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By Zach Montellaro | 09/18/2018 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.

FIRST IN SCORE - BIG DEM DIGITAL PUSH - Priorities USA and House Majority PAC are rolling out an eight-figure digital ad program in more than 40 house Districts. More from yours truly: "The $10 million-plus effort from the Democratic super PACs revolves around health care, taxes and money in politics.The ads hammer Republican incumbents and candidates for supporting repeal of the Affordable Care Act and passage of the GOP tax plan, while accusing them of passing rising health care costs on to voters and taking special interest money. ...

"The ads will start running Wednesday. It's part of a broad effort by Priorities USA and partners to prevent Democrats from being outspent on digital advertising in 2018 after falling behind Republicans during the last presidential election. Some Democratic strategists have worried that Republicans take digital persuasion advertising far more seriously and continue to worry that they outspend Democratic groups online."

Check out some of the health care ads. In a limited number of districts, non-health care related ads will be released, like this one featuring a spacesuit-clad Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) floating around the Earth.

SCOTUS WARS - After Christine Blasey Ford came forward to say Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were both in high school, red state Democrats facing reelection called for a pause on his nomination until both testify (there is a hearing scheduled for Monday), while many of their challengers questioned the timing. Campaign Pro's James Arkin: "'Professor Christine Blasey Ford deserves to be heard and Judge Kavanaugh deserves a chance to clear his name,' [West Virginia Sen. Joe] Manchin said, calling for the process to take place as quickly as possible. ...

"Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who has focused on Kavanaugh's confirmation and the Supreme Court in his campaign against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), also attacked Democrats for surfacing the allegations late in the process of Kavanaugh's confirmation. But Hawley said Ford and Kavanaugh should both testify 'immediately' and said 'allegations of sexual misconduct should never be disregarded.'"

- The Judicial Crisis Network is going up with a $1.5 million television ad campaign backing Kavanaugh, POLITICO's Burgess Everett reported.

Good Tuesday morning. A good "where are they now" for you: Former Democratic Rep. Pete Gallego is competing in a special election runoff for a Texas state senate seat tonight. Here's a preview from The Texas Tribune. As always 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 and jarkin@politico.com and mseverns@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @PoliticoScott, @ec_schneider, @DanielStrauss4, @JamesArkin and @MaggieSeverns.

RSVP NOW for #PlaybookElections in Columbus on Sept. 20 at 8 a.m. for a conversation with Republican senatorial candidate Rep. Jim Renacci and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray about the issues that matter most to 50+ voters. RSVP here.

Days until the 2018 election: 49.

COLLINS REMAINS ON THE BALLOT - New York GOP Rep. Chris Collins, who was indicted on insider trading charges, announced that he'd remain on the ballot after previously suspending his campaign. The Democrat & Chronicle's Jon Campbell and Joseph Spector: "[Erie County Republican Chair Nick] Langworthy said Collins informed him of the decision Monday morning, saying the congressman told him he was acting on the advice of his criminal-defense attorneys. ... At a press conference in Buffalo, Langworthy said he felt 'a bit like a jilted groom at the altar' because Republicans were going to choose Collins' replacement this week."

POLLS POLLS POLLS - A pair of CNN polls shows Democrats with leads in Republican-held Senate seats in Arizona and Tennessee, with Republicans leading both gubernatorial races. More from James (click through for the methodology): "In Arizona, Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema leads Republican Rep. Martha McSally 50 percent to 43 percent among likely voters in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. In the state's gubernatorial race, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey leads Democrat David Garcia 49 percent to 46 percent among likely voters. ... In Tennessee, former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen leads Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn 50 percent to 45 percent in the race to replace retiring GOP
Sen. Bob Corker. In the gubernatorial race, Republican Bill Lee holds a 52 percent to 43 percent advantage over Democrat Karl Dean."

FINALLY, A NOMINEE - After her opponent conceded following a recount, Lori Trahan is now the winner in the Democratic primary in Massachusetts' 3rd District. The Boston Globe's Matt Stout: "With the results of just one town outstanding, Trahan had built a 145-vote lead over [Dan] Koh ... 'It's time for us to unite behind Lori Trahan to be sure this seat stays Democratic,' [Koh said]."

BIG MONEY - A coalition of Democratic big donors, the House Victory Project, is adding 10 more candidates to its slate. Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "A new form filed with the Federal Election Commission Sunday by the joint fundraising committee adds 10 new candidates to the roster who can receive the group's cash: Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (IL-13), Paul Davis (KS-02), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Dan Feehan (MN-01), Joe Radinovich (MN-08), Kara Eastman (NE-02), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Colin Allred (TX-32) and Kim Schrier (WA-08). ... The filing indicates that the candidates are set for a major financial boost before the third quarter ends on Sept. 30. House Victory Project
previously transferred between $235,000 and $263,000 apiece to 10 candidates in the second quarter."

