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By Daniel Strauss | 10/27/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Zach Montellaro

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)

DAILY ROLL TIDE - "Moore, Senate GOP embrace each other" by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Roy Moore wasn't Washington Republicans' first choice in the Alabama Senate race. But he was Alabama Republicans' choice, and now Washington is getting on board. ... Moore still appears to have the strongest relationships with other anti-establishment Republicans. Paul and Lee are among the hosts listed for a high-profile fundraiser in Washington next week, along with former Sen. Jim DeMint, Senate Conservatives President Ken Cuccinelli, and Faith and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed. ... Moore is also set for a big boost from the White House, which also backed Strange in the primary. President
Donald Trump, who threw his support behind Moore when he won the nomination, has said publicly that he expects to sit down with Moore soon. And [Moore campaign chairman Bill] Armistead said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have committed to come down to Alabama in support of Moore." Full story.

- "Jones TV spending nears $1.4M in Alabama" by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "Democrat Doug Jones booked at least $525,000 worth of TV ads covering next week in Alabama's special Senate election, according to the ad tracker Advertising Analytics, on top of over $855,000 already aired or booked in October. Jones' ad spending, which is nearing $1.4 million since the general election between him and Republican Roy Moore began, is an indication that donations have continued to flow into the Democrat's campaign. Jones finished September with just over $1 million in his campaign account." Full story.

- "Why Roy Moore's Law-School Professor Nicknamed Him Fruit Salad" by The New Yorker's Charles Bethea: "George Thomas Wilson, a retired magazine-marketing and P.R. professional now living in New York City, has never forgotten his first criminal-law class, at the University of Alabama School of Law, in 1974. It was taught by Clint McGee, who graduated from the law school himself, in 1940. Early in the class, McGee called on one of Wilson's classmates, a United States Military Academy graduate named Roy Moore. 'And, for the entire hour, McGee kept him standing and talking, standing and talking,' Wilson told me recently. 'Finally, at the end of the hour, McGee said to him, 'Mr. Moore, I have
been teaching in this school for thirty years, and in all of that time you're the most mixed-up person I've ever taught. I'm going to call you Fruit Salad.'" Full story.

NEW YOUNG GUNS - "NRCC gives 31 candidates 'On the Radar' designation" by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "The NRCC announced its first round of competitive GOP challengers today, adding 31 candidates to its Young Guns 'On the Radar' program. The candidates - representing a range of districts, from battleground to Democratic-leaning seats - reached committee-set goals 'to ensure their campaigns remain competitive, well-funded and communicative within their districts,' according to an NRCC statement. In several districts, two or more GOP candidates made the list, including the two candidates jockeying to take on Florida Rep. Stephanie Murphy and the three Republicans vying to run against
Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider." Full story.

COASTAL DIVIDE - "Northeastern Republicans vote against House budget, Californians vote yes" by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "Twenty Republican House members, including battleground incumbents from high-tax states, voted against the Senate GOP's budget, a key hurdle before Congress can tackle tax reform. Eleven GOP members from the New Jersey and New York delegations voted against the budget, many of whom had voiced concern over the plan to curb state and local tax deduction. ... The full list of New Jersey and New York incumbents who voted against the budget: Reps. Dan Donovan (NY-11), John Faso (NY-19), John Katko (NY-24), Pete King (NY-02), Leonard Lance (NJ-07), Frank LoBiondo
(NJ-02), Tom MacArthur (NJ-03), Chris Smith (NJ-04), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Lee Zeldin (NY-01)." Full story.

VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE - "IMGE Virginia poll: Northam 48, Gillespie 44" by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "A Republican firm's new poll of the Virginia governor's race shows Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam with a slim lead over former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie and finds voters being turned off by President Donald Trump's endorsement of Gillespie. The poll, conducted by GOP firm IMGE Insights and paid for by Pfizer, had Northam at 48 percent and Gillespie at 44 percent in the governor's race, with Libertarian nominee Cliff Hyra earning 5 percent of the vote and 4 percent of voters undecided. A late September poll from the same firm gave Northam a 45 percent to 41 percent lead over
Gillespie, with Hyra earning 4 percent. ... The poll's results fit in with many of the recent surveys on the race. A Fox News poll released last week showed Northam leading 48 percent to 41 percent, a Christopher Newport University poll gave the Democrat a 4-point edge and a Roanoke College poll showed him leading 50 percent to 44 percent." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 11.

Days until the 2018 election: 375.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin, @danielstrauss4 and @maggieseverns.

MEANWHILE IN ARIZONA - Jay Heiler, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, is forming an exploratory committee for a Senate run, according to The Arizona Republic. Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is chairing the committee. Other members listed in the press release: "Treasurer - [former] Gov. Fife Symington; Foster Friess; Mike Ingram; Karrin Taylor Robson; Bob Mulhern, Managing Director, Colliers; Rich Wilson, CEO Trademark Construction; Maria Baier, Phoenix Suns; Tom Foley; [state] Representative Don Shooter; [state] Representative Maria Syms."

- American Bridge increases Arizona research: Democratic opposition research firm American Bridge is stepping up its effort to find dirt on potential GOP candidates in Arizona. It's looking at former state Sen. Kelli Ward, state Treasurer Jeff DeWit, former Arizona GOP chair Robert Graham, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and current and former Reps. Martha McSally, Matt Salmon, Trent Franks and David Schweikert. They're also filing 20 FOIA requests on the eight candidates rumored to be considering a bid, and already have over 200 hours of footage on the candidates.

DROP IT LIKE ... - "FEC drops case on foreign donations in 2016 Senate race" by Campaign Pro's Maggie Severns: "The Federal Election Commission voted recently to drop a complaint alleging foreign spending in a 2016 Senate race, newly released documents show. The complaint - one of the first foreign spending cases to come before the commission after the 2016 elections - charged that a real estate developer named Nicholas Mastroianni arranged for foreign nationals to funnel $75,000 to a super PAC backing former Rep. Patrick Murphy using LLCs to conceal the donations. ... The four Republican and Independent commissioners voted to close the case on Sept. 20, while Democrat Ellen Weintraub
dissented." Full story.

FLORIDA SENATE NUMBERS - A new Mason-Dixon poll has Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson and GOP Gov. Rick Scott tied in a theoretical 2018 Senate race, each with 44 percent. The poll was conducted from Oct. 17-19, and 625 registered voters were interviewed. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

SHOT - @realDonaldTrump at 10:11 a.m. Thursday: "Ed Gillespie will be a great Governor of Virginia. His opponent doesn't even show up to meetings/work, and will be VERY weak on crime!"

CHASER - Gillespie to The Washington Post's Paul Schwartzman in early October, the first time he tweeted his endorsement: "I don't recall having asked anyone for their endorsement. ... I guess I'm just confused why this is newsworthy. ... Just to be clear, I didn't ask him not to endorse."

CHANGING OF THE GUARD - Lucien Smith has been named chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. Per a press release: "Today, the Mississippi Republican Party's State Executive Committee elected Lucien Smith to serve as the Party's new State Chairman. Smith ran unopposed after being nominated by Governor Phil Bryant who was present for today's election. ... Lucien currently serves as the 12th Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party following his unanimous election by the State Executive Committee. He previously served as Chief of Staff to Governor Phil Bryant and Counsel to Governor Haley Barbour. ... A Jackson native with deep roots in Oktibbeha and Clay Counties, Lucien and his wife
Bethany have one son, Liam, and are expecting a daughter in February 2018."

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The Republicans went through their tea party phase," former NRCC chair Tom Davis told The Wall Street Journal. "Now, Democrats are going through their herbal tea party phase."

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