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By Kyle Cheney

With Sandhya Raman

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. (
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GRAHAM STAFFS UP - POLITICO's Katie Glueck reports: "Lindsey Graham's prospective presidential operation is ramping up with the hiring of a new communications director and senior political adviser. Brittany Bramell, a former spokeswoman for House Speaker John Boehner, will spearhead communications for Security through Strength, the PAC that is laying the groundwork for the South Carolina Republican's longshot bid. Jon Seaton, a longtime GOP operative who was Tim Pawlenty's national political director last presidential cycle, will serve as senior political adviser to the 527-designated group, which pays for Graham's political travel and other expenses related to testing the waters" ahead of
a possible presidential run. If Graham decides to run, Seaton would maintain a similar role in the campaign, while Bramell would take on a senior communications position."
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OHIO SENATE RACE GETS HOT - Portman camp takes aim at Strickland on coal: Few of 2016's premiere Senate races have featured direct engagement between the likely candidates, but Ohio's is a glaring exception. Not only did Democrats get their top recruit, former Gov. Ted Strickland, into the race, but he and incumbent Sen. Rob Portman have already started pummeling each other with web ads, harsh attacks and aggressive rhetoric. The pattern continues today as Portman's team unveils a new web ad that hits Strickland in an area Republicans think he's vulnerable: Coal Country. The ad, a grainy black with white lettering, accused Strickland of defending "Obama's war on coal" and say he "turned his
back on Ohio coal families." The ads come as the Portman camp links Strickland's work at the Center for American Progress with the organization's efforts on cap and trade policies - and argue that his work since leaving the governorship in 2011 will alienate the blue-collar voters he relied on to win in 2006.Strickland has defended his tenure at CAP and vowed to fight for middle class policies he pursued there, like an increased minimum wage.

As Rubio regrets his Rivera ties and Rahm gets renewed hope for reelection, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: daily news, notes and essential information for the 2015 and 2016 election cycles.

Days until the 2015 election: 232; Days until the 2016 election: 603

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INSIDE CLINTON-WORLD - "Hillary Clinton's fear of the trail," by POLITICO's Glenn Thrush: "This was the week when Hillary Clinton's highest aspiration, being president, collided with her deepest fear - actually running for president. It's not that Clinton craves a coronation, people close to her say, it's just that she wants to forestall her leap into the sulfurous political lava as long as possible. The chaotic indignity of Tuesday's press conference on her use of a private email server as secretary of state did nothing to change that opinion or convince her to push up the campaign start date.

"The response to the emails controversy was hampered by the lack of a campaign team - and the candidate's reluctance to share details of her personal email server with the people who could defend her; Clinton's people were rebuffed by surrogates who refused to appear on TV because they weren't given details about the system, according to two potential surrogates interviewed by POLITICO. Moreover, it took eight days for Clinton to reluctantly agree to appear before the media - and only then at the urging of her young campaign manager, Robby Mook, and eminence-grise campaign chairman, John Podesta."
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- "Jerry Brown: Leave Hillary alone," by Edward-Isaac Dovere: "Jerry Brown ran against Bill Clinton in the 1992 Democratic primaries. Now he doesn't think anyone should run against Hillary Clinton when she seeks the nomination next year. 'I can't think of anything I'd rather have less if I were running for president than to have a competitor in the primary,' the California governor said, speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon following a series of meetings with staff about climate change. Brown said he didn't see the need for an internal party fight. What he wants, he said, is Clinton knocking the GOP field on immigration reform, Obamacare, climate change and other
differences."
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2016 GOP - "Marco Rubio's house of horrors," by POLITICO's Marc Caputo in Tallahassee, Fla.: "The brick-fronted tract house with a satellite dish and a yellow fire hydrant in front looks like many middle-class homes in Florida's capital, except for the two names on the deed. Marco Rubio: U.S. senator and would-be presidential candidate. David Rivera: Scandal-plagued former congressman under investigation in a federal campaign-finance probe. In many ways, it has been a house of horrors for Rubio, a financial and political liability heading into the 2016 election. While he and Rivera were state legislators, they paid way too much for it in 2005, only to see it go embarrassingly into
foreclosure for a spell during see foreclosure proceedings embarrassingly initiated against them during Rubio's 2010 Senate race. At another point, a tropical storm flooded the entire neighborhood so badly that neighbors used canoes to get around. Now, the three-bedroom property stands as a stubborn symbol of both a politically problematic friendship and lingering questions about Rubio's personal finances, which dogged him on the campaign trail in 2010 and may do so again. The friendship has frayed in recent years, friends say, as the fortunes of Rubio, 43, and Rivera, 49, have diverged. Last week, they put the 1,228-square-foot house up for sale. The list price is $125,000 - $10,000 less
than what the two men paid for it a decade ago."
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- "Good news for Rubio in GOP poll," by POLITICO's Louis Nelson: "It's not clear if momentum is building behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for a run at the White House in 2016, but he has not turned off Republican voters. The junior senator from the Sunshine State led all other 2016 contenders among GOP primary voters, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released March 11. Fifty-six percent of GOP voters said they could see themselves supporting Rubio while just 26 percent said they could not. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee trailed close behind Rubio, with 53 and 52 percent of Republican voters, respectively, saying they could see themselves
supporting each candidate.
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RAHM'S RUNOFF -"Poll: Rahm leads Garcia in Chicago runoff," by Campaign Pro's Steve Shepard: "Emanuel holds a 14-point lead over his rival in an early-April runoff, according to a new Chicago Tribune poll released Friday that shows both candidates modestly improving on their performances in last month's election. The poll shows Emanuel leading Cook County Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, 51 percent to 37 percent, with 11 percent of voters still undecided."
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POLITICO's Manu Raju reported Friday that former Mitch McConnell aides Josh Holmes and John Ashbrook have launched Cavalry LLC, a political and corporate strategy firm. Holmes, McConnell's former chief of staff, will be president, while Ashbrook - former staff director of McConnell's war room - will be founding partner. Both men were instrumental in McConnell's reelection win last year. Holmes said: 'What I came to realize [was] that there really aren't very many Senate chiefs of staff, or senior government staff at all for that matter, who come from a communications background or political campaigns. ... The idea behind Cavalry is to break down the silos for clients and provide
state-of-the-art campaigns that also know how and why decisions are made.'"

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I am too old to know how to put a naked photograph of myself on the Internet." Republican Dan Donovan, candidate for the NY-11 House seat, on why (among other reasons) voters don't have to worry about skeletons in his closet, per the New York Observer.
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