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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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TODAY ON CAMPAIGN PRO - "Handicapping the post-Murphy FL-18 field," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535746429da3cc23918dece4eb8d31d4dbb38dfe9f3b2d6fdf9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535746429da3cc23918dece4eb8d31d4dbb38dfe9f3b2d6fdf9

- "GOP has rough day in court fighting SEC campaign giving limits," by POLITICO Pro's Patrick Temple-West:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f53557e4b6355e0f2cb842af1b9204ef7ca40dc3e14f8c72ebc4
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As Cruz scrambles for donors and his competitors shrug, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: daily news, notes and essential information for the 2015 and 2016 election cycles.

Days until the 2015 election: 224; Days until the 2016 election: 595

Thanks for joining us. We're eager for your news and feedback. Email us at
mailto:kcheney@politico.com
kcheney@politico.com or find us on Twitter at @
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kyledcheney .

WHAT EVERYONE BUT TEAM CRUZ IS READING - "First in, fast out? The poor record of presidential early announcers," by POLITICO's Katie Glueck: "Early birds can boost their name recognition or break out of a crowded field, both considerations for Cruz, who had been fading from the 2016 talk in recent months. But plenty of those who move early have buckled under fundraising pressure or simply can't maintain the spotlight. Meanwhile, better-known candidates, especially those with a stable of big donors, can afford to wait as those in lower tiers fight it out." POLITICO's look at the fate of the first candidates to enter the field in recent cycles:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535dec1d67652f13e2f8155c6f51e0ba2aca312fb58e3d94cc7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535dec1d67652f13e2f8155c6f51e0ba2aca312fb58e3d94cc7

CRUZ'S CHALLENGE - "Fellow Texan Cornyn won't back Cruz in presidential primary," by POLITICO's Manu Raju: Sen. Rand Paul may have fellow Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell's support for his likely 2016 presidential bid. But Sen. Ted Cruz won't have his senior senator from Texas, John Cornyn, behind him. Cornyn, the Senate majority whip, said in an interview Monday that he would stay neutral in the Republican primary, declining to endorse Cruz just hours after he became the first candidate to officially declare his presidential run. "You know, we've got a lot of Texans who are running for president, so I'm going to watch from the sidelines," Cornyn said when asked if he would back Cruz. (Former
Texas Gov. Rick Perry is considering a run as well.) Cornyn denied his position was retribution for Cruz's refusal to back him during his Senate primary last year.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f53525e537089a4b9fe6f73fdd3c522ac2df0e503617493beb39
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-- "Cruz polling in single digits in early states," by POLITICO's Kendall Breitman: "So far, the polls aren't looking great for Ted Cruz ... In a Quinnipiac University poll released Feb. 25, only 5 percent of likely Republican caucus voters said Cruz would be their first choice for president. Seven percent said he would be their second choice ... Cruz fares no better in the Granite State. In the same Feb. 15 NBC News/Marist poll, 6 percent of those polled in New Hampshire said they are leaning toward voting for Cruz ... South Carolina is rarely polled, but just 1 percent of likely GOP primary voters threw their support behind Cruz, according to an NBC News/Marist poll.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f5351282a3568be43a7fa636255fc94479da4ceaeb3e91e101ef
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-- "Ted Cruz's big-money crisis," by POLITICO's Anna Palmer, with Alex Isenstadt: After the theatrical launch of his presidential campaign Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz now faces a massive hurdle: raising the tens of millions of dollars it will take to mount a year-and-a-half long campaign. The Texas Republican and tea party darling is months behind his competitors in recruiting the mega-donors and bundlers essential to a credible GOP primary bid. He's not well-liked among cash-flush lobbyists. And his uncompromising policy positions and role in forcing the government shutdown in 2013 don't exactly excite the financiers and business executives who comprise the elite donor class ...Cruz is wasting
no time trying to make up the cash deficit, launching a 10-city fundraising tour in an attempt to take advantage of momentum from his announcement. The goal is to raise at least $1 million over the coming week, and to make progress toward the campaign's goal of raking in at least $40 million over the course of the primary campaign.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535609ea5f51187bfc3a30f8889fb11f469f8ab455abf234e5e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535609ea5f51187bfc3a30f8889fb11f469f8ab455abf234e5e

-- "Paul, reacting to Cruz, talks 'winnability,'" by POLITICO's Jonathan Topaz: Rand Paul on Monday, in his first extensive comments since Ted Cruz officially announced his presidential candidacy, made the case that he's the electable Republican candidate. The Kentucky senator, hours after his Senate colleague jumped into the presidential race, suggested his more inclusive vision for the Republican Party makes him a more appealing general-election candidate. 'Ted Cruz is a conservative. But it also goes to winnability,' Paul said on Fox News' 'The Kelly File.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535538efcd96df303ec25e4d40a64c22e1e9a094a2526d0eec9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535538efcd96df303ec25e4d40a64c22e1e9a094a2526d0eec9

HILLARY'S LEFT FLANK - "Clinton tries to soothe progressives," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "As Ted Cruz rallied the GOP's conservative wing with his Monday announcement that he's running for president, all-but-declared Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton quietly tried to calm her party's restive progressive wing, segments of which are actively seeking an alternative in 2016. The former secretary of state spoke at the Washington headquarters of the liberal Center for American Progress think tank at an urban policy-focused event co-hosted by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union. She stuck largely to policy, zeroing in on the growing gap between the
rich and the poor.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535536433820d965d277842ccf13d5f7eda73d21f49a7e41d22
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f535536433820d965d277842ccf13d5f7eda73d21f49a7e41d22

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Test driving Toyota's hydrogen car. Thought better of trying to
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b8a2897b39a7f5352a60a834bc2bf20a92f96e78a32784ab121ae5ba86c3e1d6
#meerkat and drive, so pics will have to suffice." - Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), underscoring his awareness of the latest social media trend.
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