Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: ONE DAY LEFT — Comey says FBI stands by decision to not pursue case against Clinton — Senate balanced on a knife edge with Democrats slightly favored
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 07 Nov 2016 09:03:05 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_6025276.xt.local>

By Elena Schneider | 11/07/2016 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)

TURN BACK THE CLOCK - "Comey says FBI stands by decision to not pursue case against Clinton," by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: "Just over a week after FBI Director James Comey dropped a bombshell into the presidential race by revealing newly-found evidence in the Hillary Clinton email probe, he offered what amounted to a 'never mind' Sunday, notifying Congress that the newly-discovered messages wouldn't change the bureau's conclusion that no prosecution of Clinton was warranted. In a letter sent to House and Senate committee leaders, Comey said FBI agents had completed their review of all messages to or from Clinton on a laptop seized last month from the estranged husband of a Clinton aide and
 had found nothing momentous." Full story. 

HAPPY ELECTION EVE - "Final snapshot: Democrats slight favorites to win the Senate," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Rachael Bade: "As the final, frantic hours of the campaign for control of Congress come to a close, Democrats look like slightly-better-than-even favorites to reclaim the Senate, while Republicans appear certain to hold the House after a Donald Trump-induced October scare. If Democrats manage to flip the Senate, senior party aides and strategists involved in battleground races said they're looking at a majority of 52 seats, best case. That would be a letdown from their earlier hopes of a 54- or 55-seat advantage, and put Republicans in the pole position to win back the
 chamber in 2018. Senate Republicans are conceding nothing, though." Full story. 

- YEAR IN REVIEW - 1. The 16 worst predictions of 2016 - 2. The 16 ads that mattered in 2016 - 3. The 16 surprises that shifted the 2016 contest - 4. The 16 falsehoods spewed by Trump and Clinton - 5. The 16 breakout media stars of 2016 - 6. The 16 battlegrounds that will decide the election - 7. The 16 photos that captured the defining moments of 2016 - 8. The 16 most revelatory Clinton emails - 9. The 16 insults that redefined acceptable political rhetoric - 10. The 16 statements that would have destroyed another candidate - 11. The 16 numbers that mattered in 2016 - 12. The 16 moments that defined the battle for the Senate - 13. The 16 moments that defined the battle for the House - 14.
 The 16 stories that changed the 2016 race - 15. The 16 Republicans who abandoned Trump after the tape - 16. The 16 reactions from world leaders stunned by this election

... AND LOOKING FORWARD - "Fiorina tops GOP list for potential Virginia Senate contest," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "Virginia Republicans could be about to start a mad dash for Sen. Tim Kaine's Senate seat in Virginia - and Carly Fiorina could soon be leading the pack. Whether or not Kaine wins the vice presidency next week, his term is up in 2018. But if he has to resign, there will also be a special election in 2017, and Fiorina, who resides just south of Washington, D.C. in Mason Neck, Va., is considering entering the race - but won't make a decision on whether to do so until after Election Day, sources with knowledge of her thinking say. Republicans in the state are urging
 Fiorina to run because she would bring immediate star power and fundraising ability to the expensive, back-to-back races for Kaine's seat that will take place if he becomes vice president." Full story. 

Days until the 2016 election: 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 about campaigns and occasionally about James Taylor: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @maggieseverns.

**DOWNLOAD POLITICO'S TRANSITION TRACKER: POLITICO will deliver breaking news notifications on the incoming administration -- directly to your iPhone's lock screen. Using the unique capabilities and speed of Apple Wallet, Transition Tracker alerts users to all the key personnel and policy decisions as they're made by the president-elect. This is currently available only for iPhone users via Apple Wallet. Download the pass, available for readers using iPhones, here.

