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By Theodoric Meyer | 03/04/2016 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider

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)

THE GOP DEBATE - Trump under siege," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: "Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio teamed up in a desperate attempt to knock down Donald Trump in a chaotic and unruly debate on Thursday night that was all about the man who has rocked the Republican Party to its core. They hit Trump for donating to Hillary Clinton, for his electability, for his temperament, for hiring illegal immigrants, for manufacturing his company's clothing overseas and for a civil lawsuit that claims his Trump University fleeced vulnerable Americans. And Fox News joined the pile-on, playing video of Trump's flip-flops and fact-checking him in real time." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6fce6e9ee8f41be424efbc499849d5f560a44fc81cafd9cb2c

- "11 most interesting moments of the GOP debate," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Rubio attacked Trump's conservative credentials, saying that primaries and caucuses show that 'two-thirds' of Republican voters aren't comfortable with him. ... The sniping wasn't just exclusive to Trump and Rubio. Cruz implied that Trump was 'misleading the American people' about his immigration views because he refuses to release the tape of an off-the-record conversation with The New York Times in which he discussed negotiating over his hardline position. ... Fox played a series of videos showing Trump changing his mind on crucial issues ... Trump, after defending his switches, argued that leaders should be
flexible. 'I have a very strong core,' he said. 'I've never seen a successful person who wasn't flexible.'" Read the rest here. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6fa81dfb6e4a98b1aaf20d9f06b829c7f9e949bcf60693661c

LEGAL QUESTIONS - "Pre-campaign calls from Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick raise legal questions for brother's House run," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "Last year, long after GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick announced he would retire, the Philadelphia-area representative began calling Republicans in his district to pitch them on a perfect successor: his brother. But Brian Fitzpatrick, a FBI agent and Mike's younger sibling, was still working as a federal law enforcement official when the calls began, according to two sources with knowledge of Mike Fitzpatrick's efforts, one of whom received a call personally. That could prove a problem: The below-the-radar persuasion campaign may have violated a law that
prohibits federal employees, or surrogates acting on their behalf, from running for partisan office or making preparations to do so."

- "One Republican in the district remembered the calls picking up around Thanksgiving 2015. 'Mike was saying to people, my brother is looking at it. Wouldn't Brian earn some of your consideration and support even though he can't voice it?' he said. Brian Fitzpatrick told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he submitted his resignation to the FBI a week prior to his campaign launch in January. ... That means Brian Fitzpatrick was still covered by the Hatch Act when his brother was making the calls. In a 2009 advisory opinion, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel explained that the Hatch Act not only bars federal employees from 'being candidates in a partisan election' but also 'prohibit[s]
preliminary activities regarding candidacy,' including 'meeting with individuals to plan the logistics and strategy of a campaign ... or giving consent to or acquiescing in such activities by others on the employee's behalf.' ... 'The Hatch Act is a prohibition not only on formal candidacy, but on pre-campaign activities,' [the Campaign Legal Center's] Larry Noble said. 'Even if [Mike Fitzpatrick] was doing it of his own accord, it at least reflects the fact that the brother who is running now was thinking about running and was taking preliminary steps. ... Any steps would be in violation of the Hatch Act, and it's hard to imagine a situation where your brother would be soliciting support
if you hadn't done something to prompt that.'" http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6fdd91f360df58fe827a937a3b9b7c1b058f8f15c7081b3104

Days until the Louisiana primary, the Kansas caucuses, the Nebraska Democratic caucuses and the Kentucky and Maine Republican caucuses: 2.

Days until the 2016 election: 251.

Thanks for joining us. You can email tips to the whole Campaign Pro team at sbland@politico.com, eschneider@politico.com, krobillard@politico.com, tmeyer@politico.com and kcheney@politico.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about seven Trumps in a row: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @theodoricmeyer and @kyledcheney.

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PAST IMPERFECT - "Zopp's decades-old criminal justice record faces scrutiny in Illinois," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Democrat Andrea Zopp's years as a Chicago prosecutor are a huge part of her underdog run for Senate in Illinois. Police conduct is in the spotlight, especially since video released last year showed Chicago officers shooting and killing a 17-year-old. And Zopp's record - which includes indicting a police officer who killed a homeless man when she was at the Cook County State's Attorney's office - is a key part of her pitch to Democratic voters ahead of the March 15 primary. But like other political candidates with decades-old law enforcement records, Zopp's resume
also includes vestiges from the tough-on-crime '90s that are being judged harshly in hindsight." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f9e359d6c75f987beee3349b7582b9183e1d45bda761f1b4c

HOLDING COURT - Grassley approval steady despite Supreme Court turmoil: "The latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll - which was conducted Feb. 21-24, as the court controversy was unfolding - shows Grassley's approval rating holding steady at 57 percent, while just 28 percent say they disapprove of the job he's doing," the DMR's Jason Noble reported. "That approval is down 7 percentage points from a year ago, but it remains well within his normal range over the last several years, Register pollster J. Ann Selzer said." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f01d4a655f526df186b8e19cd4cd3fb67d020a61c8e7a3ba6

- "Patty Judge will enter U.S. Senate race against Chuck Grassley," also by the Des Moines Register's Noble: "Former Iowa Lt. Gov. and Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge will enter Iowa's U.S. Senate race, multiple sources confirmed to The Des Moines Register on Thursday." Judge said last week "that she was considering a run, largely because of Grassley's stance on the court vacancy." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f291cfa9fd0b21b40598d3c0f8db20cedf0aaf20c2a206a74

