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By Elena Schneider | 02/15/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard

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)

BUSINESS BOOMING - "Sanders digital firm in high demand," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "As Democrats look to harness grassroots backlash against President Donald Trump for the 2018 election and beyond, the digital firm that worked on Bernie Sanders' supercharged online fundraising machine has never been in higher demand. ... Revolution already has clients running in four top gubernatorial races coming up in 2017 and 2018 - Chris Kennedy in Illinois, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, Tom Perriello in Virginia, and John Wisniewski in New Jersey - as it adds to a roster that has expanded rapidly over recent election cycles, as partially demonstrated by federal campaign finance records. FEC
reports show 17 federal candidates and PACs paid the firm in 2011-2012, followed by 27 such clients in 2013-2014 (when Revolution opened a dedicated campaigns division of the company) and 39 in the last election cycle. They include a large number of Democrats touted at one time or another as rising stars, from Sens. Kamala Harris and Chris Murphy to former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to two one-time Revolution users now in the middle of 2020 presidential speculation, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker." Full story.

SPECIAL ELECTION NEWS - Trump adviser makes it official: Bruce Levell, a jewelry store owner and a early backer of President Donald Trump who served as his director of national diversity coalition, entered the special election to replace GOP Rep. Tom Price in Georgia's 6th District with an explicit appeal to Trump supporters. "I am running for Congress to fix Washington's broken system, fight to bring back American jobs for American workers and to work with President Trump to drain the swamp of the political elite who work only for their own self-interest," Levell said in a statement, also committing to enacting 8-year term limits. "And once in Congress, I will be President Trump's
strongest ally to make that vision come true." Levell joins a handful of other Republicans jockeying for the seat.

CASH RACE - Senators look ahead to 2018 fundraising: Roll Call is out with a helpful chart that shows how much cash incumbent senators have in the bank at the close of 2016, comparing it to the average amount spent by a candidate in the two most recent races in that state. Sen. Sherrod Brown has the most in the bank with $3.2 million, but he's got a long way to go, as the average expenditure in Ohio is $23.2 million. Check it out here.

ON THE HILL - "Doubts grow that GOP can repeal Obamacare," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett, Josh Dawsey, Rachael Bade and Jennifer Haberkorn: "Republicans have reached a gut check moment: After spending more than six years vowing to fix the flagging patient that is Obamacare, it's the GOP's own repeal effort that's on life support. Undoing the health care law despised by conservatives seemed to be a straightforward proposition for the party after it won the White House and retained control of both chambers of Congress. Instead, Republicans are sniping over how much of the law to scrap, what to replace it with and when. At this moment, it's far from a sure thing any plan could get through
Congress." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 265.

Days until the 2018 election: 630.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet about campaigns and sans serif. @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

WEB WARS - Gillespie spot pushes immigrant story: Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie is out with a new 2-minute web ad that not-so-subtly emphasizes his father's immigrant story. "From immigrant janitor to the West Wing of the White House in two generations' time. It's an incredible country," Gillespie says over an image of the Statue of Liberty. Watch the ad here.

DNCE RACE - "Perez's DNC campaign claims 180 of 224 needed votes," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez's Democratic National Committee chair campaign told POLITICO today that it had reached 180 pledged supporters - a number that underscores the likelihood that the late-February vote will go to multiple rounds of balloting given the size of the field and the small voter pool. The one-time Cabinet secretary is set to announce the mark in an email to DNC members this afternoon, fewer than two weeks before the election. Perez's main opponent in the race is early front-runner Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, but the field also includes a handful of other candidates
who are thought to have enough votes to keep one of the front-runners from a simple majority come voting time in Atlanta, potentially leading to a messy weekend of negotiations and dealmaking." Full story.

2018 WATCH - "Republican Victor Mitchell announces 2018 bid for Colorado governor," by The Denver Post's John Frank: "Victor Mitchell, a former state lawmaker, became the first notable Republican to enter the 2018 Colorado governor's campaign, pledging to inject $3 million from his own pocket into what is expected to be a crowded race. ... The 51-year-old from Castle Rock served one two-year term in the state House in 2007 and led a successful effort to defeat a 2011 ballot measure to increase taxes to boost education spending. Instead of political experience, Mitchell's campaign is emphasizing his career as an entrepreneur who turned around failing businesses. ...His pitch may draw
comparisons to President Donald Trump, but Mitchell didn't vote for the Republican nominee. Instead, he voted for third-party candidate Evan McMullin." Full story.

