Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Bustos discourages primary challengers as DCCC chief — NC-09 fraud hearing delayed — Women on Sanders ’16 say complaints about harassment went unheard
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Thu, 03 Jan 2019 09:03:38 -0600
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01/03/2019 10:00 AM EDT
        
By ZACH MONTELLARO ([email-masked]; @ZachMontellaro)

        
Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Score is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Campaigns subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here. 
          QUICK FIX         
Welcome back to Score! I've gotten a couple emails asking exactly what this newfangled Quick Fix section is. Imagine it as a roadmap for what's in Score - highlighting the top three bits of news that we'll expand on later in the newsletter.

- New DCCC Chairwoman Rep. Cheri Bustos said in an interview with POLITICO that her job is to "support Democrats in the House" and not embolden primary challengers.

- The investigation in NC-09 has been delayed after Republicans wouldn't go along with a plan from the Democratic governor that would have created an interim state board of elections.

- Women who worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2016 told The New York Times that they experienced sexism on the campaign, ranging from pay disparity to complaints about harassment that went unheeded. His former campaign manager expressed regret.

Good Thursday morning. Email me your thoughts at [email-masked] or DM me at @ZachMontellaro. 

Email the great Campaign Pro team at [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], and [email-masked]. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @lbarronlopez.

Days until the 2019 election: 306

Days until the 2020 election: 670
          THE TOPLINES         
THE WOMAN IN CHARGE - Bustos will be the second woman to ever lead the DCCC (and the first elected to the position). She's charged with defending the Democrats' majority - and fighting to expand it. The new chairwoman sat for an interview with Laura Barr&oacute;n-L&oacute;pez and me and laid out her plans for the cycle.

The Illinois Democrat told us she could unveil the first round of members in the DCCC's Frontline program as early as this month, vowing that "there will not be one battleground district, not one, that we will leave unprotected or uncontested."

She also pledged to work with insurgent Democrats like Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "I want to build a relationship with all the different groups and learn from someone like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ... I think there's a lot I can learn from her, that we can learn from her." However, she was quick to point out her job is to "support Democrats in the House," not primary challengers.

"I hope we don't have to deal with a lot of primary angst because it takes a lot of resources when that happens," Bustos continued. "We've got a tough two years ahead, with the other side of the aisle, so I hope those are the battles we can focus on."
          IN THE TRENCHES         
NC-09, CONTINUED - The Jan. 11 state board of elections hearing into allegations of election fraud in NC-09 has been postponed. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that he will not name an interim state board of elections (after judges dissolved the previous board) because the state Republican party would not put forward any nominees and Cooper said he wouldn't appoint a board with just Democrats. 

The state board of elections put out a statement hours later saying that because only seated board members can hold hearings (or certify elections), the scheduled Jan. 11 hearing was postponed. "State Board staff will continue to interview witnesses and pursue leads as part of this investigation," Kim Westbrook Strach, the executive director of the state board, said in a release. An attorney for Republican Mark Harris also told CNN's Ethan Cohen and Curt Devine that he will ask a North Carolina court today to certify the results, but will also meet with investigators from the state board of elections.

- If a new election is ultimately called, another big Republican name is sitting it out. Former Gov. Pat McCrory said on his radio show Wednesday that he will not run in any potential redo. He also said he will wait to decide whether he'll run for his old office in 2020 or for senator in 2022.

CAMPAIGNING AND #METOO - Some women who worked for Sanders' 2016 bid said their complaints about mistreatment on his campaign went unheeded. "I did experience sexual harassment during the campaign, and there was no one who would or could help," Samantha Davis, a former director of operations, told The New York Times' Sydney Ember and Katie Benner. Jeff Weaver, Sanders' 2016 campaign manager, expressed regret in an email to The Times' reporters, writing that "in 2016, as the size of our campaign exploded, we made efforts to make it a positive experience for people. That there was a failure pains me very much."

- In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Sanders said "I certainly apologize to any women who felt that she was not treated appropriately" and promised to do better if he ran in 2020. When Cooper asked if he knew about the allegations at the time, he said he didn't, saying "I was a little bit busy running around the country, trying to make the case."

PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - Add another name to the "soon-to-announce" list. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told The Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere that he's "laying the groundwork" that would make a run "a feasible thing in the relatively short term." Inslee's soon-to-be campaign would focus on climate change.

One more tidbit: Former Vice President Al Gore won't be endorsing a candidate in the election (presumably just in the primaries).

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she is "getting close to a decision" about running but wouldn't put out a specific timeline, in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Patrick Condon.

- Some presidential cold water, for a change. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) told OPB's Jeff Mapes that concerns over the cost of running a campaign could keep him out of the race. Merkley is aiming to make a decision by the end of March.

- Fresh off her exploratory committee announcement, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) drew a line in the sand on campaign finance in the primaries to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. "We're going to say, grassroots funding. No to the billionaires. No to the billionaires, whether they're self-funding or whether they're funding PACs," she said. "People should not be self-funding." She also hired her top Iowa staff, including Sanders' 2016 Iowa caucus director and Rep.-elect Abby Finkenauer's campaign manager.

CASTING VOTES - A big change is coming to the Democratic primary: More states are abandoning caucuses in favor of primaries, POLITICO's Holly Otterbein reports. Former DNC chair Ed Rendell told Holly that the change could hurt progressives like Sanders and Warren while boosting candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden. However, Sanders supporters pushed back, with Weaver predicting the change would have no practical effect on a (still theoretical) run.

FOOD FIGHT- An op-ed from incoming Sen. Mitt Romney kicked up the latest calls among the Trump faithful to seal off the 2020 Republican nomination process from anyone other than the president, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reported. Romney declined to endorse Trump in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper but said he's not running again.

NEXT UP - Democrat Adam Edelen appears to be preparing to run for Kentucky governor in 2019. The Louisville Courier Journal's Thomas Novelly discovered what looked like an early version of a campaign website (which now reads "coming soon") for a ticket with Edelen and developer Gill Holland.

- Republican Corey Stapleton, the Montana secretary of state, announced in a Facebook post that he is running for governor in 2020.

- Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who narrowly lost to GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter in CA-50, has filed to run again in 2020 and tweeted he'll have an official announcement soon.

RETIREMENT WATCH - Rep. Walter Jones' (R-N.C.) office confirmed to National Journal's Alex Clearfield that he will retire after the 116th Congress. Jones represents NC-03, a solidly red district that overwhelming supported Trump in the 2016 election.

CASH DASH - Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb's campaign said he had $4 million cash on hand at the end of 2018. Holcomb is up for reelection in 2020.

THE DEBATE STAGE - The Commission on Presidential Debates has started accepting applications from venues interested in hosting a 2020 presidential or vice presidential debate, Playbook reported. 

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I keep coming across drawers full of alligator clips. Where the hell did they come from? Why do we have them?" - incoming Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers on the stresses of having to move, via The Capital Times.
    
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