EMAIL DETAILS

By Kevin Robillard | 01/03/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Elena Schneider, Daniel Strauss and Zach Montellaro

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. (http://www.politicopro.com/proinfo)

RETIREMENT WATCH - "Hatch announces retirement, Romney likely to run," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Seung Min Kim: "Orrin Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator, announced Tuesday he will not seek reelection in November. The move sets the stage for a likely run for his Utah seat by former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. 'Every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. And for me, that time is soon approaching,' the 83-year-old senator, who was first elected in 1976, said in a video announcement. 'That's why after much prayer and discussion with family and friends, I've decided to retire at the end of this term.' ... President Donald Trump tried aggressively to persuade
Hatch to seek another term, orchestrating a visit to Utah in which the president lavished praise on Hatch and had the senator accompany him on Air Force One. Trump's move was aimed in no small part at keeping Romney out of the Senate. ...

"But with Hatch out of the race, Romney will be the heavy favorite. The former Massachusetts governor, who is now residing in Utah, is widely popular in the state. He has spent the past few months huddling with key players in the state to discuss a prospective bid, including prominent businessman Kem Gardner and state House speaker Greg Hughes. In a statement posted to Facebook Tuesday afternoon, Romney made no mention of a potential Senate bid." Full story.

- "Trump-Romney rivalry set to take center stage again," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "Donald Trump had just returned from Utah last month when the president placed a call to his longtime nemesis Mitt Romney. Trump was ostensibly trying to ease tensions between the two men, after a trip dominated by news reports that he was courting Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to run for reelection in order to keep Romney from seeking the seat. But the 10-minute chat only further raised suspicions within Romney's inner circle that the president was out to stymie the former GOP presidential nominee's political ambitions. The president told Romney that he knew he was thinking about running. But according to
one person familiar with the conversation, the details of which have not been reported before, Trump didn't press the former Massachusetts governor about his thinking or ask why he might be interested in being a senator. Romney's aides came away convinced the president was trying to suss out Romney's intentions and position himself as an ally, when he'd been anything but." Full story.

- SHUSTER OUT - 'Shuster to join GOP exodus," by POLITICO's Tanya Snyder, Elena Schneider and Jake Sherman: "House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) announced today that he's stepping down at the end of his term, joining the fast-growing wave of GOP lawmakers to head for the exits. Since he is term-limited out of the committee's chairmanship after three terms, many insiders had speculated that this would be Shuster's last year in Congress. With today's announcement, Shuster joins a long list of Republicans stepping down in 2018, including Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey, T&I Committee vice chairman John Duncan of Tennessee and committee
member Blake Farenthold of Texas. ... Republican operatives named state Sen. John Eichelberger Jr. as a potential candidate to replace Shuster, but other candidates are expected to jump into the race now that nine-term congressman formally confirmed his retirement." Full story.

- Shuster's interview with The Washington Examiner.

RECRUITMENT WATCH - "Paying family with campaign funds could dog Cramer in Senate bid," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "North Dakota GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer, who is being courted by President Donald Trump to challenge Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp this year, has paid his family members more than $150,000 and received more than $200,000 in reimbursements from his campaign account, a practice ethics watchdogs have questioned in the past. Cramer, who met with Trump on Tuesday to discuss a run against Heitkamp, publicly hemmed and hawed on a run for much of 2017. National Republicans initially viewed him as a top recruit but soured on him after a series of gaffes last spring. Trump won North
Dakota by more than 30 points in 2016, and the GOP views Heitkamp as one of the three most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection in 2018. ... After meeting with Trump on Tuesday, Cramer told a local television station Trump has promised to back him in the contest. 'What's most important is that we have his strong moral support, that he will endorse me, that he'll come out in full support and that he will campaign as his schedule allows,' Cramer said, adding that the president had 'obvious infinite power but a finite calendar.' ... But Cramer's history of paying his family out of his campaign account could become an issue in the Senate contest. Citizens for Responsibility and
Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, released a report in 2012 documenting how members can legally use campaign funds to pay their family members, as long as they don't pay above market rate. The practice is 'legally alright but morally kind of sticky,' said Jordan Libowitz, the communications director at CREW. 'It's important for supporters to know this money is basically going back into [the candidate's] own pocket.'" Full story.

NEW THIS MORNING - AAN puts $2 million on TV for tax reform: American Action Network is out with a $2 million round of TV and digital ads, part of a $10 million commitment to promoting the Republican tax reform over the next several months. The ads thank Republican members of Congress in 23 House districts for "[keeping] its promise and cut taxes for middle-class families," a person in the ad says. Check out the ad here. Check out the list of targeted seats here.

Days until the 2018 election: 306

Upcoming election dates - Arizona 8th District special primary: Feb. 27. Texas primaries: March 6. Pennsylvania 18th District special election: March 13. Illinois primaries: March 20.

Thanks for joining us! You can email tips to the Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

EARLY POLLING DATA - Cruz internal poll shows him leading O'Rourke: A WPA Intelligence poll conducted for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign shows him leading Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, 52 percent to 34 percent, with 13 percent undecided. The poll found 50 percent of likely voters had a favorable view of Cruz and 42 percent had an unfavorable view, giving the senator 99 percent name ID. O'Rourke's name ID stood at just 32 percent. Fourteen percent have a favorable opinion of the congressman, while 7 percent have an unfavorable opinion. The poll of 600 likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Full results here.