FINAL, FINAL ADS - Obama stars in Koster ad: President Barack Obama speaks about Missouri gubernatorial candidate Chris Koster in a Missouri radio ad. The ad was posted by Koster opponent Eric Greitens, presumably as evidence moderate Koster - a former Republican - is too liberal for right-leaning Missouri voters. Obama says that "we could have done more for working families with leaders like Chris Koster" in the ad, and concludes that "my name may not be on the ballot this year but all the progress we've made together sure is." Listen to the ad here.

- Feingold makes closing argument: Democrat Russ Feingold is out with a new 30-second ad making the closing argument in Wisconsin's Senate race. "In the Senate, there's a choice," he says direct to the camera. "You can either go along with a rigged system or you can stand for something that matters. I stand with Wisconsin working families." Watch the ad here. 

- Young airs final TV ad in IA-03: GOP Rep. David Young is airing a final TV ad in which he distances himself from both presidential candidates. "Either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be elected president," Young says in the ad. "And like you, I have some differences with both. But my job is to be an independent fighter for Iowa." Watch the ad here.

- UNUSUAL BEDFELLOWS - Late Toomey ad features Obama praise: "Democrats are irate after GOP Sen. Pat Toomey began airing a late ad featuring praise from President Barack Obama on Friday night. The ad uses footage of an Obama statement following the failure of the 2013 Manchin-Toomey proposal to expand background checks on gun sales. Obama praised Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin, a conservative West Virginia Democrat, for their "courage" in pushing the proposal." Watch the ad here. Full story.

LAST MINUTE POLLING DATA - Indiana Howey poll finds Young 46, Bayh 41: "Republican Rep. Todd Young leads Democrat Evan Bayh in the new WTHR/Howey Politics poll of Indiana's Senate race, 46 percent to 41 percent. The new survey is the first independent poll to find Young leading the Indiana race." Full story. 

- Bouncy UNH poll shows Hassan leading at the end, via WMUR: "In the U.S. Senate race, Gov. Maggie Hassan leads incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte, 49 percent to 45 percent, with 1 percent preferring someone else and 4 percent undecided. In the race for governor between two executive councilors, Colin Van Ostern leads Chris Sununu, 48 percent to 37 percent, with 2 percent preferring someone else and 19 percent undecided. ... It showed that in the 1st District, 44 percent of likely voter have decided on, or are leaning toward supporting, Democratic former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, while 38 percent support Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta and 18 percent back independent Shawn O'Connor." Full
 story. 

- NY-19 Siena poll finds Faso 48, Teachout 42: "A new Time Warner Cable News/Siena College poll shows Republican John Faso taking a late lead in the race for an open swing seat in New York's Hudson Valley. Faso leads Democrat Zephyr Teachout 48 percent to 42 percent among likely voters, according to the new survey. Faso was ahead of Teachout by a single percentage point when Siena polled the race in September." Full story.

- NY-03 Siena poll finds Suozzi 47, Martins 40: "Democrat Tom Suozzi still leads Republican Jack Martins in the race for an open swing seat on Long Island, but Martins has cut Suozzi's leads in half in recent weeks, according to a new Newsday/Siena College poll. Suozzi leads Martins 47 percent to 40 percent among likely voters. When Siena polled the race a month earlier, Suozzi was ahead of Martins by more than twice as much, leading 50 percent to 34 percent." Full story. 

- Loras polls show GOP leading in Iowa House districts: "New polls from Loras College show GOP Reps. Rod Blum and David Young leading their Democratic challengers in Iowa. The rare independent polls of the House races show Blum leading Democrat Monica Vernon 47 percent to 41 percent in Iowa's 1st District, which has leaned Democratic in the past. Young leads Democrat Jim Mowrer 44 percent to 39 percent in the 3rd District, which is slightly more moderate and includes Des Moines. The poll also found GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley far ahead of Democrat Patty Judge statewide, leading her 53 percent to 37 percent." Full story.

