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By Zach Montellaro | 08/31/2018 10:00 AM EDT


JUST KIDDING! - The Congressional Leadership Fund told Iowa GOP Rep. David Young to take a hike after not backing the GOP health care plan. But now, with control of the House up for grabs, they're planning to spend $1.1 million on the airwaves to defend his seat. Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "The broadcast TV ads will air from Sept. 1 to Oct. 8 in Des Moines, CLF confirmed to POLITICO. 'CLF's only mission is to protect the Republican majority, and to do so, we simply cannot let members in key races be outspent,' said Courtney Alexander, a spokeswoman for CLF ... It's a significant about-face for the group, which told the The Wall Street Journal in March 2017 that it would be pulling
support for Young and terminating its lease on a field office in Young's district."

"House Majority PAC, the main House Democratic super PAC, is already running ads attacking Young, and the DCCC is slated to begin advertising in the district next month. The NRCC has not reserved TV time in Young's district."

THE START OF ELECTION SEASON? - Labor Day is traditionally thought of as the real kickoff for the general election. But millions have already been spent by outside groups in the battle for the House. Here's a roundup of independent expenditures from the four big players in general election fights, according to their FEC reporting. The totals exclude special elections, where millions more have been spent:

Congressional Leadership Fund, the House GOP outside group, has already dropped $11.7 million in 19 districts. The district that's seen the most spending has been New York's 22nd District, where CLF Has spent over $1 million against Democrat Anthony Brindisi, who is challenging GOP Rep. Claudia Tenney. Another big district is Kentucky's 6th, where Democrat Amy McGrath is challenging Rep. Andy Barr, with a bit under $1 million spent there.

The NRCC has spent considerably less, spending in just one district: NY-22, where it has dropped $302,000 opposing Brindisi.

House Majority PAC, the main Democratic House outside group, spent $2.7 million in 16 districts. A major district HMP has spent in is (you guessed it) NY-22, where they've dropped $650,000 opposing Tenney.

The DCCC has spent about $2.2 million in 5 districts, with about $1.1 million of that going to oppose Republican Dino Rossi in WA-08.

Happy Friday! We're taking Monday off! Everyone enjoy your Labor Day weekend, we'll catch you in your inboxes Tuesday. 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.

Days until the 2018 election: 67.

Upcoming election dates - Sept. 4: Massachusetts primaries. - Sept. 6: Delaware primaries. - Sept. 11: New Hampshire primaries. - Sept. 12: Rhode Island primaries. - Sept. 13: New York (state-level) primaries.

BIG MONEY WATCH - Americans for Prosperity, one of the largest arms of the Koch network, announced they'll support eight house Republican incumbents, per Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns. The eight: Reps. Rod Blum (IA-01), Rep. Dave Brat (VA-07), Rep. Ted Budd (NC-13), Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01), Rep. Will Hurd (TX-23), Rep. Erik Philip Paulsen (MN-03), Rep. Peter Roskam (IL-06), Rep. David Young (IA-03). An AFP spokesperson told Maggie they will announce support for more House candidates later in the cycle.

- The Democratic Governors Association poured $1 million into a pro-Andrew Gillum PAC a day after his surprise victory in the Florida gubernatorial primary, Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss reported.

IN ARIZONA - Both GOP Rep. Martha McSally and Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who are facing off for Republican Sen. Jeff Flake's Senate seat, are trying to claim the late-Sen. John McCain's "maverick" mantle in Arizona. Campaign Pro's James Arkin from Phoenix: "It's a sharp departure from other Senate campaigns around the country that have revolved around President Donald Trump. McCain, though, has proven himself as a worthy model in Arizona, where the remembrances following his death Saturday have refocused the state on the qualities that carried McCain to double-digit victories in every Senate race he ran.

"'Both of them can attempt to lay a narrative claim to some of John's legacy here, and that is, how do you define the responsibility of being an American and an elected leader,' said Chuck Coughlin, a longtime Republican strategist in Arizona. 'Those are huge shoes to fill, but it gives them a canvass to paint on.' ... There is one area where neither candidate is likely to emulate McCain: his pointed criticism of Trump."

PAGING THE VIRGINIA DELEGATION - President Donald Trump announced that he'll cancel a scheduled pay raise for government workers, putting GOP incumbents like Reps. Barbara Comstock (VA-10) and Scott Taylor (VA-02) in an uncomfortable spot. Both of them quickly released statements opposing the cancellation. POLITICO's Sarah Ferris and Ian Kullgren with the details: "That stance puts vulnerable GOP lawmakers representing northern Virginia - home to tens of thousands of federal workers - in the political crosshairs. And it sets up an all-but-certain funding fight with Congress next month, as party leaders attempt to reach a sweeping agreement to keep the government open before the start of the
next fiscal year on Oct. 1."

POLLS POLLS POLLS - Rep. John Faso leads his Democratic challenger Antonio Delgado 45-40 in a new NY-19 Spectrum News/Siena College Research Institute poll. POLITICO New York's BIll Mahoney: "'While Delgado has a 13-point lead in Dutchess and Ulster Counties, Faso has even bigger leads in both the Southern Tier and Capital Region portions of this sprawling district,' said Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg. Republicans have held the district since its current lines were created in 2012, although it is widely viewed as one of the best opportunities for a Democratic pickup in the state this year."

OPPO BOOK - The Post Office has officially taken the blame for releasing Democrat Abigail Spanberger's security clearance form to a Republican opposition research group. The New York Times' Michael Tackett: "'We take full responsibility for this unfortunate error, and we have taken immediate steps to ensure this will not happen again,' David Partenheimer, a Postal Service spokesman, said in a statement. He added, ... 'The Postal Service offers our sincere apology to Ms. Spanberger, and we will request the return of the information which we mistakenly disclosed.'"

