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By Kyle Cheney and Elena Schneider

With Theodoric Meyer and Sandhya Raman

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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PORTMAN'S MONSTER QUARTER - Ohio Republican raises $2.75 million: Freshman Sen. Rob Portman set a high bar for Democrats hoping to challenge his reelection - and his fellow vulnerable Republicans. His three-month haul leaves him with more than $8 million on hand heading into the 2016 cycle. His Democratic challengers - former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld - have yet to reveal their first quarter numbers. A Sittenfeld spokesman pushed back late Wednesday: 'Rob Portman's going to need a lot more money than he's raised so far to paper over all the mistakes he's made.'

- Also from FEC deadline day: Sen. Ron Johnson reportedly raised $1.2 million, double the amount he had in his campaign account at the start of the year, but didn't disclose his cash-on-hand figure.
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PLAYING THE FIELD - Grant Starrett aims to hit DesJarlais from the right in TN-04: Wracked by scandal last cycle, GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais narrowly survived a primary against Jim Tracy and went on to win reelection in his conservative district. But his critics are still plentiful, and one of them, 28-year-old Grant Starrett, is confident he can topple the two-term lawmaker. Starrett launched his campaign this morning with a statement that questions DesJarlais' conservative credentials and hints at his personal scandals - DesJarlais reportedly urged his ex-wife and a mistress to get abortions - by questioning the congressman's commitment to anti-abortion principles. "There are big
differences between myself and Congressman Scott DesJarlais," Starrett said in his announcement. "The Congressman's voting record in Washington simply doesn't match his rhetoric in the district. In Tennessee ... I will not just talk like a conservative, I will vote like a conservative."

- Schneider wants a rubber match in IL-10: Former Illinois Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider will announce today that he's running to retake his old seat from GOP Rep. Bob Dold. 'We're pressing the 'Go' button tomorrow morning,' Valerie Martin, a Schneider campaign adviser, told Campaign Pro. Schneider represented the state's 10th District in the Chicago suburbs for one term before losing his seat to Dold last November. He's racked up endorsements from six Democratic members of the state's congressional delegation, including Tammy Duckworth, who announced that she'd run for Sen. Mark Kirk's seat earlier this week. He also has a primary opponent: Nancy Rotering, the
mayor of Highland Park, announced that two weeks ago that she'd run against Dold. Schneider's run was first reported by The Chicago Sun-Times.

As Mark Kirk gets help from the LGBT community and Tony Rodham reemerges, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: daily news, notes and essential information for the 2015 and 2016 election cycles.

Days until the 2015 election: 215; Days until the 2016 election: 586

Thanks for joining us. We're eager for your news and feedback. Email us at
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** A message from Fuels America: Ethanol tax breaks expired in 2012. Oil company tax breaks started during the Wilson Administration and continue without end. Washington has been picking oil as a "winner" for more than a century. The Renewable Fuel Standard levels the playing field so that homegrown, American fuels have access to the market. Learn more:
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LGBT GROUP TOUTS KIRK - Sen. Mark Kirk drew praise Wednesday from Equality Illinois, an LGBT advocacy group, for his vocal condemnation of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's decision to sign a law critics argue is discriminatory. 'I strongly oppose what Governor Pence did. We should not enshrine bigotry under the cover of religion. It's not just bad practice - it's un-American," Kirk said in a statement on the Indiana statute. Equality Illinois hailed Kirk for his vocal opposition and urged other Illinois leaders to speak out against the law.

