Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: GOP super PAC warns members to prep for 2018 storm — Moore scandal spills into other Republicans' campaigns — If Moore wins, Senate Republicans poised to expel
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 09:03:13 -0600
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By Elena Schneider | 11/15/2017 10:00 AM EDT

With Zach Montellaro 
 
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)
 
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS - "GOP super PAC warns members to prep for 2018 storm," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "House Republicans' top super PAC strategist has a blunt message for some of them: Work harder in 2018, or prepare to lose next November. The group, Congressional Leadership Fund, is already fortifying weak spots in the GOP's 24-seat House majority as it builds a massive field program to defend Republican districts during the midterms. The process is expensive and time-consuming, demanding an early start - and making it clear, one year before the election, that the data-driven super PAC foresees tough races ahead in territory Republicans have held for a generation. ... But Corry
 Bliss, CLF's executive director, said that although most perennial battleground incumbents are suiting up for battle, not all of the Republican House members are preparing seriously for a difficult election." Full story. 
 
MOORE HEADLINES, MOORE PROBLEMS - "Moore scandal spirals into other Republicans' campaigns," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Roy Moore's political blast radius is expanding rapidly, encompassing GOP candidates far beyond Alabama and pouring gasoline on the intense battle between establishment and nationalist Republicans. ... But beyond Alabama, Democratic groups are pressuring Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates to go on the record about the accusations against Moore. Republicans aligned with McConnell are blaming Republicans aligned with former White House strategist Steve Bannon for the predicament, and Bannon allies are on the defensive." Full story. 
 
- "Senate Republicans poised to expel Moore if he wins," by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans say that Alabama Senate GOP candidate Roy Moore is virtually certain to face a formal ethics complaint - which would lead to expulsion proceedings - should he get elected next month. It's an outcome that senior Republicans say privately is all but unavoidable after the embattled Senate hopeful was accused of sexual misconduct, including with a 14-year-old girl. ... McConnell initially outlined his thinking at his weekly leadership meeting earlier this week: The majority leader said if Moore is elected next month, he expects a
 senator to file an ethics complaint against Moore, according to multiple sources. That process would eventually lead to a vote on expelling him." Full story.
 
- "Trump faces wrenching call on Moore," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt, Eliana Johnson and Josh Dawsey: "President Donald Trump is returning from Asia to a political maelstrom in the United States - one that could force him to decide whether to push out Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a Hail Mary attempt to save the Alabama Senate seat Sessions once held." Full story.
 
 - "RNC cuts off Moore," by Isenstadt: "The Republican National Committee is withdrawing its support for besieged Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, leaving him increasingly isolated as he confronts charges of sexual misconduct with teenagers." Full story.
 
- "Sen. Dean Heller calls for Moore to drop out of Alabama Senate race," The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. But Heller's primary opponent, Danny Tarkanian, told the newspaper that "he didn't think Moore should drop out." 
 
Days until the 2018 election: 356. 
 
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NET NEUTRALITY 101: The long-running fight over net neutrality, which pits telecom giants against tech companies, is heating up at the Federal Communications Commission. To understand what the fight is all about and where it's headed, check out POLITICO's latest explainer video featuring technology reporter Margaret Harding McGill and the artwork of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Matt Wuerker. Click HERE to watch. 
 
JOHNSON AMENDMENT - "House tax bill frees churches, nonprofits from political restrictions," by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "A small provision added to the House tax reform bill last week would free up churches to get more involved in politics - and could insert a massive new nonprofit loophole into the campaign finance system, some experts are warning. The addition to the bill would end a long-standing prohibition on churches, schools and charities endorsing candidates, called the Johnson Amendment, after a major behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign by religious conservatives. While the House bill has contained some Johnson Amendment language since it was introduced, the provisions were
 dramatically expanded last week - with little fanfare, in the final hours of a multi-day markup of the House bill - to include all nonprofits, not just religious institutions."  Full story. 
 
POLLING DATA - Quinnipiac, Marist polls show Democrats with double-digit edge in 2018: A pair of public polls released Tuesday shows Democrats with a double-digit edge over Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. A Quinnipiac University poll found that 51 percent of voters want Democrats to control the House in 2018, while 52 percent said they want Democrats to control the Senate. A Marist poll found Democrats hold a 15-point edge on the generic ballot, as 51 percent of voters are opting for Democrats, while 36 percent support Republicans. 
 
FIRST IN SCORE - Survey finds voters want bipartisanship in midterms: A Global Strategy Group poll commissioned by Center Forward found that 72 percent of nationwide voters are more likely to support a candidate who will work with both parties. Eight in 10 voters nationally also said they strongly agree that they wanted members of Congress to work together, while 91 percent of voters called Congress "dysfunctional." The poll also found House leaders in both parties to be unpopular with 54 percent of voters disapproving of both Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Check out the full polling memo here. 
 
FROM THE COURTROOM - "No verdict in Menendez case, jury will resume deliberations Wednesday," by POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman: "Jurors in the federal corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez went home Tuesday without reaching a verdict, a day after telling the court they were deadlocked on all charges. Jurors sent no notes and asked no questions during their five-and-a-half hours of deliberations on Tuesday, giving no clue as to whether they were any closer to reaching a verdict on the 12 counts against Menendez, a Democrat and New Jersey's senior senator, and the 11 counts against his co-defendent, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen." Full story.
 
CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Good luck." - Ed Gillespie's campaign manager, Chris Leavitt, said, referring to Republicans running in 2018, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
 
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