Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Will Price's departure spark a special election? — Sinema hires campaign staff — Republican AGs hire Ryan operative
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2017 08:02:51 -0600
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By Maggie Severns | 10/02/2017 10:00 AM EDT

With Daniel Strauss
 
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)
 
SPECIAL ELECTION? - Multiple lawmakers are on the short list to replace HHS Secretary Tom Price, POLITICO's Joanne Kenen and Jennifer Haberkorn report: "Tom Price hadn't even stepped down when the Washington policy world was buzzing about who was likely to replace him. A dozen names are being talked about as the next HHS Secretary, including several belonging to people already serving in the administration," report Kenen and Haberkorn. Current elected officials whose names circulated Friday: Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Michigan Rep. Fred Upton. Full story here.
 
FIRST IN SCORE - Sinema hires campaign staff, including Andrew Piatt as campaign manager: Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has staffed up for her newly announced Arizona Senate campaign. Here's who she's brought on board: Andrew Piatt, who worked last cycle as the deputy political director at the DSCC, is managing Sinema's campaign. Piatt also spent multiple cycles at the DCCC. Rebecca Kasper, who has worked for Sen. Jon Tester and the DSCC, is Sinema's finance director. Former DCCC press secretary Sacha Haworth is communications director of the Sinema campaign. And John Buysse, a former social media strategist for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, is Sinema's digital director. 
 
ON TAP TODAY - Laxalt will announce Nevada Senate run, POLITICO's Daniel Strauss reports: "Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt will announce his campaign for governor on Monday, according to three Republicans with knowledge of Laxalt's plans. ... Laxalt has long been mentioned as a rising Republican star and as a potential candidate for governor. He has been fundraising heavily this year in preparation for 2018. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval is term-limited." Full story here.
 
THE LONG GAME - "Republican AGs hire Ryan operative for 2018 buildup," by POLITICO's Scott Bland: "The organization dedicated to electing Republican attorneys general is expanding in preparation for a huge slate of 2018 elections for the influential state positions," reports Bland. "Zack Roday, who has been the press secretary and spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan's political operation, will become the Republican Attorneys General Association's first-ever communications director. ... There will be 31 state attorney general elections around the country over the next year. Republicans currently hold a majority of the prosecutor roles, and RAGA will take an even bigger role in the next
 year's campaigns by attacking sitting Democratic attorneys general for the first time, after years of informal agreement between the parties to work only in open-seat races." Full story here.
 
Days until the 2017 election: 36.
 
Days until the 2018 election: 400.
 
Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked] and [email-masked].
 
You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns. 
 
ON TAP TOMORROW - "Wisconsin redistricting case at U.S. Supreme Court could rewrite rules on gerrymandering," by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Patrick Marley: "If the group of Democrats suing the Badger State is successful before the U.S. Supreme Court, all states will have to follow new rules on gerrymandering when they draw congressional and legislative maps after the 2020 census. And in the short term, several states could face lawsuits over the election maps they have been using since 2011. The nation's high court will hear arguments in the case Tuesday and decide it by summer. A panel of federal judges last year ruled 2-1 that the maps were drawn so favorably for Republicans that
 they violated the constitutional rights of Democratic voters." Full story.
 
WARNING SHOT - "Club for Growth warns Haslam on Tennessee Senate run," by POLITICO's Kevin Robillard: "The Club for Growth is warning Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam against entering the state's U.S. Senate race, suggesting they will try to defeat him in a GOP primary. Haslam, a business-oriented establishment Republican and former mayor of Knoxville who built a fortune in retail, said Thursday he was considering running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker. 'It's no surprise that Corker and Alexander are encouraging a Haslam run,' said Club vice president Andy Roth, referring to the the state's two Republican senators. 'They're all cut from the same cloth with the Republican establishment in
 their DNA. Haslam is the very definition of an establishment candidate who will fall in line with Sen. Mitch McConnell. Any governor that supports Medicaid expansion is not going to be a candidate that will be well-received in a GOP primary.'"
 
- One candidate the Club might prefer: Rep. Marsha Blackburn has a 90 percent lifetime score from the Club for Growth, Robillard notes.
 
- Meanwhile on the left: Democrats warn Haslam's stake in the family business will spell trouble, The Times Free Press reports. "State Democrats say the Republican governor's unknown stake in the Haslam family-owned Pilot Flying J as well as the company's federal fraud woes ... will be an issue. Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini said this morning that Pilot Flying J, the nation's largest truck stop company, 'has been embroiled in a fraud scandal since 2013 that has resulted in 10 indictments and $170 million in fines. 
 
'To this day, Gov. Haslam has not had to answer for these crimes, but he has likely profited from them as he still holds an undisclosed stake in the company. ... if the Governor decides to run for US Senate, we expect there will be considerably more scrutiny of his finances and his family's business practices.'" 
 
PENALTY BOX - FEC fines federal contractor: The Federal Election Commission fined a federal contractor, Suffolk Construction Co., $34,000 last week for having donated to a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC during the 2016 elections, according to a letter sent by the FEC. Suffolk Construction Co. made two $100,000 donations to Priorities USA Action even though as a federal contractor, the group is supposed to avoid making such donations in order to avoid possible corruption. A complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center led the FEC to look into the matter. Letter here.
 
DAILY ROLL TIDE - Democratic pollsters Zac McCrary and John Anzalone break down how Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones could win the Senate race: "1) Roy Moore is a weak general election candidate. You probably know Moore's story: the twice de-frocked state Chief Justice whose offensive comments about the 9/11 attacks and against gays, Muslims, African Americans (just for starters) have made him something of a folk hero among elements of the political right. ... 4) There is real organic Democratic energy in the electorate. Almost without exception, this year's special elections (and some municipals) have shown Democratic voter energy and enthusiasm outpacing that of Republicans." Read the
 full Medium post here. 
 
Democratic groups line up behind Sinema, Robillard reports: "The DSCC and EMILY's List both quickly endorsed Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona's Senate race, as another potential Democratic candidate said no to a bid. Sinema is running against Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, who faces a primary challenge from former state legislator Kelli Ward." Full story here.
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "For the ways my work was used to divide people rather than bring us together, I ask forgiveness." - Mark Zuckerberg, in a Facebook post about Yom Kippur.
 
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