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By Kevin Robillard and Elena Schneider | 04/26/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Scott Bland, Bianca Padró Ocasio, and Daniel Strauss

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)

IRAN BACK FOR 2018 - New revelations show Republicans still see nuclear deal as potential political weapon: The Iran nuclear deal was still a regular topic of advertising for Senate and House Republican groups. (The NRSC and Senate Leadership Fund hit basically every Senate candidate on the map on Iran, with the exception of Missouri's Jason Kander, who opposed the agreement.) Monday's POLITICO investigative report from Josh Meyer revealing how the Obama administration secretly dropped charges against major counterproliferation targets as part of the deal demonstrated that Iran has not receded as a political issue. Congressional Leadership Fund has already hit GA-06 Democrat Jon Ossoff on
it, and Republican Karen Handel is jumping on it too. "We knew the Iran deal was bad, but we didn't expect to be lied to," Handel wrote on Twitter. "Incredible!"

- Looking further down the road: Every Senate Democrat facing reelection in 2018 voted in support of the agreement, and conservative groups already aired ads attacking Montana Sen. Jon Tester, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and others back in 2015. "Senate Democrats gave Obama a blank check on Iran, allowing dangerous arms dealers and other threats to our national security to go free," NRSC communications director Katie Martin said. "Voters will remember that is was Democrats who made our country less safe by voting for former President Obama's disastrous Iran deal when they head to the polls in 2018."

- Flashback to October 2016, when POLITICO's Nahal Toosi wrote this: "Internal GOP polling shows that the Iran nuclear deal 'performs among the very top hits in virtually every competitive Senate race, and it is extremely potent with independents,' said a D.C.-based GOP operative working on Senate races throughout the country. So-called 'security moms' are among the coveted demographics that seem especially attuned to the topic, Republicans said."

GA-06 LATEST - "Trump to hold fundraiser for Handel on Friday in Atlanta," by the Atlanta Journal Constitution's Greg Bluestein: "The fundraiser is scheduled for an Atlanta site after Trump's keynote speech at a National Rifle Association convention at the Georgia World Congress Center, and it's likely to bring a tide of cash for [Republican Karen] Handel's campaign. A ticket starts at $2,700 and a host sponsorship will cost $25,000." Full story.

FIRST IN SCORE - Planned Parenthood Action Fund enters Montana special election fray: The pro-abortion rights group is launching a six-figure GOTV effort to boost Democrat Rob Quist in Montana's House special election to replace Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The program will include mailers, which will reach 80,000 voters, and phone calls, which will reach 60,000 voters. In 2016, Planned Parenthood did another GOTV effort on behalf of Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock, knocking on 75,000 doors in Missoula and Yellowstone counties.

BATTLEGROUND PRIMARY? - "Dorothy McAuliffe, wife of Va. governor, is testing the waters for a congressional run" in VA-10, by the Washington Post's Jenna Portnoy: "'I really am very seriously considering it,' Dorothy McAuliffe said in a brief interview Tuesday morning ... In recent weeks, McAuliffe has called several Democratic state senators as well as Virginia's four Democratic congressmen ... to seek their input, according to several people familiar with her deliberations. ... Four Democrats are currently vying for the party's nomination in the 2018 race. ... The day after [state Sen. Jennifer] Wexton announced that she would run, the nonpartisan Cook Political Race moved the 10th
District race to its 'toss-up' list, signaling a competitive contest." Full story.

HEALTH CARE WATCH - "Republicans finalize new Obamacare repeal proposal," by POLITICO's Rachael Bade, Jennifer Haberkorn and Josh Dawsey: "GOP leadership has been circulating the text to the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative group that helped block the original bill, and to more centrist Republicans. But it not yet clear if the deal will provide Speaker Paul Ryan the 216 votes needed for the House to pass the legislation. The proposal would allow states to opt out of key Obamacare regulations under certain conditions. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, who helped author the changes, is likely to support the measure, according to a conservative source. ... it's unclear how many members
of the Freedom Caucus will join the bill and it's far from certain the changes ... won't eliminate support from the few moderates who were already 'yes' votes." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 207.

Days until the 2018 election: 571.

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: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @danielstrauss4.

