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By Zach Montellaro | 07/16/2018 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)

GOLDEN STATE SURPRISE - Incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) got an unpleasant surprise on Saturday, when the California state Democratic Party's executive committee endorsed her November challenger, state Sen. Kevin de León. 65 percent of the roughly 330 party activists backed de León, breaking the 60 percent threshold needed for an endorsement. Feinstein was urging her supporters to vote for no endorsement.

The endorsement is more than just a symbolic rebuke of the longtime lawmaker; it's the second time this cycle the party has had the opportunity to support Feinstein and opted not to, even after she got 44 percent and de León got 12 percent in the June all-party primary. Now, de León gets crucial support in a battle between progressive activists backing the challenger and the more centrist senator. POLITICO California's Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White: "The endorsement delivers a lifeline to de León's struggling campaign - and the party's imprimatur, which is accompanied by valuable access to slate cards, email lists and voter outreach machinery that will allow him
to reach an estimated 2 million Democratic voters. And he could also get an infusion of federal campaign cash shared with the party, party officials said."

Some party leaders backing Feinstein also worry that the endorsement could endanger other races: "Not only did the internal battle threaten to extend the rift among Democrats in California - a traditional mother lode of campaign contributions - many Democratic leaders, like former state chair Art Torres, worried about the prospect of a circular firing squad. 'We have the opportunity to change the nature and the control of the House,' said Torres, a Feinstein backer, adding that a de León endorsement threatened that Democrats 'won't have enough federal money to put into those congressional campaigns.'"

MUELLER INDICTS 12 FOR MEDDLING - In news you probably didn't miss, special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russians, accusing them of hacking into the DNC, the DCCC and a state database. The indictment also reveals more details on the Russian intelligence units charged with hacking elections. POLITICO's Josh Meyer: "The operatives from two units within Russia's GRU military intelligence agency meddled in the election through an elaborate series of coordinated high-tech influence operations, and by using a global network of anonymous servers, bitcoin purchasers and other unwitting cutouts to cover the digital tracks, according to the indictment. And, according to the 14-page charging
document, the Russians deeply infiltrated two key Democratic Party organizations and key aspects of Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign-watching their every move via real-time digital surveillance until just weeks before the election."

- The state party that was hacked was likely Illinois, state officials said. The Chicago Tribune's Monique Garcia and Patrick M. O'Connell: "A spokesman said the agency had not received confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice, but believes Illinois' elections board is referenced in the indictment released Friday as having the data of 500,000 voters stolen. Though the Mueller probe continues to make national waves, Illinois voters have known about the cyberattack for nearly two years. It was discovered in July 2016, and the FBI issued an alert the following month."

Good Monday morning. Congrats to France for its World Cup victory - now hopefully the USMNT can get it together by 2022. And if you're ready for some 2020 jockeying, The New York Times' Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin have you covered. As always, you can email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

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

JUST RELEASED: View the latest POLITICO/AARP poll to better understand Arizona voters over 50, a voting bloc poised to shape the midterm election outcome. Get up to speed on priority issues for Hispanic voters age 50+, who will help determine whether Arizona turns blue or stays red.

What role will Hispanic voters over 50 play in Arizona this Fall? Read POLITICO Magazine's new series "The Deciders" which focuses on this powerful voting bloc that could be the determining factor in turning Arizona blue.

Days until the 2018 election: 113.

Upcoming election dates - July 17: Alabama primary runoffs. - July 24: Georgia primary runoffs. - Aug. 2: Tennessee primaries. - Aug. 7: Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington primaries.

Upcoming primary filing deadlines - Louisiana: July 20.

BIG CHECK FOR CLF - The Congressional Leadership Fund got a $10 million contribution from Timothy Mellon last quarter, per its FEC report.

** Presented by AARP: There's only one true deciding factor in this year's elections: 50-plus voters. They won't be ignored and their votes are up for grabs. Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers, and prescription drug costs are all on the line-so you can be sure they'll be voting in record numbers.
aarp.org/vote **

SECOND QUARTER FUNDRAISING ROUNDUP - FL-SEN: Sen. Bill Nelson raised $4.4 million and has $13.7 million cash on hand, per his campaign.

- IN-SEN: Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly raised $1.9 million and has $6.4 million cash on hand, per his campaign.

- ND-SEN: Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer raised more than $1.5 million with more than $2.4 million cash on hand.

- NE-SEN: Democrat Jane Raybould raised more than $508,000, per a release.

- TN-SEN: Democrat and former Gov. Phil Bredesen raised nearly $4.5 million, including $2 million loaned from the candidate. GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn raised $2.6 million and had $7.3 million cash on hand.

- MT-AL: Incumbent GOP Rep. Greg Gianforte raised $822,000 and has $1.3 million cash on hand, while Democrat Kathleen Williams had $581,000 with $462,000 cash on hand, per the Great Falls Tribune.

- NM-02: Democrat Xochitl Torres Small raised over $615,000, per a release.

- TX-07: GOP Rep. John Culberson raised under $763,000 in the second quarter with about $1.2 million cash on hand, per the Houston Chronicle.

- UT-04: Republican Mia Love raised over $1 million this quarter while Democrat Ben McAdams raised $620,000, via The Salt Lake Tribune. Both have about $1.2 million cash on hand.

- WA-05: Democrat Lisa Brown raised $934,000 and over $1 million cash on hand, per an FEC filing.

- WA-08: Republican Dino Rossi raised $849,000 and has $1.8 million cash on hand, per a FEC filing.

