Subject: POLITICO's Morning Score: Priorities USA goes ‘digital first’ — Gillibrand edges closer to running — King stripped of committee assignments while Democrats move to rebuke him
From: "Morning Score" <[email-masked]>
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Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2019 09:02:00 -0600
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01/15/2019 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         
- Priorities USA, a major Democratic super PAC, embraces its "digital-first" strategy after the midterms. The change represents a major shift in the advertising landscape as television continues to lose its dominance.

- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) could be the latest candidate to get in. CBS reports she will announce forming her exploratory committee tonight.

- Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was stripped of his committee assignments by his Republican colleagues while Democrats launched several efforts to admonish him.

Good Tuesday morning. My snow day activity: Finally getting around to watching Kimberly Reed's "Dark Money" documentary, which focused on Montana. Well worth the watch (it is on Prime Video). I also rewatched "Mitt" on Netflix, which detailed now-Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) 2008 and 2012 presidential runs and is surreal to watch years later (and also very good). 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: 294

Days until the 2020 election: 658
          THE TOPLINES         
WHO NEEDS TV? - Priorities USA, one of the biggest Democratic super PACs, spent most of its money on digital efforts in the midterms. The group is taking that strategy a step further as it prepares for the 2020 presidential fight.

Priorities USA named Danielle Butterfield as director of paid media, POLITICO's Christopher Cadelago first reported. Butterfield led the organization's digital efforts in 2018, a sign of the increasing prominence of digital and the waning strength of television. 

"We will not operate off of a television-first strategy," Priorities Chairman Guy Cecil said. Butterfield told Chris she is excited for the opportunity to lead a program that will "allow me to put together a comprehensive media program that reaches voters where they are, regardless of channel."

The group will remain neutral in the Democratic primary, instead focusing its fire on Trump. Officials at Priorities told Chris that the group has already received $70 million in funding commitments and that the first digital 2020 ads could land before the end of the second quarter of this year, while television ads might not start until after Democrats pick a nominee.

          IN THE TRENCHES         
PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - Garcetti hit a speed bump before he even got going: Los Angeles teachers went on strike Monday for the first time in 30 years. The teachers want smaller class sizes and more school funding, per the Los Angeles Times' Howard Blume, Sonali Kohli and Hannah Fry. The Hill's Reid Wilson reported that Garcetti will decide this month whether he'll run, and aides think he can't announce while the teachers are striking.

- We could be getting close to Gillibrand's (D-N.Y.) exploratory committee. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe reported she'll announce her exploratory committee on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight (the AP's Juana Summers first reported that an announcement was imminent).

- Sanders will meet Wednesday with staffers who said they experienced sexism and harassment on his 2016 campaign, BuzzFeed News' Ruby Cramer reported.

- For the first stop of his presidential campaign, Juli&aacute;n Castro went to Puerto Rico for a summit hosted by the Latino Victory Fund, per NBC News' Suzanne Gamboa.

- When Castro was a a San Antonio city council member in 2002, he voted to give $600,000 in subsidies to land the Trump-owned Miss USA beauty pageant, which he ended up regretting, POLITICO's Alex Thompson reported.

- South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg gets his turn in the magazine profile cycle from Bob Moser in The Washington Post Magazine. The eyeball emoji quote, for those trying to ascertain his 2020 plans: "It took me years to calibrate my way around South Bend, and now I'm trying to crack the campaign dress code. I'm beginning to absorb the lifestyle of somebody who's running." Buttigieg will also go on a tour after his new book comes out in February.

- Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he'd make a decision on whether he'll run by the end of March, on Bloomberg Radio.

FURTHER FALLOUT - House Republican leaders moved to strip King of his committee assignments after his latest round of racist remarks, per POLITICO's Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris. King called the move "a political decision that ignores the truth." When asked if King should resign, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said "the voters of his district make those decisions." Reps. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) also both unveiled efforts to censure King, while House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn will introduce a resolution of disapproval. 

- Randy Feenstra, who announced last week he would try to primary King, criticized him in a statement: "Sadly, today, the voters and conservative values of our district have lost their seat at the table because of Congressman King's caustic behavior." 

NC-09, CONTINUED - Republican Mark Harris, Democrat Dan McCready and the state board of elections all submitted filings Monday in a case over the disputed election. Harris' lawyers argued that his margin of victory "exceeds the total number of votes in dispute" and his victory should be certified, while both McCready and the state board argued that Harris' reqeust should be denied, per The Charlotte Observer's Jim Morrill and Brian Murphy. The board argued that Harris is not harmed by the board not certifying the election because "the House of Representatives is not inclined to seat him."

BATTLING CANCER - Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) announced he has pancreatic cancer, but was confident in his ability to fight it. "Now that I have begun treatment, I feel hopeful about survival and about my ability to continue serving my constituents of Florida's 20th Congressional district and the nation," he said in a statement, per POLITICO's John Bresnahan and Marc Caputo. "Should it become clear that this cancer which has invaded my body cannot be defeated, I will tell you so."

IN CALIFORNIA - A woman who has accused Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) of sexual assault when she was a teenager publicly identified herself Monday after asking the House to open an ethics investigation, the Los Angeles Times' Sarah Wire reported. Angela Villela Chavez first filed a lawsuit against the lawmaker last year, alleging that he groped her in 2007. Cardenas has steadfastly denied the allegations, with his attorney previously saying she "may be the victim of manipulation" because her father is a former employee. The allegations could not be corroborated by The Times.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE WATCH - The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to Montana's base campaign donation limits for state offices, which caps the total aggregate amount of money individuals can give. "I've never heard any Montanan say we need more money in politics and I'm glad to see the Supreme Court for once agrees," Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock said, per the AP.

UP NEXT - In North Carolina, Democratic Mecklenburg County Commissioner Trevor Fuller told The Charlotte Observer's editorial board that he'll soon announce his bid for the Senate.

- Republican Minnesota state Sen. Karin Housley, who lost the U.S. Senate special election in the midterms, is meeting in D.C. "with folks in advance of a decision about 2020," the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Jennifer Brooks reported.

WEB WARS - We'll be tracking the top spenders on Facebook every week, for both candidates and outside groups. President Donald Trump easily spent the most out of any candidate last week, topping $725,000 between two committees. Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly spent the most out of 2020 Democratic hopefuls at just over $36,000. Here are more details for Pro subscribers on the rest of the candidates and outside groups.

WHAT'S NEXT? - Lawmakers heading to K Street after leaving Congress is not unusual. But there may not be jobs for all of them. "[M]ore than 60 Republicans exited the House this month, and so many of them are considering heading to K Street that not all of them are likely to find work, according to interviews with lobbyists and headhunters," POLITICO's Theodoric Meyer wrote. 

CODA - SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE OF THE DAY: "Committee to Stop AI/The Machines from Killing Us All" is one of the newest PACs, per POLITICO Influence.
    
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