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By Theodoric Meyer

With Kyle Cheney, Elena Schneider and Kevin Robillard

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. (
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AFTER THE INDICTMENT - "Keeping a distance from Robert Menendez's money," by POLITICO's Tarini Parti: "Since forming his New Millennium leadership PAC 15 years ago, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez has given generously to boost incumbents in tough races, Hispanic candidates and Garden State politicians. But in the aftermath of scathing 68-page federal bribery indictment, some Democrats are taking a hard look at money they received from New Millennium and from the Florida eye doctor charged along with the senator."

- "Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly is donating the $7,500 he received from Menendez' PAC in 2012 to 10 charities in Indiana, and Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri is returning the $10,000 she received from the PAC in 2010, their aides told POLITICO. Both Donnelly and McCaskill won their races in 2012 largely due to weak GOP opponents - Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin - who made some controversial comments on abortion.
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SENATE RECRUITMENT - Democrats are wooing an alternative to Sestak: "Top Democrats are pressuring Josh Shapiro, a former state lawmaker who heads Pennsylvania's third most populous county, to run for the U.S. Senate, a reflection of the party's unease with second-time candidate Joe Sestak," The Associated Press reported. Democratic sources in Washington and Pennsylvania told the AP that Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer had spoken with Shapiro. A former Pennsylvania state representative, Shapiro is now the chairman of Montgomery County's Board of Commissioners in suburban Philadelphia.
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AIR WAR - "PAC targets senators on Iran bill," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Kyle Cheney: A bipartisan political action committee is rolling out an ad campaign knocking senators who don't yet support a bill that would give Congress a say over the nuclear deal with Iran - and thanking senators that are backing the legislation. The American Security Initiative is rolling out $650,000 worth of ads aimed at influencing senators to support a bill from Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) that would allow Congress to accept or reject lifting congressional sanctions in any Iran deal.
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FIRST IN SCORE - Edwards lines up campaign firms: Maryland Rep. Donna Edwards, who's facing down Rep. Chris Van Hollen for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski, has named the firms she'll be using. Her campaign tells Campaign Pro she'll employ GMMB for media, Global Strategy Group for polling, Mission Control for mail and Clarity Campaign Labs for targeting. "Donna's excited to combine a groundswell of grassroots support with a diverse team of men and women that have the experience to propel her to victory," Benjamin Gerdes, a spokesman, said in a statement.

- And she won't be paying them with JPMorgan contributions: Edwards announced on Thursday that she won't accept donations from Wall Street banks in her run for the Senate and urged other candidates in the race to do the same. "I am running for the Senate so I can join Elizabeth Warren and other strong progressive leaders in the fight against Wall Street," Edwards wrote in a fundraising email.

As Ted Strickland plays catchup on fundraising and Clinton courts the press, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: daily news, notes and essential information for the 2015 and 2016 election cycles.

Days until the 2015 election: 207; Days until the 2016 election: 578

Thanks for joining us. We're eager for your news and feedback. Email us at
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GETTING CROWDED - Another Democrat enters race to replace Capps: The crowd to replace California Rep. Lois Capps' seat grew again Thursday when Salud Carbajal, a Democratic Santa Barbara County commissioner, announced he would run. Republican Justin Fareed - who won about 15 percent of the vote in last year's top-two primary, narrowly missing out on second place and advancing to the general election - stepped into the fray on Wednesday. Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, a Democrat, said Wednesday that she was running, too. GOP State Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian said he was also "seriously considering" the job. Laura Capps, the Congresswoman's daughter, may be considering a run, but she
put off questions when she tweeted, "there is plenty of time to discuss in days to come."

CASH HUSTLE - Strickland brings in $671,000 in first quarter: Former Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland raised $671,000 during an abbreviated first quarter after he said he would run against well-funded GOP Sen. Rob Portman. Strickland's camp said they raised $470,000 of that in the final two weeks of the quarter. He has just under $650,000 cash on hand. Strickland's Democratic primary opponent, Cincinnati city Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, raised $750,000 in the quarter. But Sittenfeld's campaign announced before Strickland's entry in February that it had raised $500,000, suggesting the 30-year-old's fundraising slowed after Strickland's announcement. Portman, meanwhile, raised a whopping
$2.75 million in the first three months of the year. He has more than $8 million cash on hand.

- Comstock raises $400,000 in first quarter: Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) raised $400,000 in the first quarter of 2015, sources with her campaign confirmed, a solid haul in a race expected to be competitive in 2016. The campaign didn't immediately say how much cash she had on hand, saying the figure was still being tabulated. She ended 2014 with $61,000 in the bank.

- Kline challenger has $515,000 in cash on hand: Democrat Mary Lawrence, who's running against Republican Rep. John Kline in Minnesota's 2nd district, has more than $515,000 in cash on hand. Lawrence, an ophthalmologist, kicked in $300,000 of her own money, her campaign told Campaign Pro. She'll face Angie Craig, a hospital executive, in the Democratic primary.

BUSH ENDORSEMENT - Jeb Bush will host fundraiser for Vitter: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is backing Sen. David Vitter to be Louisiana's next governor and will host a fundraiser for the candidate next week. "I am confident Senator Vitter's conservative credentials and reform-minded principles will make him a successful governor," Bush said in a statement. Vitter faces competition from Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, Public Service Commission member Scott Angelle - both Republicans - and Democrat John Bel Edwards in Louisiana's open gubernatorial primary. The senator has already received backing from two other presidential aspirants: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
(Endorsing Vitter comes with the side benefit of irritating term-limited Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Vitter antagonist who is planning a likely presidential run of his own.) The fundraiser will be April 15 in New Orleans.

TONING IT DOWN - "Rand Paul's kinder, gentler libertarianism," by POLITICO's James Hohmann: "Rand Paul used to be libertarian. Now he describes himself as 'libertarian-ish.' It's a slight distinction, but an important one. The senator is using his presidential campaign kickoff tour this week, including a Thursday afternoon speech at the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier in Charleston, S.C., to present himself as a kinder and gentler version of his father, long the movement's standard-bearer, while also showcasing a scaled-back, sanded-down form of libertarianism that's more palatable to the Republican rank-and-file."
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ON A MISSION - "Graham's strategy: take down Rand Paul," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham may still be weighing whether to run for president, but he already has a strategy - distancing himself from fellow senator Rand Paul. In TV appearances, on the campaign trail, and even in private fundraisers, Graham, an Air Force reservist and one of his party's most prominent defense hawks, has gone after Paul repeatedly and by name, casting him as weak-kneed and unwilling to protect the country from aggressors. In interviews, Graham aides said he was laying out a plan to position himself as Paul's foil, and will repeatedly contrast his foreign policy positions to that
of the Kentucky senator's more isolationist views, especially in debates. They believe that going after Paul - or "putting wood on him," in the words of one aide - drives attention to Graham and, at a time of rising concern about threats from abroad, help establish himself as the hawk of the Republican field.
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Notwithstanding this article and all of the rumors, I will continue in my role and am not departing,' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's chief of staff, David Krone, wrote in an email to Reid's staff in January after POLITICO reported that Reid would replace Krone. Reid's office confirmed on Thursday that Krone would step down.

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