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By Zach Montellaro | 07/23/2018 10:00 AM EDT


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)

DOWN IN GEORGIA - The brutal Republican runoff in the Georgia gubernatorial race is coming to a close tomorrow, when voters head to the polls. The battle between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and state Secretary of State Brian Kemp has been colored by animosity that's run the gamut from name calling to a series of leaked secret recordings. President Donald Trump also put his thumb on the scale by endorsing Kemp. "Brian is very strong on Crime and Borders, LOVES our Military, Vets and the 2nd Amendment. He will be a GREAT Governor," the president tweeted. And on Saturday Vice President Mike Pence headlined a rally for Kemp in Macon, Ga., that bore similarities to a Trump rally. The Macon Telegraph's
Laura Corley: "About a thousand people filed through a metal detector and gathered in the auditorium waiting for Kemp and Pence. At times, the crowd would chant 'build that wall,' 'Kemp' or 'USA.'"

- But state party officials are trying to ensure that the bitter primary doesn't hurt them in November, when the winner will eventually face Democrat Stacey Abrams. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein: "Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp pledged Friday to unite to support whoever wins next week's GOP runoff at a rally after the vote. Until then, though, there's no sign of any letup in the venomous battle between the two Republicans competing for governor. ... The Georgia GOP is trying to step in the chasm. The party's chairman, John Watson, arranged an event for two days after the runoff with Cagle, Kemp and a cast of other Republican leaders to present a
united front against Abrams."

TRUMP'S TRADE WAR - The president's growing trade war could hurt his party in the midterms. POLITICO's Megan Cassella: "[M]arket analysts, industry experts and economists warn that the economic fallout of the president's tariffs - those that are already in effect and those he's threatening to impose - is only going to intensify over the coming months and could reach a peak around election time. ... Trump and his party could soon begin to face consequences as companies in the coming months start reporting lower earnings, reassessing their supply chains and holding back on investment, all of which will begin to ripple throughout the economy and could lead to a slowdown or full-blown
recession, experts say."

Good Monday morning. An unsolicited vacation idea: I wrote some of Score from a porch in Scottsville, Va., this weekend and it is a beautiful place. You can email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the great Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, dstrauss@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @ec_schneider, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @MaggieSeverns.

Days until the 2018 election: 106.

Upcoming election dates - July 24: Georgia primary runoffs. - Aug. 2: Tennessee primaries. - Aug. 7: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington primaries.

ALL ABOUT TAXES - California's gas tax ballot initiative has energized the state's Republicans, which could help tip the scales in a few close congressional races. To fight back, Democrats want outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown to be the tip of the spear. POLITICO's Jeremy B. White and Carla Marinucci: "With Election Day months away, Brown remains a wildcard. Entering the twilight of his fourth and final term, he has yet to indicate what role he'll take - or how much he'll spend to shore up Democratic interests. Veteran Democratic strategist Garry South notes Brown is sitting on a hefty campaign warchest - and can't sit back for long. 'He's term-limited out as governor, and this is part of his
legacy,' said South. 'This is not something that the Legislature cooked up and forced him to sign. This is something where he was an equal partner with the Legislature in passing this.'"

THE NEW LOOK DEMS? - The progressive wing of the Democratic party was out in full force this weekend to support James Thompson, who is running in Kansas' 4th District. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew a crowd of about 5,000, The Wichita Eagle's Dion Lefler and Rafael Garcia report: "They cheered, chanted, and at times shouted out 'We love you Bernie!' as Sanders went through his now-familiar menu of issues, including a $15 minimum wage, Medicare-for-all, tuition-free college and sympathy for immigrant families separated by President Donald Trump's zero tolerance policy on undocumented immigration."

- But a top Sanders adviser has become wrapped up in the Mueller probe. BuzzFeed News' Ruby Cramer: "Emails and documents from Tad Devine, a political operative who served at the highest levels of the Bernie Sanders campaign, could be presented as evidence in the Special Counsel's Office's prosecution of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign chair. In a list of government exhibits released this week, at least 16 items relate to work by Devine or his consulting firm, Devine Mulvey Longabaugh. The documents referenced - including emails, invoices, and memos - date from 2006 to 2014."