LATE MONEY - House candidates make last-minute contributions to their campaigns: At least two House battleground candidate and two more strongly favored candidates have cut themselves big, last-minute checks to their own campaigns. In Virginia, Democrat LuAnn Bennett gave her campaign $100,000 on Nov. 3, according to a FEC report, and $35,000 on Nov. 1 as she faces GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock in VA-10. In FL-18, Democrat Randy Perkins (who has largely self-funded his campaign) gave his campaign another $300,000 on Nov. 3

- Meanwhile, two candidates assumed to be safer also gave themselves big money: In Florida, Democrat Charlie Crist - who has taken a lot of hits amidst attempted political comebacks over the past few years - gave $75,000 for his FL-13 campaign against GOP Rep. David Jolly on Friday. And in Michigan, GOP Rep. Dave Trott gave $75,000 to his own reelection race. Trott's Republican-leaning district in the Detroit suburbs hasn't been considered competitive this year - the Cook Political Report rates the race "Solid Republican." But Democrat Anil Kumar has raised some money, and it's the kind of white-collar-heavy district where Donald Trump could underperform.

MORE CAMPAIGN FINANCE - "These Officials Help Write Ballot Questions. Companies Write Them Checks," by the New York Times' Eric Lipton and ProPublica's Robert Faturechi: "Big-money corporate lobbying has reached into one of the most obscure corners of state government: the offices of secretaries of state, the people charged with running elections impartially. The targeting of secretaries of state with campaign donations, corporate-funded weekend outings and secret meetings with industry lobbyists reflects an intense focus on often overlooked ballot questions, which the secretaries frequently help write." Full story.

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Did Trump turn Michigan into a nail-biter?" by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Suddenly, Hillary Clinton seems to have a Michigan problem. A state thought to be off the competitive radar and part of the Democratic firewall is looking a little less safe, forcing the Clinton campaign to make it the focal point of a frenzied rush in the final days before the election. It's also drawn renewed interest from Donald Trump's forces, who blanketed the state this weekend and planned a slew of high-level visits to close out the campaign. ...Republicans insist they're seeing explosive energy in Detroit's suburban Macomb County - a working-class area that's tailor-made for Donald
 Trump's appeal." Full story. 

- "Latino voting surge rattles Trump campaign," by POLITICO's Steven Shepard: "Hispanic voters could be poised to deliver a historic rebuke to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Early-vote statistics from battleground states with large Hispanic populations show record turnout among a bloc that has voted at a lower rate than whites or blacks in past elections. If, as some polls suggest, Hispanic voters are supporting Hillary Clinton by blowout margins, these numbers could sink Trump in a handful of states that are essential to his path to 270 electoral votes." Full story.

- "Bill Clinton Evokes Past, but From the Periphery of His Wife's Campaign," by The New York Times' Jason Horowitz in Pueblo, Colo.: " ... Since January, Mr. Clinton has done nearly 500 public events, a good deal of them designed to capture the affection white working-class voters had for him and then transfer it to Mrs. Clinton. But that happens to be the demographic that constitutes Mr. Trump's base. Indeed, the man who was arguably the greatest political mind of his era has become something of a peripheral player, even within his wife's campaign." Full story. 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We always encourage voting by any means and certainly encourage your ballot in as soon as possible. This is a great reason to vote early if you are in labor." - Boulder County spokeswoman Mircalla Wozniak, speaking about a voter who stopped to drop off her ballot while on the way to the hospital to give birth to her first child, via the Boulder Daily Camera.

To view online:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=256c9634a8ec206ba8aaa5f135eea68c8796f14bc686a167c38c159835c46634
 To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=256c9634a8ec206b8824e8d78ebb23622e479083acbc495bf61cf68a58418329 or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd4aa7686344e441403f082c73410abae8277dee2aa8a371960b553b6768ef1cf8a
This email was sent to [email-masked] by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA

To unsubscribe,http://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000158-3f4d-d4f0-a779-bfcdd5d90000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=0e36d2fc44f4d254d29fd73d45e116c127ddb60516ec376e9d0f49fc47f150a429de8cafe92dc86f57c707d079865e59b9161ef1468f64fe1ec36e8694804378