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By Maggie Severns | 05/11/2018 10:00 AM EDT


With Zach Montellaro, Daniel Strauss, Elena Schneider and Scott Bland

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)

PRE-PRIMARY REPORTS - Candidates in next week's Texas primary runoffs filed FEC reports Thursday detailing their fundraising in April (and a couple days of May). Some highlights:

- Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher outraised Laura Moser in the TX-07 Democratic primary runoff, $175,007 to $131,788. It looks like Moser's online fundraising has slowed since she became a cause among some on the left after the DCCC came out against her in the winter; Moser raised about $37,000 in unitemized donations from April 1 through May 2 (versus a little over $10,000 in small donations for Fletcher). Fletcher's donors included House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who gave $7,000 between his campaign fund and leadership PAC. Fletcher had $362,694 in the bank to end the period to Moser's $80,430.

- Chip Roy outraised Matt McCall in the TX-21 GOP primary runoff, $188,745 to $65,766. Among Roy's donors: The leadership PAC of his former boss, Sen. Ted Cruz, along with the father-son duo of Darwin and Doug Deason, big Cruz donors during the 2016 presidential primary, and GOP Rep. Jim Jordan's campaign. Roy had $225,975 in the bank on May 2 to McCall's $78,941.

- Check back with us Friday morning for more reports from Texas and other May 22 primaries.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT - He loves a nickname - President Donald Trump coined Sen. Joe Donnelly "Sleepin' Joe" during a rally in Elkhart, Ind., on Thursday. A sample usage, via The Hill: "If Joe Donnelly, Sleepin' Joe and the Democrats, get back into power, remember what I said: they will raise your taxes, they will destroy your jobs, and they are going to knock the hell out of your borders." Donnelly, who has kept a low profile during his reelection campaign thus far, quickly fired back: "It's okay that the President and Vice President are here today for politics, but problems only get solved when you roll up your sleeves and put in the hard work. I'm Indiana's hired help in the Senate because I
don't work for any president or any political party -- I work for Hoosiers, and that will never change," Donnelly said in a statement blasted out to his campaign's email list.

IN MARYLAND - "Kevin Kamenetz's death will dramatically shake up Maryland governor's race," by The Baltimore Sun's Erin Cox: "The two-term county executive's unexpected death will have dramatic political ramifications, shaking up what was a seven-way contest of major candidates hoping to take on popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Kamenetz consistently polled among the top three candidates and had raised more money than anyone else in the field. This week, his campaign had reserved more than $1 million worth of airtime in the Baltimore and Washington markets - the first Democratic candidate with the resources to do that. He was a dominant political force in the Baltimore region, a
battleground area crucial to winning the primary less than six weeks away." Full story, plus The Sun's obituary.

Days until the 2018 election: 179

Upcoming election dates - Idaho, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Oregon primaries: May 15 - Arkansas, Georgia and Kentucky primaries, plus Texas primary runoffs: May 22 - Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota primaries: June 5 - Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia primaries: June 12.

Upcoming filing deadlines - Washington: May 18 - 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 and mseverns@politico.com.

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

FLORIDA MAN - "Soros dumps another $150K into Florida," by POLITICO Florida's Matt Dixon: "A new committee funded by Democratic billionaire donor George Soros is making its way into Florida. A federal political action committee called Win Justice gave $150,000 to a state-level political committee with that same name last month. The federal committee is completely funded with a $3 million contribution from Soros, and both were created in early March.

"Both are led by Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change, a Washington-based nonprofit that focuses on issues including immigration, housing reform and green jobs. It's funded, in part, by Soros. He did not return a request seeking comment." Full story.

BEAVER STATE - "Democratic poll: Oregon GOP gubernatorial primary within single digits" by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "A Democratic poll of Oregon's GOP gubernatorial primary shows businessman Sam Carpenter within single digits of state Rep. Knute Buehler, the Republican front-runner to take on Democratic Gov. Kate Brown this fall. ... The poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and obtained by POLITICO, shows Buehler with 33 percent support in the GOP primary while Carpenter has 25 percent. Another candidate, Greg Wooldridge, has 8 percent support." Full story.

TOP-TWO PROBLEMS, CONT'D - Another Democratic poll shows Republican in contention for November slot with Rohrabacher in CA-48: The new survey, conducted by Tulchin Research for Democrat Harley Rouda's campaign, shows Rohrabacher at 30 percent and three candidates tied at 13 percent: Rouda and fellow Democrat Hans Keirstead and Republican Scott Baugh. It follows an outside group poll also showing Baugh right in the mix for the second general election slot.