FIRST IN SCORE - ENDORSEMENT CORNER - The Brady Campaign, one of the largest gun control organizations in the country, rolled out a series of endorsements. They endorsed Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and a slate of House candidates Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Mary Barzee Flores, Mary Barzee Flores (FL-25), Katie Hill (CA-25), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Mike Levin (CA-49), Nathan McMurray (NY-27), Joe Morelle (NY-25), Jessica Morse (CA-04), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) and David Shapiro (F-16) along with some state candidates.

TRUMP ON THE TRAIL - The president hosted a rally in Indiana for Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun. The AP's Catherine Lucey and Jill Colvin: "Trump, who last visited the state in May, called Braun a 'special guy' and said he will 'be a truly great senator.' Before the rally, he attended a private roundtable and fundraising reception. Braun took the stage and pledged to be a 'true ally' to Trump, 'not somebody that says something when you're in Indiana and does something differently when you're in D.C.'" The Evansville Courier & Press reported that the event was met by protests, and that arrests were made outside the arena.

- The president's visit to North Dakota on Sept. 7 will be a "VIP reception and fundraiser," according to GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer's campaign, Inforum's John Hageman reported (in yesterday's Score, we said it was a rally, citing local news who relied on the AP).

WEB WARS - Twitter is among the growing list of tech companies to require more disclosure on some political ads. Now, they're expanding it to issues advertising, as well. Tech Pro's Steven Overly: "Twitter advertisements related to political issues including gun rights, abortion and climate change must now include more information about the organizations behind them, the social media company revealed today. All issue ads must disclose who paid for them. The advertisers will also go through a 'certification process' that requires they have a profile photo, header photo and website with valid contact information. If their Twitter handle doesn't reflect the advertiser's name, then it must be
stated in their bio. Twitter had previously instituted disclosure requirements for ads promoting specific political candidates and campaigns."

MIDTERM MESSAGING - Outside of Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer, few in the party are willing to talk about impeachment. McClatchy's Alex Roarty explores some of the reasons why: "Democratic strategists say that supporting impeachment is bad politics, and they have the polling to back it up. ... Party strategists say they also think some Democratic voters are hesitant to embrace impeachment because they know it would put Vice President Mike Pence in charge. ... progressive grassroots leaders say their base thinks that addressing the issues that gave rise to Trump, like deep economic inequality, as more pressing than dealing with the president himself."

- Speaking of Steyer, his group NextGen America and the California Labor Federation are pouring millions more into the group "Uniting California." The group announced a "multi-million dollar voter turnout program to target more than 650,000 voters" in seven districts: CA-10, CA-21, CA-25, CA-39, CA-45, CA-48, CA-49.

ELECTION SECURITY - How is the DNC preparing for any potential hack attempts? NPR's Tim Mak and Alina Selyukh talk with DNC CTO Raffi Krikorian: "[W]ith fewer than 70 days to go until the midterm elections, there's still a lot of room for improvement, he acknowledged, both inside and outside the organization. 'We all still have work to do. And we're not getting the support that I think we need from ... governmental agencies,' Krikorian said. 'This is the thing that keeps me up at night.' ... So the DNC has been increasing its reliance on big technology firms for security, for example shifting data from its own servers to cloud services, run by companies such as Microsoft and Google."

FIRST IN SCORE - ON THE AIRWAVES - Majority Forward, which is tied to House Majority PAC, is releasing a new ad in Indiana hitting Republican Mike Braun. The ad jokes about his now-famous blue shirt and criticizes his business record. "Mike Braun's blue shirt can't hide his business record," the ad says. "And Mike Braun sells auto parts made in China."

- The least surprising ad this cycle is out from Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar, who is challenging Rep. Duncan Hunter in CA-50. In the new ad, he highlights the indictment against Hunter for misusing campaign funds, calling it "47 pages of corruption and greed" and calling Hunter "an embarrassment."

CONVENTION WATCH - Milwaukee is making Trump a central part of its pitch to hosting the 2020 Democratic convention. POLITICO's Natasha Korecki: "In its bid to woo the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee this week offered up a state-of-the-art arena, robust donor commitments and demonstrated the wherewithal to handle transportation, hotel and entertainment demands. Then city officials got to the real argument: Donald Trump. Milwaukee's pitch to host the party's convention in 2020 is predicated on laying out the political benefits of holding the event in Wisconsin, the state that slipped through the Democrats' fingers in 2016 and unexpectedly voted for Trump."

2020 WATCH - Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has made a series of moves pointing to a potential 2020 presidential bid. New York's Gabriel Debenedetti: "Elizabeth Warren's had a deceptively busy last few weeks. She dropped one long-shot policy proposal that would try to remake corporate America, then another that aims to actually drain the Washington swamp. She put restrictions on her own fundraising practices and opened her financial books, and bid two staffers farewell as they shipped up to new jobs in New Hampshire. ... Alone, each dot can be read as an incremental, progressive political move. The overall picture, however, is yet more evidence that the Massachusetts senator is prepping
for a 2020 presidential run - and moving significantly more aggressively than is widely recognized, by pundits and her potential opponents alike."

CLOSING RANKS - In the West Virginia Senate race, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce backed Republican state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, MetroNews' Alex Thomas reported. In the 2010 special election, the Chamber, which usually backs Republicans, broke from usual custom and endorsed now-Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who was governor at the time. (The group didn't endorse in the 2012 election, when Manchin won his first full term.)

CODA - WEEKEND READ: Read all of Annie Karni's profile of Mark Penn in POLITICO Magazine on how he went from the Clinton's right hand man to sounding a little Trumpy.

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