-DeSantis' poll gives him lead in GOP governor primary: A robopoll from Remington Research Group found Rep. Ron DeSantis with 28 percent of the GOP primary vote in Florida's gubernatorial race, with Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam trailing with 25 percent and state House Speaker Richard Corcoran earning just 3 percent, with a whopping 44 percent undecided. In a head-to-head matchup, DeSantis is essentially tied with Putnam, 30 percent to 29 percent and 41 percent undecided. Sixty-nine percent of likely GOP primary voters said they're more likely to support DeSantis because of Trump's support for him, while 15 percent said they are less likely. Another question found 36 percent of
likely GOP primary voters identify as Trump Republicans, while 31 percent identify as Christian conservatives and just 14 percent identify with establishment Republicans. Full results here.

WATCH THIS SEAT - "Republicans can't generate buzz for Ros-Lehtinen's seat, and some say it's unwinnable," by McClatchy's Alex Daugherty: "'The seat is now going to go to the Democrats,' said Raquel Regalado, a former Miami-Dade school board member and candidate for Miami-Dade mayor who recently announced she was dropping out of the Republican race to replace Ros-Lehtinen. ... One Republican member of Congress rolled his eyes and sighed when asked about the GOP's chances in the district. Five Republicans, including members of Congress, staffers and fundraisers who said the seat is not winnable, requested anonymity to discuss their own party candidly." Full story.

RETURN OF THE BACH - "Michele Bachmann weighing U.S. Senate run," by the Minneapolis Star Tribune's J. Patrick Coolican: "Michele Bachmann, the former U.S. representative from Minnesota and one-time Republican presidential candidate, said in a TV interview that she is mulling a political comeback by running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated Tuesday by Al Franken. 'I've had people contact me and urge me to run for that Senate seat. The only reason I would run is for the ability to take these principles into the United States Senate, to be able to advocate for these principles,' Bachmann said, referring to the Christian conservatism that defined her political style. 'The question is, should it
be me? Should it be now?' Bachmann asked, in her appearance on the 'Jim Bakker Show' in late December. She did not answer the question, but spoke of what she described as the increasingly high personal toll of big political campaigns. ... So far, the only other candidate to announce a run is state Sen. Karin Housley, R-St. Marys Point." Full story.

SLEEPER ISSUE - "The sexual harassment vote the GOP would like to forget," by POLITICO's Ian Kullgren: "Not long before a deluge of sexual harassment claims engulfed Capitol Hill, congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump quietly repealed safeguards to protect hundreds of thousands of American workers from such harassment. Their target was an August 2016 regulation issued by the Obama Labor Department that required businesses to disclose certain labor violations - including sexual harassment - whenever they bid on large federal contracts." Full story.

2020 WATCH - "Julián Castro to launch new PAC," by The Texas Tribune's Abby Livingston: "Castro's PAC, Opportunity First, will have three aims: gaining Democratic control of the House, making headway in state legislatures ahead of the 2021 round of redistricting and electing younger leaders to local office. To do this, the PAC will have an arm that is more traditional in focus, boosting the campaigns of candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives. The other side will support local, non-federal candidates." Full story.

STAFFING UP - Polyansky to Clout Public Affairs. Per Cruz senior communications adviser Catherine Frazier: "Ted Cruz's recently departed Chief of Staff, David Polyansky, is headed to Clout Public Affairs, a new and growing division of Axiom Strategies, to serve as President. A political veteran, Polyansky was a part of Cruz's presidential campaign as a senior adviser and as his chief is credited with Cruz's successful and highly visible return to the Senate dubbed by many as 'Cruz 2.0' ... He also served as a top adviser to the Scott Walker presidential campaign and to Joni Ernst's successful bid to the US Senate." Polyansky is remaining as an adviser to Cruz's reelection campaign.

-Russell, Lawler launch Checkmate Strategies: GOP strategists Chris Russell and Michael Lawler are launching Checkmate Strategies, a New York and New Jersey-based firm that will handle general consulting, direct mail and crisis communications, among other services. The firm is also hiring Harrison Neely, a former campaign manager for Rep. Tom MacArthur, as senior vice president. Russell was previously at his own consulting firm, Chris Russell Strategies, while Lawler was executive director of the New York Republican State Committee.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.' Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" - President Donald Trump, on Twitter.

To view online:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca17874e137b7db2bc3cd66191f011fe3ad6260870f4f9a6c14a455aa55b5eaefc04ac7b6d1b874a86b3e867ba1801d0
To change your alert settings, please go to http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=ca17874e137b7db2b5fcc23f03059432597f117eef455008ceec302b7a1de12345ad3f1a4ab64d0531862114b9c9821c or http://click.politicoemail.com/profile_center.aspx?qs=c1c81b2ef644fde1dd3c1f6178ef6a8ea3ee660992025bd471f2fca3a14d8c2ae76a43f5dcc388c2bdbe92d1a8ac02857e04de02aa515bf1
This email was sent to Hbiden@rosemontseneca.com by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA


To unsubscribe,https://www.politico.com/_unsubscribe?e=00000160-bc8a-d2dd-a97b-ffcb6ec50000&u=0000014e-f0fe-dd93-ad7f-f8fffbc40000&s=07a5663a1b9d6e1b242f864e3ac6c929b7d31f776f1a9d5dc4f7e3ece97f7b97923618414a237c89b0d10d9098585801842951097dcf3c911ea5fca8d8c9e79f