- Two important and interesting nuggets from National Journal's Ally Mutnick: "The DCCC hasn't publicly endorsed a candidate, but multiple people involved in the race say the committee is working to boost Rouda's bid," Mutnick writes. Also: "Last week, the DCCC posted opposition research on Baugh to a page on its website that serves as a guidepost for super PACs ... at the bottom of the list of Baugh hits, the committee offered positive messaging on a third Republican, John Gabbard, who has spent about $17,000 on cable - suggesting the party hopes that outside spending could further splinter the GOP vote." Read the full story, "Potential California primary nightmare propels Democrats to
action," here.

GETTING THE NOD - PCCC, DFA endorse two House candidates: The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America jointly endorsed two House candidates, Ammar Campa-Najjar (CA-50) and Dana Balter (NY-24). The two groups said they are holding the "DCCC accountable for attempting to push progressives out of Democratic primaries and increasingly hurting Democratic chances to win swing districts," per a statement from them.

ON THE AIRWAVES - FIRST IN SCORE - VoteVets releases TV ad on Kopser in TX-21 runoff: VoteVets is out with a TV ad boosting Democrat Joseph Kopser, who "led a unit in Iraq and earned a Bronze Star for his service." The ad will start airing today through May 21. Watch it here.

- Golden pops first TV ad in ME-02: Democrat Jared Golden released his first TV ad that features the state legislator's tangles with Republican Gov. Paul LePage. Watch the ad here.

2020 WATCH - "'Run, Bernie, Run!': Sanders's 2016 campaign manager urges another bid in new memoir," by The Washington Post's John Wagner: "Bernie Sanders would have defeated Donald Trump if he were the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016 and remains the strongest candidate to prevail in 2020, Sanders's campaign manager [Jeff Weaver] argues in a new memoir in which he also seeks to settle some scores with other politicians and the media." Full story.

- Sen. Kamala Harris to campaign for Stacey Abrams: Harris is joining former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams at a fundraising rally in Atlanta on Friday. The event comes about a week after the California senator endorsed her in Georgia's Democratic primary for governor. The Abrams campaign pegged the event as a "low dollar fundraising rally open to the public and media."

PRIMARY CHALLENGE - "POLITICO Florida: 'Skank' and racism charges: Democratic gubernatorial primary gets ugly," by POLITICO's Marc Caputo: "Florida's Democratic race for governor has become a debate about race and gender. And it's getting ugly. The flare-up began Tuesday when an African-American woman who supports Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum called former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham a 'skank' on Twitter. Graham surrogates then called on Gillum to denounce the comments from his supporter, Leslie Wimes, who amplified the slur Thursday morning in a column she writes for a conservative publication, the Sunshine State News, that bore the headline 'Skank, Oh, My!'

"By noon, the group EMILY's List, which backs women abortion-rights Democrats, called on Gillum 'to make clear to his supporters that negative, gendered attacks have no place in political discourse.'" Full story.

HE'S BACK - "Sheldon Adelson kicks in $30M to stop Democratic House takeover," by POLITICO's Jake Sherman and Alex Isenstadt: "Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has cut a $30 million check to the House GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund, a massive cash infusion that top Republicans hope will alter the party's electoral outlook six months before Election Day. The long-sought donation was sealed last week when, according to two senior Republicans, House Speaker Paul Ryan flew to Las Vegas to meet with the billionaire at his Venetian Hotel.

"Also at the meeting with Adelson was his wife, Miriam; Norm Coleman, the former Minnesota senator who chairs the Republican Jewish Coalition; Corry Bliss, who oversees the super PAC; and Jake Kastan, Ryan's No. 2 political aide. They laid out a case to Adelson about how crucial it is to protect the House. As a federally elected official, Ryan is not permitted to solicit seven-figure political donations. When Ryan (R-Wis.) left the room, Coleman made the ask and secured the $30 million contribution." Full story.

BABYSITTER'S CLUB - "FEC approves request to spend campaign funds on child care," by POLITICO's Maggie Severns: "The Federal Election Commission today approved a request from congressional candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley to use campaign funds to pay child care expenses on the campaign trail. Shirley, a Democrat running in New York's 2nd District, is the main caregiver for her children and worked from home as a consultant prior to running for office. She asked the FEC to rule on whether using campaign funds for child care would violate the prohibition on using campaign money for 'personal use.'" Full story.

GETTING THE NOD - End Citizens United added Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to its "Big Money 20" list of candidates the group is targeting in 2018.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "We've fully cooperated in it and in the interest of the country, I think it's time to wrap it up," Vice President Mike Pence told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on Thursday regarding the Russian collusion probe.

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