FIRST IN SCORE - ON THE AIRWAVES - HMP is going up with new ads in two districts. The first ad hits GOP Rep. Scott W. Taylor in VA-02 over a variety of issues. "Congressman Taylor's just not for us," the ad says, citing the investigation into campaign staffers' alleged fraud on a nominating petition and his vote for the GOP tax plan. The group says there is a $418,000 buy backing it. The second set of ads go after GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney in NY-22 over taxes. "Down in Washington, Tenney took nearly $200,000 from big banks and other financial institutions," the two similar ads say. There's a $900,000 buy backing the set of ads.

- FIRST IN SCORE - Majority Forward, which is tied to Senate Majority PAC, released a television ad in Arizona criticizing McSally over health care. "What does it say that Martha McSally voted to gut protections for people with preexisting conditions?" the ad asks. "It says Martha McSally will stop at nothing to get ahead in Washington."

- FIRST IN SCORE - The Congressional Leadership Fund released a new ad in Illinois' 12 District, saying Democrat Brendan Kelly is "liberal on crime." "Brendan Kelly even turned his back on women who alleged sexual assault," the ad says, criticizing him for guilty pleas over prosecutions in court. The ad cites a 2015 Belleville News-Democrat investigation that found that 70 percent of sex crimes in Southern Illinois "never made it to a courtroom."

A TALE OF TWO BATTLEGROUNDS - For a look at how national groups are predicting the House races in Iowa's 1st and 3rd districts, take a look at their ad spending. The Des Moines Register's Barbara Rodriguez and Brianne Pfannenstiel: "Democrats are outspending U.S. Rep. Rod Blum and his allies in political advertising 10-to-1 in Iowa's 1st Congressional District, a lopsided reality that highlights Blum's increasingly difficult re-election bid against Democrat Abby Finkenauer. ... That's in stark contrast to Iowa's 3rd District race, where U.S. Rep. David Young is trying to stave off Democratic challenger Cindy Axne. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that backs Republican House
candidates, has poured close to $1 million into that race. Democratic groups have countered with $1.7 million."

2020 WATCH - You can set a watch to this story: former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is mulling running for president. Bloomberg, who has already committed $80 million to this cycle to largely back Democratic efforts to retake the House, said if he were to run, he'd do so as a Democrat. Color me skeptical that Bloomberg's brand of independent politics would mesh well with the current energy in the Democratic party. The New York Times' Alex Burns and Sydney Ember: "Mr. Bloomberg said he had no specific timeline for deciding on a presidential run: 'I'm working on this Nov. 6 election, and after that I'll take a look at it.' ... In the interview Friday ... Mr. Bloomberg expressed
stubbornly contrary views on [economic inequality and civil rights]. He criticized liberal Democrats' attitude toward big business ... He also defended his mayoral administration's policy of stopping people on the street to search them for guns ... . And while Mr. Bloomberg expressed concern about allegations of sexual misconduct that have arisen in the last year, he also voiced doubt about some of them and said only a court could determine their veracity."

Plus some info on when his midterm cash infusion is coming: "Mr. Bloomberg's advertising for House Democrats is expected to begin in the coming days, with his spending trained on a few clusters of races in expensive television markets, including in California and Pennsylvania. His first three targets are Los Angeles-area seats held by Representatives Steve Knight and Dana Rohrabacher, Republicans running for re-election, and an open seat near San Diego held by Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican who is retiring. The advertising blitz includes $4 million in the final 10 days of the election in the Los Angeles media market alone, aides said."

- Outgoing Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper created a federal leadership PAC, The Colorado Sun reported.

BUILDING A BENCH - Democrats are flocking to Iowa to promote a rising star of the party, state auditor candidate Rob Sand. POLITICO's David Siders and Natasha Korecki: "Sand said Monday that the assistance provided by the presidential prospects has been 'great,' adding, 'I think anytime somebody comes in, it's something that's positive for our race.' Sand also acknowledged the symbiotic nature of the relationship, saying he can help national Democrats with 'networking in the state.'"

STAFFING UP - Amelia Penniman has been named the new communications director for American Bridge 21st Century's Senate team. Penniman joined American Bridge earlier this year as deputy communications director after previously serving as press secretary for Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn).

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I do want to tell PETA you're going to have to disclose to the FEC that by coming and protesting and giving away tofu, that you have given an in-kind contribution to my campaign by demonstrating just how bad things can get," Cruz (R-Texas) joking about a PETA protest, via the Austin-American Statesman.

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