! **

MORE ADS, ADS, ADS - In Missouri ... The DSCC released a new ad targeting Sen. Roy Blunt and his family "filled with lobbyists," spotlighting that Blunt "denies it's a conflict of interest." The ad's narrator continues, saying, "But newspapers detailed how Blunt snuck favors into bills that benefited his family's clients." Watch the ad here. 

- NV-04 ... Democrat Ruben Kihuen is out with an ad on gun control, saying that GOP Rep. Cresent Hardy opposes expanding background checks on gun sales and does not "believe in any sort of gun control." Watch the ad here. 

- ICYMI - "Baskets of ads: Campaign Pro's ad roundup," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: Including dozens of spots from the NRCC, DCCC, and other House groups. Full story. 

COUNTER-PROGRAMMING - "J Street spots push back on GOP Iran deal advertising," by POLITICO's Nahal Toosi: "Republicans have unleashed a barrage of television ads over the past year slamming Democrats running for House and Senate for supporting the Iran nuclear deal. For the most part, the targets of the ads have tried to duck the topic. ...On Wednesday, the left-leaning Jewish advocacy group J Street is releasing television ads that praise the nuclear deal, looking to shore up Democrats in the Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Senate races. The group hopes to expand the effort - using online ads at least - to Senate races in Illinois and New Hampshire, while also engaging in direct mail outreach."
 Full story. 

IT'S ABOUT THE MONEY, HONEY - Rubio raises $9.6 million in Q3: "Florida Sen. Marco Rubio raised $9.6 million in the third quarter, his campaign said, the best three-month haul any Senate candidate has had this election cycle. Rubio didn't release a cash on hand number. He vastly outraised Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, who raised $3.3 million over the same time period. Shortly before Florida's late August primary, Murphy reported just shy of $4 million on hand while Rubio had $4.7 million." Full story. 

- GUBERNATORIAL CASH DASH - Cole joins the self-funders club in West Virginia: GOP State Senate President Bill Cole raised $1.2 million in the last reporting period, lending himself $500,000 in the process. It's the candidate's first loan. Democrat Jim Justice - a billionaire with a nearly limitless capacity to self-fund - loaned his campaign $366,000 and collected another $453,000 in donations. Cole has more on hand, $419,000 to $150,000, but Justice can easily change that with a check.

- Read up on more governor's race numbers here.

POLL TRAIN - In North Carolina ... An Elon University poll found GOP Sen. Richard Burr and Democrat Deborah Ross still locked in a tight battle. Ross has 44 percent, while Burr has 43 percent after rounding, but barely anything separates the two. Democrat Roy Cooper leads GOP Gov. Pat McCrory by four points, 48 percent to 44 percent. In the presidential race, Hillary Clinton holds nearly a six point lead over Donald Trump, 45 percent to 39 percent. Read up on the poll here. 

- In Nevada ... Democratic pollster Peter Hart, on behalf of the UNLV School of Law, found that Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto trails GOP Rep. Joe Heck by one point, 47 percent to 46 percent, KTNV's Jon Ralston reported. Both Senate candidates have also seen their negatives jump. In the presidential race, Hillary Clinton leads by three points over Donald Trump, 44 percent to 41 percent. The poll surveyed 700 registered voters last week, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. 

- In Pennsylvania ... "Despite Clinton's [50-40] lead at the top of the ticket, the Monmouth poll shows GOP Sen. Pat Toomey tied with his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty at 46 percent apiece. Three percent of likely voters say they will support Edward Clifford, the Libertarian candidate, and another 5 percent are undecided." Full story. 

- In Illinois ... "Democrat Tammy Duckworth leads GOP Sen. Mark Kirk by 14 percentage points in the Illinois Senate race, in a new poll from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. The poll found Duckworth with 48 percent to Kirk's 34 percent among likely voters. An additional 5 percent of voters said they would vote for either the independent or Green Party candidate, and 10 percent of voters are undecided. Duckworth led Kirk in Chicago and the surrounding counties, while Kirk had a lead downstate." Full story. 

- From Democrats in NJ-05 ... "A new poll from House Majority PAC shows Democrat Josh Gottheimer with a lead over GOP Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey, a shift in released Democratic internals over the past few months. Gottheimer leads Garrett 48 percent to 41 percent among likely voters in the new poll. The results are a reversal from early August, when another House Majority PAC poll found Garrett leading, 50 percent to 42 percent. A DCCC poll in late August also found Garrett with a narrow lead." Full story. 

- And from Dems in IN-09 ... "The DCCC has released a new internal poll showing Republican Trey Hollingsworth with a slim lead over Democrat Shelli Yoder in Indiana's 9th District, a low-profile race that has not attracted spending by national outside groups. Hollingsworth leads Yoder 44 percent to 42 percent among likely voters, within the poll's margin of error. GOP Rep. Todd Young has represented the seat for three terms but left it open to run for Senate in 2016." Full story. 

- EVENT ALERT - Boomer Women and The Election: What's at Stake? A deep-dive conversation on the concerns of women over 50 and how the candidates plan to meet them. We'll discuss how boomer women will influence elections, candidates' plans on Social Security and how they reflect women's economic concerns, policy options to address Alzheimer's Disease and more. Speakers include Lake Research Partners President Celinda Lake, CAP CEO Neera Tanden, ML Strategies Vice President, Health Policy Rodney Whitlock and more. Thursday, Oct. 6 - 8 a.m. - The Mayflower Hotel. RSVP: here

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Bill goes rogue again," by POLITICO's Glenn Thrush: Just when it seemed Donald Trump had been crowned the undisputed king of saying silly, self-destructive stuff in public, along came the venerable master of talking out of turn William Jefferson Clinton. He took a swipe at a certain Vermont senator who is currently trying to help his wife shore up her dismal numbers among millennials. And he made a candid, unsolicited critique of Obamacare - which he described in off-the-cuff remarks as "the craziest thing in the world," an early Christmas gift to Republicans who have been saying much the same thing for years." Full story.

- "Trump not walking the walk on his tax claims," by POLITICO's Brian Faler: "[Trump's] promises to stick it to the rich notwithstanding, independent analyses agree the top 1 percent would be the biggest beneficiaries of his plans to cut individual, business and capital gains rates. Though his plan would dole out more than $4 trillion in tax cuts, one study found Trump would actually raise taxes on 8 million low- and middle-income Americans. And while Trump has railed against the special-interest provisions that pock the tax code, he's sought to protect breaks important to real estate, the bedrock of his business and one of the most lavishly subsidized industries in the code. Among them: a
 deduction for interest expenses critical to real-estate developers like himself." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Did you work on that one a long time?" - Mike Pence to Tim Kaine, as the canned lines flew during Tuesday's VP debate.

** A message from Sinclair Broadcast Group: You're in the final days battle up to election day. As you execute your final push, remember voters will be deluged on overdrive with political messaging - everywhere. In a more fractured media environment, where reach is the real game, it would be wise to consider stepping up your TV advertising, in partnership with Digital ad solutions, to help ensure victory. Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest and most diversified television broadcasting company in the country today, can help you break through the clutter. Utilizing both TV, the primary medium for reaching potential voters and targetable digital (mobile, video, email, social media and
 native) ad solutions, Sinclair Makes Political Ads Work! The bottom line is -- winning elections. At the Sinclair Broadcast Group, we have the ad tools necessary to help you to persuade, enlighten and activate voters. Contact Alan Brittan, Sinclair's Director of Political Ads for more details @ 703-236-9673 **

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