Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: California Dems agonize over House primaries — Eric Greitens resigns as Missouri governor — Trump to appear at June fundraiser for his super PAC
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 30 May 2018 08:04:42 -0600
List-Id: <1376319.xt.local>

By Maggie Severns | 05/30/2018 10:00 AM EDT

With Zach Montellaro and Elena Schneider
 
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)
 
BEST COAST - "California Dems agonize over House primaries," by POLITICO's Elena Schneider in Irvine, Calif.: "Omar Siddiqui, a long-shot Democrat running for Congress in southern California, was guaranteed two questions at a crowded candidate forum last week. But instead of probing his positions or qualifications, the moderators questioned his very presence in the race: 'Shouldn't you consider dropping out?' The 200-person crowd gathered at a local synagogue broke into applause at the suggestion. 
 
"Siddiqui has become a symbol of Orange County Democrats' worst fear: that they will split votes among too many candidates in his race to take on GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. That could allow a pair of Republicans to vault through California's unusual top-two primary system and lock Democrats out of the general election. Three battleground districts in Orange County - a one-time conservative bastion that backed Hillary Clinton in 2016 - all pose the same risk in next Tuesday's primaries, which could cost Democrats some of their most promising opportunities to flip seats in their bid to retake the House of Representatives this fall. ... 
 
"Seeing the risk, the DCCC has intervened - to varying degrees - in all three races, though it has never been more difficult for political parties to steer the outcome of primaries. The committee has come under fire from some activists for supporting candidates in competitive nominating contests elsewhere this year. But, in a twist to the usual script, some Democrats in [Darrell] Issa's district are frustrated that the party hasn't helped 'guide us to the best candidate,' said Mindy Martin, a 40-year-old business owner from Oceanside, adding: 'Isn't that the role of the party?'" Full story. 
 
DEPARTURE LOUNGE - "Scandal-plagued Missouri governor resigns," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Cristiano Lima: "Scandal-plagued Missouri Republican Gov. Eric Greitens announced his resignation on Tuesday. The governor made the announcement at a press conference in Jefferson City. Lt. Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, will become governor.
 
"'The last few months have been incredibly difficult for me, for my family, for my team, for my friends, and for many, many people that I love. This ordeal has been designed to cause an incredible amount of strain on my family,' Greitens said." Full story.
 
FIRST IN SCORE - End Citizens United pops digital ad to support Slotkin in MI-08: End Citizens United is out with a digital ad to boost Democrat Elissa Slotkin with a positive bio spot and for "doing things differently," like "not taking corporate, special interest money." The ad, targeting moderate and Democratic women in the district, will run from May 30 to June 13. Watch the ad here. 
 
Days until the 2018 election: 160. 
 
Upcoming election dates - June 5: Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries - June 12: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia primaries. June 26: Colorado, Maryland, New York (congressional), Oklahoma and Utah primaries and Mississippi and South Carolina primary runoffs. 
 
Upcoming filing deadlines - Arizona: May 30 - Vermont: May 31 - Alaska, Kansas, Wisconsin and Wyoming: June 1 C Hawaii and Minnesota: June 5 - Connecticut: June 12.
 
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, @danielstrauss4, @maggieseverns and @jamesarkin.
 
MONEY RACE - "Trump to appear at fundraiser for his super PAC," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "President Donald Trump is plunging into the big-donor game, planning an appearance at a six-figure-a-head fundraiser benefiting his official super PAC. Trump is expected to address America First Action's leadership summit, according to the super PAC's president, Brian Walsh. The president is slated to speak on the second night of the two-day conference, to be held June 18-19 at Trump International Hotel in Washington." Full story.
 
MARSHA MARSHA MARSHA - "Trump boosts Blackburn with Tennessee rally," by POLITICO's James Arkin: "Democrat Phil Bredesen has staked his campaign on strength with independents and crossover appeal with moderate Republicans, hoping the goodwill lingering from two popular terms as governor can build a winning coalition in a state where Trump remains well-liked. But GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn and Republican allies want to blunt that strategy by painting Bredesen as a centrist in name only who, despite his rhetoric, will stand in the president's way when it matters. That effort brought Trump to Nashville on Tuesday" for a Blackburn fundraiser and a campaign rally. Full story.
 
ON THE AIRWAVES - Golden releases TV attack ad in ME-02 primary: Democrat Jared Golden is out with a negative TV ad in his Democratic primary on the "TV spots blanketing the airwaves from a secretive group spending $300,000 to elect Lucas St. Clair." The ad, which will air on broadcast and cable stations, urges St. Clair to "step out of the dark money shadows." Watch the ad here. 
 
- Friedman launches second TV ad in VA-10: Democrat Alison Friedman, who's running in a crowded primary to take on GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock, is out with her second TV ad, calling herself "not your typical politician." Watch the ad here. 
 
- Jacobs pops new TV ad in CA-49: Democrat Sara Jacobs released a new TV ad, featuring endorsements from two Democratic congressmen representing San Diego. The ad urges voters to "unite around the right candidate." Watch the ad here. 
 
- House Majority PAC slams Baugh as 'law-breaker' in CA-48: "House Majority PAC's TV ad in California's 48th District goes after Republican Scott Baugh as a 'law-breaker,' in an effort to prevent two Republicans from advancing from the all-party primary to the general election." Watch the ad here. Full story. 
 
Trump revs up GOP outrage with an eye to midterms," by POLITICO's Matthew Nussbaum and Christopher Cadelago: "President Donald Trump spreads misinformation. A lot of it. Really, a lot. But every once in a while he will come out guns blazing in defense of the truth, demanding corrections and consequences for spreading falsehoods told by others, and using incorrect news reports to undercut the media as a whole. He executed the well-practiced maneuver once again on Tuesday, seizing on images of detained migrant children in bare-bones holding areas that had been spread on Twitter to attack his immigration policies but turned out to have been taken in 2014 while President Barack Obama was still
 in office. ... This kind of rhetoric is emerging as a central element of his 2018 and 2020 campaign strategies. Republican strategists, including officials behind Trump's reelection effort, are operating under the premise that Democrats will be plenty energized for the midterms and 2020 elections - and they largely see their job as helping the GOP match, or exceed, that energy." Full story.
 
TREND WATCH - "Stacey Abrams Didn't Play It Safe. Neither Do These Women," by The New York Times' Susan Chira and Matt Flegenheimer: "As Democratic women run for House, Senate and state offices in historic numbers this year, many are bucking the careful and cautious ways of politics. As Stacey Abrams showed last week, a black woman can win the Democratic nomination for governor in Georgia by running a proudly liberal campaign, for instance. For dozens of these candidates, confronting President Trump and winning seats and offices for Democrats are not the only goals: They want to run and win on their own terms. Some are coming for their own party. And many are not waiting their turn, as past
 generations were mostly content to do." Full story.
 
GETTING THE NOD - FIRST IN SCORE - Martin O'Malley is endorsing Democrat Steve Sisolak in the Nevada gubernatorial primary.
 
- CPC PAC endorses 5 new House candidates: The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed five new House candidates: Diane Mitsch Bush (CO-03), Jared Golden (ME-02), Kara Eastman (NE-02), Aftab Pureval (OH-01) and Susan Wild (PA-07). 
 
CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "So today from prison, I am warning all candidates and elected officials to watch out," former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, arguing that "under the legal arguments the prosecutors used to convict me, all fundraising can be viewed as bribery."
 
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