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By Daniel Strauss | 05/23/2018 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)

ABOUT LAST NIGHT - "Abrams romps to victory in Georgia," by POLITICO's Steve Shepard: "Democrats took a step toward electing the first African-American female governor in American history and resolved some of their biggest House primary fights across four states Tuesday night, while Republican voters get the chance to remake the powerful congressional delegation in the biggest red state. In the most closely watched race of the night, former state Rep. Stacey Abrams crushed state Rep. Stacey Evans in Georgia's Democratic gubernatorial primary. If she prevails in November, Abrams will make history as the first female African-American elected to a governorship, though Republicans have won four
straight elections for governor in Georgia...The most consequential races on the ballot also include a closely watched Democratic House primary runoff in Texas, where an establishment-vs.-grassroots fight has blown out into the open after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee publicized past statements by Laura Moser, whom it sees as a weaker general-election candidate. Moser trailed in early returns Tuesday night, while Democrats chose nominees in runoffs in districts where the party hopes to unseat GOP incumbents in the fall." Full story.

- Cagle, Kemp head to runoff: Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp proceeded to the runoff in the Georgia Republican primary for governor.

- McBath, Abel head to runoff: Gun reform advocate Lucy McBath and businessman Kevin Abel proceeded to the runoff in the Republican primary for Georgia's 6th Congressional District.

- McGrath defeats Gray KY-06: Marine veteran Amy McGrath defeated Lexington Mayor Jim Gray in the Democratic primary for Kentucky's 6th Congressional District.

- Gooden wins runoff for TX-05: State legislator Lance Gooden defeated Bunni Pounds in the Republican primary for Texas' 5th Congressional District.

- Ortiz beats Treviño in TX-23: Iraq War veteran Gina Ortiz won the runoff of the Democratic primary for Texas' 23rd Congressional District.

- Allred wins runoff for TX-32: Democrat Colin Allred won the runoff of Democratic primary for Texas' 32nd Congressional District.

- Valdez wins nomination for Texas governor: Former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez won the runoff of the Democratic primary for governor, defeating Democrat Andrew White.

- Cloud wins nomination for Farenthold seat: Activist Michael Cloud won the Republican nomination for Texas's 27th Congressional seat, open because Rep. Blake Farenthold is retiring.

- Tucker wins Democratic primary: State Rep. Clarke Tucker won the Democratic primary for Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District. He will face Rep. French Hill.

- Former Cruz chief of staff Roy beats McCall: Ex-Ted Cruz chief of staff Chip Roy defeated businessman Matt McCall to win the Republican nomination for Texas's 21st Congressional District.

CA-48 CRAZINESS - "Ugly Feuds, 'Drunken Stupidity,' Paul McCartney, and a Race That Could Flip Congress," by Mother Jones Bryan Schatz: "[Last week] the politics blog Down with Tyranny published a two-page selection from an anonymous whistleblower complaint filed against [Democrat Hans] Keirstead at the University of California, Irvine in 2009. It accused Keirstead of having affairs with members of his staff and graduate students when he was an associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology and codirector of UCI's stem cell research center. The complaint also alleged that on a night in 2008, Keirstead punched one of his female students 'in the face with such force that both she and another
woman...were knocked to the ground.' Keirstead was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. ...

"It's unclear who dropped the oppo research at the center of this saga. Keirstead says [fellow Democrat Harley] Rouda's campaign has been circulating the UCI complaint behind the scenes for months. Rouda's campaign manager, Michael McLaughlin, denies this. ... Down with Tyranny blogger Howie Klein claims to have received the document from someone inside the DCCC. Yet Meredith Kelly, the DCCC's communications director, says, 'No one at the DCCC gave Howie Klein that document.'" Full story.

MEANWHILE, ON THE AIRWAVES - "DCCC Launches Joint TV Ad With California's Harley Rouda," by Roll Call's Bridget Bowman: "The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is teaming up with businessman Harley Rouda on a joint television ad two weeks before the critical California primary. ... The 30-second hybrid ad, a joint effort by the DCCC and the Rouda campaign, is part of a $400,000 ad buy in the Los Angeles media market. It hits the airwaves Tuesday and will be seen this week on broadcast and cable. The DCCC is backing Rouda even though the California Democratic Party endorsed stem cell researcher Hans Keirstead in the 48th District." Full story and the ad.