WOMEN RULE PODCAST: Tinseltown is still reeling from Hillary Clinton's loss, we learn in the latest episode of Women Rule, where POLITICO sits down with some of Hollywood's finest. In this week's must-listen episode, we hear directly from the woman that organized surrogates for Clinton's campaign, and two of the stars that stumped for her on the trail. One thing is clear, Hollywood is searching for a Democratic star to back in 2020. And Tinseltown has some advice for any leading female candidates considering a bid in the next election cycle: Be more "unapologetically yourself" than Clinton was. Listen and subscribe iTunes | Soundcloud | RadioPublic

CAMPAIGN FINANCE WATCH, WAY DOWN-BALLOT - Soros-linked district attorney group backs Philadelphia candidate: A new group called Philadelphia Justice and Public Safety PAC will back civil rights attorney Larry Krasner - a former public defender running a criminal justice reform-focused campaign against the death penalty and for bail reform, among other things - in the crowded race for district attorney there, per a statement from the PAC's treasurer. The group "is supporting Larry Krasner for district attorney because of his commitment to public safety and criminal justice reform," Whitney Tymas said in a statement. Tymas has served as an officer for a number of outside groups backing
progressive DA candidates in the last year, all financed by Democratic megadonor George Soros.

- The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Philadelphia Justice and Public Safety will start a week's worth of pro-Krasner TV ads on Wednesday for $280,000.

Q&A - Virginia Democrat Justin Fairfax, by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: Full story.

CHALLENGER WATCH - "Embattled House Intel chair Devin Nunes gets a challenger," by POLITICO California's Carla Marinucci: "Devin Nunes, the California Republican congressman who sparked a national firestorm as the House Intelligence chairman overseeing the investigation into Russian election meddling, has a challenger. Charging voters are 'fed up' with Nunes, Fresno County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Janz announced his candidacy Tuesday for California's 22nd Congressional District seat. Janz, a 33-year-old Democrat from the Central Valley city of Visalia, challenges the idea that the GOP-dominated district's 10-point Republican voter registration advantage, or Nunes' roots in a
third-generation dairy farming family, shields him from a strong challenge in 2018." Full story.

- Iowa Rep. David Young picks up a challenger from Sanders' 2016 campaign, via The Guardian: "Pete D'Alessandro, who helped guide the Vermont senator to a virtual tie with frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses, ... announce[d] he is exploring a bid for Congress in Iowa's third congressional district on Tuesday." Full story.

- California Rep. Ed Royce gets challenger: Orange County businessman and former teacher Phil Janowicz, a Democrat, launched his campaign Tuesday to challenge Royce, who's listed as one of the DCCC's top targets in 2018.

REDISTRICTING BULLETIN - GOP attorneys general, RNC file amicus briefs in Wisconsin redistricting case, via the Associated Press: "A dozen states and the Republican National Committee are among those urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal court ruling that said Wisconsin's legislative district boundaries were unconstitutional. ... The states argue the ruling invites 'openly partisan policy battles in the courtroom' and gives any political party not in control a 'fighting chance' of overturning maps drawn by the majority party." Full story.

STAFFING UP - NRCC communications staff updates: Jesse Hunt, who serves as national press secretary, will also serve as deputy communications director at the GOP House committee. Chris Martin, who most recently worked at the Wisconsin Republican Party, is now the committee's northeast regional press secretary.

AIR WAR - Northam's first ad touts progressive accomplishments: "Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam's Virginia gubernatorial campaign is out with his first ad of the campaign, touting his work in the state legislature and as a doctor to left-leaning voters ... 'Dr. Northam took on big tobacco so we could breathe clean air in our restaurants,' one woman says in the ad. ... A gay couple thanks him for supporting gay marriage 'long before it was possible.'" Watch the ad here.

GETTING THE NOD - End Citizens United releases list of endorsed Democratic incumbents: End Citizens United kicked off its 2018 endorsements by naming 19 Democratic incumbents, including several members from top battlegrounds seats like Matt Cartwright (PA-17), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Jacky Rosen (NV-03), Ruben Kihuen (NV-04), and Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01). The full list includes: Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), John Sarbanes (MD-03), Elijah Cummings (MD-07), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Jan Schakoswky (IL-09), Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03), Jerry McNerney (CA-09), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Pete Aguilar (CA-31), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Pramila Jayapal
(WA-07).

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: " I'm very, very troubled to have to pass this on. And I want to say at the outset that I hope my interpretation is wrong, and I hope this is not the case. But it looks like, from here, right here, right now, it looks like President Trump is caving on his demand for a measly $1 billion in the budget for his wall on the border with Mexico." - Rush Limbaugh, on his radio show.

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