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By Kevin Robillard | 04/11/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Scott Bland, Bianca Padro Ocasio and Elena Schneider

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)

IT'S A SPECIAL TIME - "Democrats declare victory while predicting defeat in Kansas," by Campaign Pro's Daniel Strauss: "The most optimistic Democrats will only go as far as declaring things 'neck and neck' in Tuesday's special election for a deeply conservative Kansas district - but they are also declaring victory already in a race that only burst onto the radar last week. The fact that Republicans, from President Donald Trump to the NRCC, are pouring time, resources and money into Kansas' 4th District - which Trump carried by nearly 30 percentage points in November - feels like a partial victory already to a Democratic Party that is energized but locked out of power in Washington. 'This
race is tough; haven't had Dem in seat since 1994 with Dan Glickman,' said former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. 'Republicans have statewide candidate; we have a Bernie newcomer. They are bringing Ted Cruz to town and putting [NRCC] money into the race.'" Full story.

- Listen to President Donald Trump's late robocall for Estes here.

SPECIAL ELECTION UPDATE - NEW TODAY - New NRCC ad features GA-06 residents slamming Ossoff: The latest GA-06 special election ad from the NRCC's independent expenditure unit features a montage of Georgians criticizing Democrat Jon Ossoff. "A bunch of slick ads trying to make us think he's qualified," one says, followed by: "But that was all a lie. D.C. liberal Jon Ossoff caught misrepresenting his credentials." Another criticized Ossoff for not living inside the district lines. "For me, there's too much at stake to give our only vote in Congress to a liberal Democrat," says another, before one says Obamacare and its supporters have "got to go." Watch the ad here.

- "The Club for Growth's super PAC is doubling down on its attacks in Georgia's special election, going after former state Sen. Dan Moody as well as former Secretary of State Karen Handel in an effort to boost John's Creek City Councilman Bob Gray into a possible two-candidate runoff against Democrat Jon Ossoff. In its most recent ads, the Club for Growth has only attacked Handel, who has typically held the second-place slot in public polling of the race in the 6th District. But the Club's new ad ... extends its attacks to Moody, a self-funder who has gained traction in recent polls after flooding the TV market with his own ads." Full story.

- DCCC launches radio ads, mail to boost Georgia turnout efforts: "The get-out-the-vote effort includes a six figure ad buy on seven Atlanta-based radio stations, including digital ads on their websites and on streaming services, and a five-figure buy on Pandora. The money aims to boost African-American turnout, which has averaged about 7 percent vote share in primaries and 10 percent in general elections, according to a DCCC memo. The committee is also spending six figures on direct mail targeted to every registered Democrat in the district," in addition to a 70-plus-person field program bolstered by thousands of volunteers. Full story.

- End Citizens United has released a digital ad for final week of the Georgia special election: Watch the ad here.

SUCCESSION ALERT - "Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley resigns amid sex scandal," by AL.com: "Embattled Gov. Robert Bentley this afternoon agreed to a deal that forced him to resign the office of governor, plead guilty to two misdemeanors and agree to never again hold public office. ... Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey will, as the Alabama Constitution demands, ascend immediately to the governorship. Ivey, a Republican who was elected State Treasurer prior to her election as Lieutenant Governor, will become the first woman governor since Lurleen B. Wallace. Wallace, the wife of George Wallace, was elected in 1966 but died in office 16 months later." Full story.

- NOTED: Ivey's ascension to the governorship means there are now five female governors in the United States.

Days until the 2017 election: 210.

Days until the 2018 election: 574.

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

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

OFF MESSAGE PODCAST: Where to next in Syria? In the latest episode of Off Message, Isaac Dovere sits down with former American diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, who breaks down every angle of the U.S position in Syria following last week's bombing. "It certainly changes our posture in the sense that we've now said, 'We will attack you if you use chemical weapons.'" Listen and subscribe on iTunes | Panoply | Stitcher

FIRST IN SCORE - DSCC targets potential GOP Senate candidates with Google search ads: As part of a six-figure digital buy, the DSCC is kicking off the congressional recess with state-specific Google search ads highlighting potential Republican Senate challengers' support for the ill-fated American Health Care Act. The ads are targeted at voters who are researching town halls or attempting to contact their senators during recess. Who are the DSCC's targets? Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer in Indiana; Rep. Fred Upton in Michigan, Rep. Kevin Cramer in North Dakota; Rep. Pat Tiberi in Ohio; Reps. Lou Barletta and Mike Kelly in Pennsylvania; and Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The ads will also hit
two Republican incumbents: Arizona's Jeff Flake and Nevada's Dean Heller. "When these Republicans face the voters there will be nowhere they can hide from their support for this reckless agenda," DSCC spokesman David Bergstein said. "If any of these potential Senate candidates decide they actually want to run for anything besides dog-catcher after their humiliating healthcare defeat they'll see these clips again."