ANOTHER PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT - Trump threw his support behind Republican Troy Balderson in the special election in Ohio's 12th District. He's running against Democrat Danny O'Connor. The tweet: "Troy Balderson of Ohio is running for Congress against a Nancy Pelosi Liberal who is WEAK on Crime & Borders. Troy is the total opposite, and loves our Military, Vets & 2nd Amendment. EARLY VOTING just started with Election Day on August 7th. Troy has my Full & Total Endorsement!"

STAR FOX - Kimberly Guilfoyle, a Fox News personality, is quitting her job at the network to campaign for Republicans in the midterms. POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "Guilfoyle is expected to leave the network to join the pro-Trump America First super PAC, according to a person with direct knowledge of the hire. Guilfoyle is also expected to hit the midterm campaign trail with Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. The two have been dating in recent weeks."

#METOO IN MINNESOTA - After a report that Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) - who is running for lieutenant governor - hired a former staffer for his campaign who was accused of sexual harassment, his running mate at the top of the ticket, state attorney general Lori Swanson, stood by him. "Congressman Nolan has been a champion for women," Swanson said in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune's J. Patrick Coolican. "He was one of the first advocates of the Equal Rights Amendment. He's sponsored legislation for equal pay for women and legislation to reduce violence against women. He's been a remarkable leader and is going to make a great lieutenant governor." Other DFL gubernatorial
candidates released statements critical of Nolan.

#ICYMI: CASH DASH - The DCCC topped the NRCC in fundraising in June, per Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: The NRCC raised $7.7 million, according to its FEC filing. The DCCC raised $15.3 million over the same period. The DCCC also leads the NRCC in cash on hand, $68 million to $64 million."

MORE PROBLEMS FOR LEWIS - Minnesota GOP Rep. Jason Lewis came under fire last week for old recordings from his radio show in which he bemoaned that women couldn't be called "sluts." Now, more problematic recordings have been unearthed. CNN's Andrew Kaczynski, Nathan McDermott and Christopher Massie: "Lewis has a long history of racist rhetoric about African-Americans, pushing claims of a 'racial war' by blacks on whites and arguing that violence regularly occurs at black gatherings. He also frequently claimed that black people have an 'entitlement mentality' and viewed themselves as victims. ... In a statement to CNN on Friday, Lewis' office said highlighting the congressman's past
statements amounted to 'an orchestrated attempt at making anyone who supports reducing illegitimacy or crime in minority communities, Voter ID laws and work requirements for public assistance back off their public policy positions.'"

2020 WATCH - The Democratic presidential field is wide open. The problem for centrist Democrats is that they don't have the starpower to match the more liberal wing of the party. BuzzFeed News' Molly Hensley-Clancy: "[N]early 30 years after Bill Clinton won with an explicitly moderate brand of Democratic politics, they are smaller in number, and in a sign of just how much the Democratic Party has changed in the last five years, they're explicitly defining themselves in response to a democratic socialist from Vermont. ... At the presidential election-focused 'Opportunity2020' conference, hosted by the center-left think tank Third Way, there wasn't much in the way of presidential candidates.
The featured speakers were currently much lower key players in the increasingly serious field of prospective Democratic contenders - Jason Kander, who just announced his run for mayor of Kansas City, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan."

- It's officially official: The RNC announced that Charlotte, N.C., will host the 2020 convention.

ON THE AIRWAVES - Club for Growth has dropped $5 million into three Senate races in recent weeks: $2.4 million backing Kevin Nicholson in the Wisconsin GOP primary; $2 million attacking Claire McCaskill in Missouri and $600,000 attacking Jon Tester in Montana.

- The ACLU is also going up with ads in Arizona targeting all three GOP Senate candidates. Campaign Pro's James Arkin: "The ad centers on former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration hard-liner pardoned last year by President Donald Trump, after he was convicted of criminal contempt. But the ad also name checks the two other Republicans, Rep. Martha McSally and former state Sen. Kelli Ward, accusing them of adopting positions similar to Arpaio's. ... The ACLU is also running a Spanish-language version of the ad. The group will spend $300,000 to air the spots on TV in Phoenix and Tuscon."

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You're not going to make me hate somebody just because they're rich. I want to be rich!" Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) at a Third Way event, via NBC News.

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