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By Elena Schneider | 04/04/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Bianca Padró Ocasio, Scott Bland and Daniel Strauss

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)

NEW THIS MORNING - SPECIAL ELECTION SEASON - More polling in GA-06 special election: A day after a Congressional Leadership Fund poll came out claiming a slowdown in momentum for Democrats here, MoveOn.org released its own poll in the Georgia special election showing Democrat Jon Ossoff, who's raised more than $4 million for his race, with 40 percent of the vote. (That's actually pretty similar to CLF's 36 and 37 percent in two March polls.) Another 19 percent of primary voters are still undecided in the MoveOn poll, followed by the crowded Republican field: former Secretary of State Karen Handel had 18 percent, state Sen. Judson Hill has 8 percent, and former state Sen. Dan Moody and Johns
Creek City Councilman Bob Gray had 7 percent each. The poll found that Independents support Ossoff by a 21-point margin. The poll release did not include favorability numbers on any of the candidates. Lake Research Partners surveyed 350 likely voters from March 26 to March 28. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.2 percentage points. Read the memo here.

- AIR WAR - NRCC spending $2 million in two weeks before Georgia special primary, new ad hits Ossoff as 'D.C. liberal': The NRCC's new TV ad in Georgia paints Democrat Jon Ossoff as a "D.C. liberal" backed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as the GOP tries to motivate its base to turn out for the special House election on April 18." See the NRCC ad here. Full story.

- HAPPENING TODAY - Voters head to the polls in CA-34 all-party primary: A large field of candidates, 24 in total, are jockeying to replace state Attorney General Xavier Becerra in Congress, and most operatives agree that it's a battle for second place. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, who's picked up Becerra's endorsement and leads in fundraising, will likely lock up one slot for the heavily Democratic, majority Hispanic district in downtown Los Angeles. But who will join him in the runoff in June is less clear.

- Sara Hernandez, a former aide to LA City Councilman Jose Huizar, and Alejandra Campoverdi, a former Obama administration staffer, followed Gomez in fundraising. But Robert Ahn, an attorney, has "maximized his base" in the Asian community, said Doug Herman, a Democratic consultant who's not affiliated with a candidate in the race. But even with cash, it's hard to break through in this expensive media market. "This is a direct mail district. Broadcast TV, which would give you the broadest coverage, is the most expensive market to buy outside of NYC. So the best way to maximize repetition is to target voters at their mailboxes," Herman said. "I think the folks who have done that the best are
Gomez and Ahn."

- Despite much hoopla, Bernie Sanders never endorsed in the race, either. And no clear Sanders acolyte emerged, as many candidates vied for that voter bloc. And don't forget: There's only one Republican in the race, William Morrison, a perennial candidate, who could slip into the top two by simple virtue of being the only GOP option on the ballot.

- THAT OTHER SPECIAL ELECTION - Quist releases first TV ad in Montana special election: Democrat Rob Quist, who's vying to replace Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, is out with his first TV ad today. "There's nearly 300 millionaires in Congress, but not one Montana folk singer," Quist says, over footage of him performing. "After a career using my voice for the Montana we love, I will be a voice for you to defend our public lands from private developers, fight for Montana farmers and ranchers, not Wall Street banks and for health care we can afford." The 30-second ad will start airing statewide on Tuesday. Watch the ad here.

Days until the 2017 election: 217.

Days until the 2018 election: 581.

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.

ON THE HILL - "Gorsuch battle heads to Senate floor as Democrats vow filibuster," by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim: "It's now up to Senate Republicans whether Neil Gorsuch gets confirmed to the Supreme Court this week. Senate Democrats locked down enough votes on Monday to filibuster Gorsuch's nomination on the Senate floor, shifting the focus to the GOP majority and its vow to confirm Gorsuch by week's end, one way or another. To do so, Republicans will have to invoke the so-called nuclear option to change longstanding Senate precedent by a simple majority of the chamber so that filibusters of Supreme Court nominees can be cut off with just 51 votes, not 60. It's the same maneuver Republicans
chastised then-Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Democrats for deploying in another heated nominations battle in 2013." Full story.