CASH REPORTS - Shimkus shells out on ads in IL-15 ahead of primary: GOP Rep. John Shimkus spent nearly $793,000 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24, according to his pre-primary campaign finance report. Nearly half of the money - about $389,000 - went to TV and radio ads boosting him and hitting Club for Growth-endorsed state Sen. Kyle McCarter. Shimkus also shelled out nearly $75,000 on mailers and nearly $40,000 on polling ahead of the March 15 primary. Shimkus' campaign raised about $418,000 in the period and still had nearly $1 million in cash on hand. McCarter raised about $211,000 in the same period, including a $40,000 loan he made to his campaign, and spent about $191,000. His campaign had
about $107,000 in cash on hand on Feb. 24.

- Joyce is spending big in OH-14 ahead of the primary, too: In the Cleveland suburbs, GOP Rep. Dave Joyce is also spending heavily to ward off a challenge from the right. Joyce's campaign spent more than $466,000 since Jan. 1, including more than $280,000 with Strategic Media Services, a media-buying firm. Joyce's campaign raised about $235,000 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24 and had about $550,000 in cash on hand. Former state Rep. Matt Lynch, who's challenging Joyce again after failing to unseat him in 2014, raised barely $30,000 and spent about $38,000 in the same period. Lynch's campaign had less than $14,000 in cash on hand on Feb. 24.

- Portman doubled up Strickland: Democrat Ted Strickland raised $500,000 in the pre-primary period for Ohio's Senate race, the Columbus Dispatch reported. GOP Sen. Rob Portman brought in $1.1 million in the same period and had $13 million in the bank to Strickland's $2 million. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f8984c389a891e173ea8fd970765147914b181160762982a1

- Schneider outraises, outspends Rotering ahead of IL-10 primary: Former Rep. Brad Schneider raised and spent more money than Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering, his opponent in the Democratic primary in Illinois' 10th District, in the first two months of 2016. Schneider raised about $332,000 from Jan. 1 to Feb. 24, according to his pre-primary FEC report, and spent about $918,000, including more than $566,000 on "media" with a Chicago ad-making firm and $233,000 on direct mail. Rotering raised about $170,000 and spent about $654,000, including about $409,000 in media buys and $105,000 on direct mail. Rotering had more cash on hand on Feb. 24, with $452,000 to Schneider's $296,000.

- GOP Rep. Bob Dold, meanwhile, who isn't facing a primary challenger, raised about $304,000 in the first two months of the year and grew his formidable cash on hand advantage. He had $1.6 million on hand on Feb. 24.

- Davidson outraises, outspends rivals ahead of OH-08 primary: Warren Davidson, the candidate backed by the Club for Growth and other conservative outside groups, has raised more money than his top two rivals for the GOP nomination in Ohio's 8th District ahead of the March 15 primary. Davidson brought in about $364,000 between Jan. 1 and Feb. 24, according to his FEC report - far more than state Sen. Bill Beagle, who raised about $127,000, or state Rep. Tim Derickson, who raised about $83,000. Davidson also outspent his rivals and had much more cash on hand heading into the primary, with nearly $283,000 in the bank. Beagle had about $124,000 in cash on hand and Derickson had about $76,000.
The special election will replace House Speaker John Boehner, who resigned last year.

AIR WAR - Blunt airs first TV ad during GOP debate: GOP Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri aired his first TV ad of the 2016 cycle during the GOP presidential debate last night. The spot features four Missourians praising Blunt, mixed with footage of the senator touring the state. The ad opens with a narrator asking, "What do Missourians think of Roy Blunt?" as soft music plays. "I think it's important to have senators like Sen. Blunt who can work across the aisle on bipartisan issues who are important to us all," a man from Kansas City says. End Citizens United PAC, which backs Democrats who support campaign finance reform, just started airing TV ads criticizing Blunt over the pledge he and other
Republicans have made not to consider a Supreme Court nominee until after the 2016 elections.

- Watch the ad: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f6e2661dbb64d796ef2008e4f30df2dd53e7ffd0b1f1cedc5

DELAGATE MATHEMATICS - "Rubio's path to an outright win has vanished," by POLITICO's Shane Goldmacher: Marco Rubio's path to the Republican nomination short of a contested convention has narrowed to nearly nothing as his campaign and allies reboot their strategy to prepare for months of guerrilla warfare to deny Donald Trump a clean, pre-convention victory. The math for Rubio is daunting. After getting thoroughly routed on Super Tuesday, Rubio is in so deep a delegate hole that he would now need to win roughly two-thirds of all the remaining delegates to guarantee his nomination ahead of Cleveland, according to a POLITICO analysis. ... Even inside the Rubio orbit, there has been an
acknowledgment that as long as Ted Cruz (and John Kasich) stay in the race, they have virtually zero mathematical chance of securing the nomination." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a56d598a502a4a6f6bacd8f7b1dee1916b5292a6d5467ef115a36ebf4de36ff0

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I have answered that question 50 times. I am no longer answering the question." - GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who is tired of being asked whether he'll vote for Donald Trump if he's the Republican presidential nominee.http://bit.ly/1L6Qc2i

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