- DOUBLE NORCROSS - George and Donald Norcross to chair Menendez fundraiser," by POLITICO New Jersey's Matt Friedman: "George Norcross and his brother, Rep. Donald Norcross, plan to co-chair a campaign fundraiser for Sen. Robert Menendez next month. George Norcross - an insurance broker and the most powerful unelected Democrat in the state - confirmed the fundraiser in a phone call with POLITICO New Jersey. Menendez's seat is up in 2018. Donald Norcross is being talked up as a potential successor to Menendez should the senator have to resign. But the fact that the Norcross brothers are headlining the fundraiser indicates Donald Norcross will not challenge Menendez if he stands for
reelection." Full story.

WAY DOWN-BALLOT - "Does billionaire George Soros favor a candidate for DA in Philly?" by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Chris Brennan and Jeremy Roebuck: "Daniel Conner, a local criminal defense attorney, said he met in Philadelphia in December with Whitney Tymas, chairwoman and treasurer of Safety and Justice, a political action committee funded by Soros that has made large independent expenditures in other" states' district attorney races. "Conner said they discussed a potential candidacy but [civil rights attorney Larry] Krasner will now get that support. ... Krasner ... who entered the Democratic primary election last week, said he has 'been interviewed by a ton of local and also national
progressive groups.' 'No one has said, "I'm from George Soros,"' said Krasner, who refused to name the groups that have contacted him. ... Krasner said 'no comment' when asked if he had met with Tymas." Full story.

- BACKGROUND - Soros funded the Safety and Justice group involved in DA races around the country with more than $6.8 million in 2016, and he gave millions to another group that worked against former Maricopa County (Ariz.) Sheriff Joe Arpaio last fall. More background here from last summer.

- Biden campaigns in Delaware special: Former Vice President Joe Biden campaigned for Stephanie Hanson, the Democrat running in a special election to determine control of the Delaware state Senate on Monday night. And a political committee, First State Strong, has spent $186,000 backing her candidacy, while Republican Steve Marino has had no outside backing. Read more here.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Flynn's ouster leads to more chaos in Trump world," by POLITICO's Eli Stokols, Tara Palmeri and Annie Karni: "The resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn did little to calm the chaos at the White House, where staff spent Tuesday scrambling to deflect blame for the rising scandal about Flynn's contacts with Russian officials - including who knew what about the conversations and when. Other ongoing controversies intruded on the White House's ability to impose its own narrative on the Flynn situation, adding to the sense of confusion in Trump's Washington. Office of Government Ethics director Walter Shaub released a letter recommending that the White
House investigate Kellyanne Conway and consider disciplinary action against her for encouraging the public to buy clothes from the line marketed by Ivanka Trump, the president's oldest daughter, after Nordstrom stopped carrying it. Republicans on Capitol Hill, who have been hesitant to chastise the new administration, also began asserting some distance from Trump." Full story.

- "Has TV media had its fill of Kellyanne?" by POLITICO's Hadas Gold: "... Conway, the former Trump campaign manager who is regularly lampooned on "Saturday Night Live," has long been a figure of fascination, in part for her deadpan defense of outlandish statements by the candidate and now president. But Conway's also been considered a master dissembler and manipulator of the media, a reputation that hit a new high on Monday, when she told MSNBC that now-former national security adviser Michael Flynn had the "full confidence" of President Donald Trump. About an hour later, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the White House was 'evaluating' the situation around Flynn. By that
evening, Flynn was gone. Monday's incident was just the latest TV-generated controversy that Conway has found herself in, making statements that later turned out to be false or misleading. And anchors have taken notice." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Mrs G appreciates WH responding 2my Twitter WH will open for public tours starting March 7 Im positive distraught Iowans will be very happy2." - A tweet from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, on the news out of the First Lady's office that official White House tours would resume in March.

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