- CUT THE CORD - "Progressive groups urge DSCC to cut off Gorsuch supporters," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "A cadre of progressive groups - including Our Revolution, the political nonprofit that grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign - are pressuring the DSCC to cut off funds for three vulnerable red-state senators who announced they will support Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. More than 230,000 activists signed petitions asking the DSCC to abandon their support for any Democrat who is supporting Gorsuch. Three senators up for reelection in 2018 - Indiana's Joe Donnelly, North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia's Joe Manchin - have all said they will
support President Donald Trump's first Supreme Court nominee." Full story.

Q1 CASH RACE - "Ryan transfers record $7M to NRCC in March," by The Hill's Scott Wong: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) kept up his frantic fundraising pace in March, transferring $7 million to the House GOP's campaign arm just as it gears up for four special elections this spring. The March figure, which a GOP source shared with The Hill, is a record for the 47-year-old Speaker. It brings Ryan's total transfers to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to $16.4 million for the first quarter of 2017." Full story.

- ActBlue processes nearly $112 million: The Democratic online fundraising platform saw over $111.9 million flow through it in the first three months of 2017, ActBlue said Monday. It's part of a wave of Democratic activism sparked by President Donald Trump's election. The number of donations and the total dollars rose each month: Just under $30 million in January, $34.4 million in February, and just under $47 million in March. By contrast, ActBlue processed $26.9 million in the entire first quarter of 2015.

- Democrat Mike Johnston raises $625,000 in Colorado governor's race: State Sen. Mike Johnston, who's running to replace Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, announced Monday that he's raised $625,000 for his campaign. "While the final total is still being tabulated, it is certain to be the most raised by any state candidate in one quarter of a non-election year since Colorado's campaign finance laws were enacted in 2005," per a statement from his campaign. But the memo did not include a cash on hand total.

- In CA-49: Democrat Mike Levin raised over $275,000 in the final three weeks of March after announcing his candidacy, per a campaign release.

- In CA-31: Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar brought in more than $500,000 in contributions, ending the quarter with $1.3 million in the bank.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "A Former Trump Adviser Met With A Russian Spy," by Buzzfeed's Ali Watkins: "A former campaign adviser for Donald Trump met with and passed documents to a Russian intelligence operative in New York City in 2013. The adviser, Carter Page, met with a Russian intelligence operative named Victor Podobnyy, who was later charged by the US government alongside two others for acting as unregistered agents of a foreign government. The charges, filed in January 2015, came after federal investigators busted a Russian spy ring that was seeking information on US sanctions as well as efforts to develop alternative energy. Page is an energy consultant. A court filing by the US
government contains a transcript of a recorded conversation in which Podobnyy speaks with one of the other men busted in the spy ring, Igor Sporyshev, about trying to recruit someone identified as 'Male-1.' BuzzFeed News has confirmed that 'Male-1' is Page." Full story.

- "White House, conservatives mull deal to revive Obamacare repeal," by POLITICO's Rachael Bade, Jennifer Haberkorn and Josh Dawsey: "House conservatives and the White House are mulling a potential agreement to revive the GOP Obamacare replacement bill that was pulled from the House floor just over a week ago, POLITICO has learned. The House Freedom Caucus, the group of three-dozen conservatives that helped bring down the bill, has been in talks with Trump administration officials about changes to the legislation that might get them to "yes." One option seriously being considered, multiple GOP sources said, includes allowing governors to opt out of some Obamacare regulations on the
insurance industry. The developments could mean that Speaker Paul Ryan's bill might not be dead after all - or at least indicate that continued discussions are going on behind the scenes." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The pitch he threw that day could most charitably be described as a parabola." - David Axelrod, the former White House senior adviser, said of his former President Obama's Opening Day pitch in 2004, The New York Times reported.

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