HAPPENING TODAY - Trio of Democratic veterans launch House campaigns: In CO-06, Democrat Jason Crow is beginning a campaign against GOP Rep. Mike Coffman in the Denver suburbs. According to the release announcing his candidacy, Crow is a decorated Army Ranger who did three tours in Afghanistan. This is his first run for office, but he has been on the political stage before, speaking at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

- In PA-06, the new Democratic candidate is Chrissy Houlahan, a former Air Force officer and executive at AND1 Basketball and several nonprofits. She is running in GOP Rep. Ryan Costello's district in the Philadelphia suburbs.

- One more to round out the trio: Josh Butner, a retired Navy SEAL starting an uphill campaign in heavily Republican, heavily military CA-50, home of Rep. Duncan Hunter, whose is under investigation for his use of campaign cash.

Q1 FUNDRAISING - Sen. Ted Cruz raised over $1.7 million, has $4.8 million on hand, per POLITICO's Burgess Everett: The $1,7 million is "across his Senate reelection campaign, his political action committee and the Ted Cruz Victory Committee," which together have about $5.2 million. His campaign has $4.8 million. Full story.

- MORE - Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) raised $1.3 million and has $2.5 million on hand.

HATCH ACTS - GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch said he plans to run for reelection after speaking with Mitt Romney about running for his seat. Hatch said he plans to run again unless his health or the health of his wife declines, KUTV reports.

VIRGINIA PART TWO - "POLITICO Pro Q&A: Virginia Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "When you first ran for office in 2007, why did you decide to run as a Democrat? You didn't have a partisan history. We had to meet with our department chairman once a year. And when I met with him, his name is Hal Jennings, I told him I was frustrated, fighting with the insurance companies and working hard every day and having less to show for it. And he basically said, 'Why don't you do something about it?' .... You voted for George W. Bush twice. What changed between the year 2004 and now that makes you a Democrat? ... Knowing what I know now, it was the wrong vote. The lesson,
when I talk to people about that, is to be informed. The other thing I would say, I went to VMI, I was president of the Honor Corps, my honor was very important to me. I think we need more honorable people in leadership positions. That question was asked of me by the New York Times journalist, and I answered honestly. Nobody knew who I voted for when I walked into the voting booth, so I think people should know that about me." Full story.

RETURN OF THE MOOK - Former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook made a rare post-2016 political foray, penning a fundraising email for Archie Parnell, a Democratic candidate in the special election to replace Rep. Mick Mulvaney in South Carolina's GOP-leaning 5th District. "Archie Parnell is running for the seat that John Spratt held when I first started working on Congressional campaigns, a seat that Democrats had held for over a century. We can't win it back without your help," Mook writes in the email.

TRANSITIONS - Name change: WPA Opinion Research, the pollster for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and a slew of other prominent Republicans, is changing its name to WPA Intelligence. "WPA needed a name that better describes our services," WPA Intelligence founding partner and CEO Chris Wilson said in a statement. "We are an intelligence company. We provide political intelligence, public affairs intelligence, marketing intelligence and corporate intelligence. While this includes survey research, it is increasingly about data, analytics and technology to manage these data."

HEALTH POLITICS - "TV ads slam Republicans over would-be Obamacare repeal," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney: "Save My Care ... is launching a seven-figure TV ad buy in seven competitive House districts across the country. It's one of the first attempts by the left to weaponize the GOP's failed attempt to repeal Obamacare, and it comes as Republicans arrive at home for a two-week recess ... 'Congressman [Darrell] Issa promised to protect our health care, but when right-wing politicians tried to pass a disastrous health care repeal bill that raises cost and cuts coverage, Issa wouldn't oppose them,' a male narrator intones ... in one version of the 30-second spot. ... Other [targeted] Republicans
in Clinton-won districts include Arizona's Martha McSally, Colorado's Mike Coffman and Florida's Carlos Curbelo and California's David Valadao. Two lawmakers from districts carried won by President Donald Trump - Florida's Brian Mast and New Jersey's Tom MacArthur - will face similar ads." Full story.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "Why Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan could wind up in a ditch," by Lauren Gardner: "Trump's plan, expected to be released as early as May, has already faced months of skepticism from some conservative deficit hawks - even though it's likely to call for far less direct federal spending than its eye-popping price tag implies. Meanwhile, Democrats are crying foul at suggestions that the blueprint will include hefty tax breaks for private investors and a shredding of permit requirements. And even if the plan entails just a few hundred billion dollars in direct federal spending on roads, bridges, tunnels, railroads and airport upgrades - as most leaks to date
indicate - no easy answers exist on where Congress would find that money. Trump is expected to let lawmakers do the heavy lifting on those details, which most likely depend on Congress' ability to craft a once-in-a-generation overhaul of the tax code." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Don't fall in love with the map. The map doesn't win elections." - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in an interview with the Washington Examiner.

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