- The DCCC also released a Spanish ad backing Gil Cisneros in CA-39. See it here.

ADMITTED ABUSE - "Top South Carolina candidate refuses to quit congressional race after abuse discovery," by the Post and Courier's Jamie Lovegrove: "Archie Parnell, a Democratic congressional hopeful who earned national attention after nearly winning in deep red South Carolina last year, is resisting pleas to withdraw after his campaign staff discovered that he physically abused his ex-wife in the 1970s. In divorce records obtained by The Post and Courier ... In October 1973, Archie Parnell, then a University of South Carolina student, was locked out of some friends' apartment to protect Kathleen Parnell, who was staying there. At 2 a.m., Archie Parnell used a tire iron to break a glass
door, the complaint said. He made more unspecified accusations to Kathleen Parnell before striking her several times. She said she was beaten again later that evening. ... Confronted with the court records by aides last week, Parnell did not deny the allegations. But even as his staff fled the campaign en masse, he refused to drop out of the race Monday." Parnell's ex-campaign manager, the South Carolina Democratic Party chair, and the DCCC are all among those calling on him to drop out. Full story.

Days until the 2018 election: 167

Upcoming election dates - June 5: Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries - June 12: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia primaries. - June 26: Colorado, Maryland, New York (congressional), Oklahoma and Utah primaries and Mississippi and South Carolina primary runoffs.

Upcoming filing deadlines - Arizona: May 30 - Vermont: May 31 - Alaska, Kansas, Wisconsin and Wyoming: June 1 - Hawaii and Minnesota: June 5 - Connecticut: June 12.

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

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

POLITICO and the South China Morning Post are partnering to expand coverage of U.S.-China relations. Read our note from POLITICO Editor-in-Chief John Harris and Editor Carrie Budoff Brown to learn more.

GOLDEN STATE - "How one obscure Republican might save the House GOP majority," by POLITICO's David Siders: "When President Donald Trump threw his endorsement Friday to John Cox, a little-known businessman running for California governor, he also gave House Republicans a potentially significant lift in their effort to maintain control of Congress. Republicans in this heavily Democratic state long ago abandoned almost any hope of winning the governorship, but getting shut out in California's primary - where the top two finishers advance, regardless of party - could depress turnout and lead to devastating losses in House races statewide. ...Trump's endorsement of Cox, a wealthy businessman who
previously ran unsuccessfully for House and Senate seats in Illinois and, briefly, for president in 2008, was the culmination of weeks of effort by Republican leadership, including endorsements from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). The president's intervention was considered especially significant after Cox failed to secure the California Republican Party's endorsement, splitting activists' support at the state party's convention this month with another Republican, state Assemblyman Travis Allen." Full story.

NEVADA NEWS - "The ex-synagogue president who could decide Senate control" by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Heather Caygle: "Democrats' slim hopes of taking back the Senate this fall rest with a former synagogue president serving in her first term in Congress taking on a battle-tested Nevada Republican who's won four statewide elections. "No pressure there," said Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) with a chuckle. Democrats are banking on Rosen to deliver in one of their few shots at picking up a Republican-held seat this fall. The Senate map is stacked in favor of the GOP, and if she can't beat Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Democrats are almost certainly staring at two more years in the minority.
She'll have her hands full in Heller, a proven political survivor. In 2012, he was the only battleground state Republican to survive a strong Democratic year propelled by President Obama's reelection. Rosen put herself through college waitressing, including a summer gig at Caesars Palace, and later moved up in the tech world in part by taking on computer programming jobs others didn't want, like designing an inventory system for airplane mechanics. "Nobody wanted to sit out there on the tarmac for six weeks hearing about how they serviced airplanes," Rosen said." Full story.

- Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt raised about $1.8 million between January and May 2018: Laxalt, the frontrunner in the Republican primary for governor, raised $6 million in the 2018 cycle to date and has $4.2 million cash on hand.

TRAINING DAY - Swing Left launches online training program: The Democratic House group is launching "Swing Left Academy" to train local activists in cutting-edge organizing techniques. Obama campaign veteran (and current California state Assembly candidate) Buffy Wicks combined with Swing Left staff to launch the effort, which you can see here.

MONEY CHASE - "O'Rourke, Nelson, Baldwin led ActBlue Senate fundraising in April," by Campaign Pro's Scott Bland: "Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) hauled in the most online money of any Democratic Senate candidates in April, according to a POLITICO analysis of ActBlue's latest FEC filing. The monthly report covering April from ActBlue, the popular Democratic online fundraising platform, shows O'Rourke bringing in $1.96 million, continuing his strong fundraising pace for his uphill race against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. Nelson, meanwhile, raised about $654,000 via ActBlue, jumping into the top tier of Democratic online fundraisers after
wealthy Republican Gov. Rick Scott announced his candidacy for Senate...See the full list of how much Democratic candidates and groups raised through ActBlue in April here." Full story.

- "Pelosi hits Chicago on June 1 for Chicago area House Democratic candidates," by The Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet: "House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hits Chicago on Friday afternoon June 1 to bolster Chicago area House Democratic candidates. Pelosi and Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., are the names behind a noon fundraiser at the East Bank Club to benefit the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the House Democrats political operation." Full story.

AD WARS -"Greitens to air TV ads in Missouri Wednesday," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: Full story. Here's the video Greitens posted on his Facebook page.

- Senate Majority PAC released a new Greitens-themed ad hitting Josh Hawley. Full story.

- Foster Friess goes on the air: Wyoming Republican gubernatorial candidate Foster Friess's campaign is releasing its first broadcast ad today. The campaign has reserved $156,000 in Cheyenne, Casper, Billings, and Rapid City. Friess's campaign reserved the advertising from Wednesday through June 12, according to Advertising Analytics. Watch the ad 1-minute ad here.

- Wisconsin Republican Party launches radio ad for Vukmir: The Wisconsin Republican Party a 1-minute radio ad statewide in support of Republican Senate candidate Leah Vukmir. Listen to the ad here.

- Tester ad focuses on veterans: Sen. Jon Tester's reelection campaign is releasing a new 30-second ad statewide focused on his work helping veterans. Watch the ad here.

MICHIGAN MATTERS - "Michigan gubernatorial candidate Shri Thanedar unleashes on Democratic opponents: He's 'Just a rich kid' and she 'hasn't had anything to show for her accomplishments' by The Intercept's Zaid Jilani: "Shri Thanedar is now the leading contender for the Democratic nomination for governor in Michigan. In the latest poll, commissioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber, he leads with [30] percent of the vote, with former state Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer at [26] percent and former Detroit public health chief Abdul El-Sayed at [7] percent....During the course of our phone conversation, Thanedar used the interview to trash El-Sayed and Whitmer." Full story.

- "Thanedar hires new campaign manager in Michigan" by Strauss: "Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shri Thanedar has hired David Alexander Bullock as his new campaign manager Bullock, according to a statement from Thanedar's campaign, has worked as Michigan State Coordinator for Rainbow PUSH. The Thanedar campaign said Bullock is among a "short list of African Americans in charge of campaigns for an executive office in the country." Full story.

ON THE WEB - "Ad Group Announces Rules for Transparency in Political Advertising," by The Wall Street Journal's Benjamin Mullin: "The Digital Advertising Alliance, an organization that establishes and enforces guidelines across social media companies, consumer brands, advertising organizations and publishing outlets, on Tuesday announced a series of new rules aimed at making digital political ads more transparent. The guidance requires advertisers to provide consumers with a link to a searchable database with more information about who placed the ad, their spending and contributions, and how the advertiser can be reached, among other things." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016" - President Donald Trump speaking at a Susan B. Anthony gala on Tuesday night.

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