ALLEGEDLY SPEAKING - "Menendez: Feds are 'dead wrong,'" by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim from Newark, N.J.: "A defiant ... Menendez vowed to fight the corruption charges handed down against him on Wednesday, declaring: 'I am not going anywhere.' In a roughly eight-minute statement at a hotel ballroom here, Menendez said Justice Department prosecutors who pursued the corruption allegations stemming from his friendship with a wealthy donor, Salomon Melgen, were "dead wrong" and that he was confident he would ultimately be vindicated.
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STEYER RELOADS FOR 2016 - The nonprofit launched by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is shutting down its energy policy program, Pro's Elana Schor and Andrew Restuccia report: "Next Generation, co-founded by Steyer in 2011, plans to end its climate policy work and continue as a 'nonprofit incubator,' energy program leader Kate Gordon wrote in an email obtained by POLITICO. The move indicates that Steyer will shift more resources to his organization's political efforts, including his super PAC NextGen Climate Action. Steyer contributed more than $57 million of his own money toward the group's efforts to sway seven key gubernatorial and Senate races last year, though most of his
favored candidates lost."
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2016 GOP - "Bush is an early GOP favorite as companies cut PAC checks," by POLITICO's Anna Palmer and Darren Samuelsohn: "The first signs of which companies are supporting Republican 2016 presidential candidates are in, and things are looking good for Jeb Bush. Four companies' political action committees and a union have reported that they cut checks this year to the former Florida governor's Right to Rise leadership PAC, according to Federal Election Commission filings processed by CQ Political MoneyLine.
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- Paul picks a pollster: POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt reports: "Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has signed Tony Fabrizio, a veteran Republican pollster, to join his 2016 presidential campaign, according to a source familiar with the move. Fabrizio joins a growing Paul campaign team that includes campaign manager-in-waiting Chip Englander, and advisers Steve Munisteri, Mike Biundo, and Doug Stafford. Fabrizio's resume is a long one: He worked on then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2012 presidential campaign - Perry recently inked Greg Strimple to poll for his likely campaign - and was a top strategist on Bob Dole's 1996 bid. Fabrizio also serves as a top adviser to Florida Gov. Rick Scott."

RATING CHANGES - Sabato's Crystal Ball moved Nevada's Senate race from "leans Democratic" to "toss-up" in the wake of Sen. Harry Reid's retirement. And a pair of governor's races have shifted too. Indiana's moves from "safe Republican" to "likely Republican," and Missouri moves from "leans Republican" to "tossup."

WAITING FOR HILLARY - "Touting connections, Hillary's brother takes on Philly project," by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein, with Ben Schreckinger: "The brief bio of Tony Rodham on the website of a Philadelphia investment fund is vague about his business expertise but explicit about his political ties: 'Mr. Rodham has worked with former President Bill Clinton on all his campaigns, from the House of Representatives to the Presidential Campaigns. ... .Mr. Rodham also worked for his sister, Hillary Rodham Clinton, during her Senate and Presidential Campaigns.' The firm, Global City Regional Center, touts Rodham's role recruiting overseas investors who will put up $500,000 in exchange for visas to live
in the United States. Rodham's involvement in the Philadelphia firm, which has not been previously reported, represents another example of his work for investment firms offering so-called EB5 visas to foreign investors.
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- "Ready for Hillary staff join Clinton campaign," by POLITICO's Annie Karni: "As Ready for Hillary ... begins to wind down its operation ahead of Clinton's formal campaign announcement, all 29 of its staffers who want jobs on the Clinton campaign are expected to get the chance to do so at some point during the cycle, sources said. For now, the prospective campaign has hired six Ready for Hillary staffers to join its growing team, a Democratic operative with knowledge of Clinton's plans confirmed to POLITICO.
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CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Look, when people come to me, young people, they say how do I become a United States senator and I say, well, do 35 or 40 years of comedy and run for the Senate. You know, it's worked every time.' - Sen. Al Franken on the Late Show with David Letterman, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
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** A message from Fuels America: The Renewable Fuel Standard is providing American consumers with growing access to a range of homegrown, renewable fuel options that cost less than regular gasoline while delivering higher octane and better engine performance. Without the RFS, oil companies - who control the retail fueling infrastructure through their supplier contracts - would have a free hand to block these less expensive fuels from coming to the market.

No one is asking Congress to 'pick winners and losers.' What America's renewable fuel producers are asking for, however, is a chance to make our product available to consumers. Learn more:
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