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By Elena Schneider | 12/21/2015 10:00 AM EDT


With Theodoric Meyer and Scott Bland

he 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)

GRAHAM SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: "South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is suspending presidential run, he told supporters on a conference call today. His announcement came on the same day as the deadline hit for him to remove his name from the South Carolina primary ballot, a date that had been closely watched amid speculation that the low-polling Graham would want to avoid a potentially poor performance in his own state's contest." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1ef58412b27fe7961e35d25b770c512e3563bcd86476d14db5

PRIMARY PREY - "Hispanic groups see tea party as inspiration for 2016 primaries," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e5cdb0149a1576f7520fa015202a7569e7d3d69dbb1b0c1da

ON THE OP-ED PAGES - "Ted Cruz tackles the Wall Street Journal," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "When tea party upstart Ted Cruz booted a well-heeled, deeply entrenched opponent to win a Republican Senate primary in 2012, the Wall Street Journal greeted his sudden stardom with guarded optimism about a new era of politics. But less than a year later, the Journal's opinion page soured on Cruz, calling his tone and tactics - along with his overt pursuit of the presidency just months after joining the Senate - unseemly and counterproductive." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e7db3a56df8ca5b42c681a64a03827fe98d8ea9f3e844e142

AIR WAR - "Cruz super PAC tweaks Rubio in new ad," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck: "A super PAC backing Ted Cruz is going up with a new, six-figure digital ad buy targeting voters in the four early-voting primary states, as well as in Mississippi, Georgia and in Alabama, where Cruz just finished a weekend campaign swing. The minute-long spot, called "Trust," was produced by Keep the Promise I, in collaboration with Keep the Promise PAC, part of a cluster of super PACs supporting the Texas senator's presidential bid. The ad, which features voter testimonials, also takes an oblique swipe at Marco Rubio, a rival Republican presidential candidate with whom Cruz has been increasingly sparring over
immigration and national security." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e42693b315189adedd5c7a0205b528a80049940fb5f4d97a7

Days until the 2016 election: 323.

Thanks for joining us. You can email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, tmeyer@politico.com and kcheney@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about Kid Cudi: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @kyledcheney.

THREE AND OUT - GOP Rep. Richard Hanna to retire in 2016: The three-term Republican told the Syracuse Post-Standard Sunday that he won't run for reelection in 2016, Though Hanna held the seat fairly easily after winning his first term in 2010, by the numbers, it's battleground territory: President Barack Obama lost it to Mitt Romney by less than a percentage point in 2012. Read more here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1ed7b2f4c70d5d88a86ddda005ebc3717f6d95cc778476222f

WINDOW OPENS, DOOR CLOSES - Top DCCC recruit decides against NY-19 run: Democrat Mike Hein said Friday that he won't run for GOP Rep. Chris Gibson's open seat, robbing Democrats of their preferred candidate in one of their best 2016 pickup opportunities, a district President Barack Obama won twice. More here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1eb871e473a7db6e91be27628102478be4860c55d158ba2e48

NO SILENT NIGHT - New Mexico "[g]overnor's role in hotel disturbance draws national attention," by the Santa Fe New Mexican's Uriel J. Garcia and Milan Simonich: "Gov. Susana Martinez, newly elected chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association and recently touted as a possible contender for vice president, found herself attracting a different sort of national attention Friday after the release of a recording in which she told law enforcement dispatchers that police should not investigate disturbance complaints against her group at a Santa Fe hotel. ... Martinez issued a statement Friday evening apologizing for her actions" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e572d6e5573cbdb48f3569470068d8f529fb05e1833c0417d

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "Ted Cruz supersizes his campaign," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck in Trussville, Ala.: He jets between stops in a charter plane, the crowds at his events line up in advance outside the doors and young attendees are treated to peppermint sticks and pictures with Santa. It's not quite the spectacle of the Donald Trump show, but as Ted Cruz barnstorms through his 12-day Southern swing he is producing his own series of campaign extravaganzas that befit his newfound status as Trump's closest rival. The differences between this tour and Cruz's first major trip through the South - a summer bus tour in August - are manifest. The crowds are bigger this time and the events come
with more bells and whistles, ranging from videos that feature endorsements from prominent conservative leaders to the heightened presence of lawmakers and party officials." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e2fdb9836a356b74646aa6776f8a9b59fe894976ed727bfab

- "Finally, an explanation for Hillary Clinton's long bathroom break," by the New York Times' Amy Chozick: "As the third Democratic debate faded to a five-minute commercial break, Hillary Clinton had exactly one minute and 45 seconds to walk out of the gymnasium at St. Anselm College to the ladies' restroom and one minute and 45 seconds to return to her place on stage. Not a lot of wiggle room. With the men's room significantly closer to the debate stage, Mrs. Clinton's male opponents, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, made it back quicker and, well, it takes women longer, as Mrs. Clinton pointed out after returning slightly late from a commercial break during the first Democratic debate
in Las Vegas. But on Saturday, the ABC News hosts, tied to the schedule of live TV, proceeded with their questioning about the economy with an empty podium awaiting Mrs. Clinton. 'Sorry,' she deadpanned when she finally took her place." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e2d72933634ed2ce77c8896355ffd8cbfd16b9380c46b392b

- "It looks like a quiet Christmas on Iowa's campaign trail," by the Des Moines Register's Jennifer Jacobs: "Iowans will have some political respite around Christmas: The nonstop presidential candidate blizzard is forecast to die down for three days straight. We haven't had a three-day candidate-free spree since Thanksgiving, The Des Moines Register's candidate visit tracker shows. Unless some candidate makes a last-minute announcement that alters this Christmas miracle, just three White House hopefuls will spread their cheer in Iowa during Christmas week. Republican Mike Huckabee will be here Monday, and Democrat Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. Democrat Bernie Sanders wraps up a three-day
swing with a final event at noon Wednesday. But there's nary a candidate in sight from Thursday, Christmas Eve, through Saturday." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e5189b6c5df8ba0efff0d4fdc22a5680dd3257ee510f56fde

- "New Hampshire station poised to rake in record haul in ads," by the Boston Globe's Sarah Schweitzer: "As the only network affiliate based in the state, WMUR is leveraging its deep market penetration to lure advertising dollars - an anticipated nearly $40 million this cycle, according to one projection - from campaigns vying in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1ed14b51f436861e0f8fc3fd99680cbf6a6bd333435180e41d

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I do know they need a new TV, because the one on the first floor was from the 1960s and had rabbit ears." - California Department of Finance Deputy Director H.D. Palmer on Gov. Jerry Brown's renovated governor's mansion, whose last occupant was President Ronald Reagan, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=0ec4a2f1dec0bb1e47f8c095954f788f4ef231fa094dc4922e9287b9abaf3bbb

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