THE PRESIDENT'S FILING - President Donald Trump's campaign has $33 million in the bank and has also been paying out to businesses linked to himself and his campaign manager Brad Parscale. Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "Trump properties were paid $150,000 by his campaign between the beginning of April and the end of June. ... Parscale's consulting firm netted more than $1.3 million from the Trump campaign during the three-month period. ... Trump's campaign operation raised $18 million between April and the end of June overall, a slight decrease from the $20 million it had raised during the first three months of the year. In addition to Trump's campaign, the president established two joint
fundraising committees that raise funds that are distributed among both the campaign and the Republican National Committee."

THE BADGER STATE - Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir and Kevin Nicholson are battling it out for the GOP nomination in Wisconsin's senate race. But the race has an interesting dynamic: Vukmir is seen as an insider who's been endorsed by many GOP officials, but in a state with a record of conservative achievement, that may not be a bad thing. Campaign Pro's James Arkin: "Setting up an outsider-versus-establishment contrast is the dream of any political candidate in either party right now. But the script gets a little more complicated in Wisconsin, where the [Gov. Scott] Walker-led Republican Party can tout a steady stream of conservative accomplishments over the last eight years in power,
starting with Walker's nationally watched battle with labor in 2011 and 2012. Vukmir insists that Nicholson branding her as an insider shows he 'doesn't understand Wisconsin,' where she rose from grassroots activist to the state legislature and where, she said, even elected officials are outsiders. ...

"The insider versus outsider debate is central to an increasingly negative and critical mid-August primary for the nomination to take on Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a progressive Democrat running her first reelection campaign. Baldwin far outruns both potential challengers in fundraising and in early polling, but Democrats are nervous she might be vulnerable to the same fate former Sen. Russ Feingold suffered in 2016, a late collapse following what appeared to be a surefire win."

THE CAVALRY - Democrats used to be the leaders of the digital campaign space, but that's not the case anymore. So a group of thousands of tech-savvy volunteers organized to help campaigns up and down the ballot master the digital space. The New York Times' Kevin Roose and Sheera Frenkel: "In a year and a half of existence, Tech for Campaigns has become a kind of Democratic Geek Squad - a national volunteer network consisting of more than 4,500 tech workers with day jobs at companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix and Airbnb.

- Plus an interesting tidbit on where campaigns are spending their money: "In 2016, state and federal Republican campaigns outspent Democratic campaigns 3 to 1 on Google ads, according to a presentation made to political ad buyers by Google's election team. From April to July of that year, the period when many campaigns were building their email lists and garnering early support, Republicans outspent Democrats 20 to 1, according to the presentation, which was obtained by The New York Times."

FIRST IN SCORE - DEM LEADS IN INTERNAL IA-03 POLL - An internal poll from Democrat Cindy Axne, who is challenging Rep. David Young, has her leading the incumbent 45 percent to 41 percent, with 14 percent undecided. The poll, which was conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, surveyed 500 likely voters in the district and was in the field from July 8-12.

- NEW GEORGIA GOV POLL - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News released a poll Friday that shows a tight GOP gubernatorial runoff between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and state Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Kemp is up 44 percent to 41 percent in a poll that was in the field from July 5-12. 769 likely GOP runoff voters were surveyed.

FORESHADOWING TRUMP - The rise of Blaise Ingoglia, the chair of the Florida GOP, was a prelude of sorts to President Trump's takeover of the Republican party. BuzzFeed News' Henry Gomez: "Few scenes could better capture the change the Republican Party has undergone in a huge electoral battleground. Under Ingoglia, the Republican Party of Florida - historically a lever of the establishment machine and controlled by governors like [Rick] Scott and Jeb Bush - has turned into a kind of rogue outfit more suited to the antagonistic politics of the moment. Ingoglia, a state lawmaker who prides himself as a grassroots warrior in touch with the primal desires of the base, unseated Scott's handpicked
state party chair in early 2015. His uprising subtly foreshadowed the shift that soon would swallow Jeb and sweep in President Trump."

ON THE AIRWAVES - The Congressional Leadership Fund is up with another ad in the Ohio 12th District's special election attacking Democrat Danny O'Connor, calling him "dishonest," per Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider.

- The NRSC is up with its first ad of the cycle, attacking Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) for supporting Hillary Clinton. The ad will air statewide on television and digital, per a release.

ACTUAL FAKE NEWS - A growing trend from campaigns and political organizations: launching a website that masquerades as a news outlet. Following Rep. Devin Nunes' (R-Calif.) campaign and another from the Missouri Democratic Party, now Sen. Bob Menendez (R-N.J.) is getting into the faux news business (if you know of any more, email me). Stat News' Lev Facher: "It has headlines and bylines, an original story 834 words long, and links to 10 articles from other outlets concerning health policy and drug pricing in New Jersey. But readers expecting journalism from the upstart HealthNewsNJ.com may be in for a surprise: It's fake news. In reality, it's a campaign site run by Sen. Bob Menendez
(D-N.J.), who is facing a reelection challenge from Bob Hugin, the former CEO of the pharmaceutical company Celgene."

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "At some point, I realized he had arranged the meeting to take place at the Democratic HQ. I didn't back down from that. I've met with insurgents and warlords," Republican Steve Watkins explaining why he took a meeting with Democratic officials to The Kansas City Star.

** Presented by AARP: Americans 50 and over are the nation's most powerful voting bloc. In fact, more than 60 million of them voted in 2016-and this year, they're more motivated than ever to making sure that their voices are heard in Washington.
They're frustrated with broken government. And they're fed up with politicians who'd rather get into fights than get results. The issues they care about most including Medicare, Social Security, support for family caregivers and prescription drug costs, are all on the line. America's 50-plus voters have put the candidates on notice. Anyone who ignores them will feel it on Election Day. aarp.org/vote **

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