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By Elena Schneider | 04/07/2016 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard and Theodoric Meyer

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)

THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL (IN PENNSYLVANIA) - "Sestak's last stand against the Democratic Party," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett in Drexel Hill, Pa: " ... On paper, [Joe] Sestak is about everything Democrats could want in a Senate candidate: A charismatic, decorated veteran elected to the House from a swing district who nearly defeated Republican Pat Toomey in 2010, one of the toughest election years for Democrats in decades. But the independent streak that attracts voters is precisely what worries national Democrats so much about Sestak: They believe, for the second time since 2010, that he could blow a winnable Senate race because of his tendency to reject the slightest hint of marching
orders from party bosses. ... Indeed, the infighting here threatens to do significant harm to Democrats' hopes in the general election in Pennsylvania, a state that's essentially a must-win for the party's hopes of wresting the Senate from Republicans." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb25c3e86116aa4e96fb2d7e47e6b06c3016eb5356f9241051

- DSCC TRIPLES DOWN - "The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is preparing to spend an additional $1.1 million on television in Pennsylvania's Democratic primary, augmenting its coordinated spending with Katie McGinty with new independent expenditures as she tries to catch" Sestak. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb66d1622c30191f086e4ad445e47abf55fe067ebb72ec2c5d ... "The Environmental Defense Fund's political arm plans to spend six figures backing" McGinty. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edbde9c29118ba36aecd01cbc8f36621f3c984a61a4c43578d4

- Meanwhile, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman released a new ad on the damage fracking is doing to Pennsylvania's environment on Wednesday. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb2435fadd05bcd5ff43d4c7533d97048f677786c62b2ec41b

- Taking attendance: In his campaign advertising, Sestak touts an outsized role in passing the Affordable Care Act, but a former Hill aide notes Sestak was running for Senate at the same time Obamacare was under consideration and missed 84 percent of his Education and Labor Committee hearings, even missing a 2009 hearing on the House's more liberal proposal. The staffer said Sestak's claims are "something out of fantasyland."

- Sestak's campaign countered that the congressman was on three committees rather than the typical two and also served on a special panel on defense reform, and said Sestak was there for every vote on the Affordable Care Act in the committee and on the House floor. Sestak's campaign also noted then-Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Sestak was the most productive member of his freshman class. Lastly, the campaign said Sestak missed some hearings to take care of his daughter as she recovered from her brain tumor.

WHAT WEALTH BUYS - "How self-funders can run for Congress differently," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "Big-spending Democrat David Trone made an immediate splash when he leapt into the race for Rep. Chris Van Hollen's House seat this winter and started spending his own fortune on TV ads. But in reality, Trone dipped his toes into the Maryland district for months before declaring his candidacy - highlighting some of the many advantages self-funding candidates have over those who have to raise money to run for office, and raising legal questions from a campaign finance watchdog. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edbd90200464fd20bc42bfb30ef599f4ea506fb10223a6812b0

Days until the New York primary: 12. Days until the 2016 election: 214.

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

You can also follow us on Twitter, where we tweet a lot about campaigns and occasionally about water tunnels: @politicoscott, @ec_schneider, @politicokevin and @theodoricmeyer.

CAMPAIGN PRO INTERVIEW - A day after the first Colorado GOP Senate primary debate, Republican Jack Graham, businessman and former athletic director of Colorado State University, said he'll distinguish himself in a crowd of eight candidates (which will likely shrink to five or six this weekend) with his independent voice, like his criticism of the GOP-controlled Senate for refusing to vote on President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee. "It's not good judgment on our part to be obstructionist," he said. The former football star and businessman spoke to Campaign Pro from his ranch, which plays home to one dog, three cats, a dozen horses and another dozen chickens.

- On Merrick Garland: "Let's not pick a fight we've already won. Republicans already control the Senate, so if Judge Garland doesn't meet the standards that Republicans have, then he'll get rejected. That changes the dynamic, from us being obstructionist to us showing we've done our job and not approved him."

- On switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last year: "I was raised in a Democratic family ... it was kind of habit. As an adult, I behaved as a Republican. I supported Pete Wilson in the 90s, and I supported Bush as well. My adult behavior is different, but I was too busy raising a family and running a business, so my party affiliation was irrelevant to me."

- On state Rep. Jon Keyser's establishment support: "I think Keyser is a smart, capable guy and at the same time, who you align yourself with and why you're running can influence how you behave and conduct yourself. I'm not a career politician, I'm not obligated to anyone but to the people of Colorado."

- On why criticisms of Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet were conspicuously absent in the debate: "The first task is let Republicans know who and what we are. But the election is on June 28, so on June 29, the conversation will change." Read the full interview here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb77bd48d9f322cc1d61c5c758f8467ce8e792e21d9e550d96

- BENNET TAKES TO THE AIR - The Colorado senator released his first TV ad, touting his work with farmers and breweries: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb30898f89d8183fb9beb5fdc51b18121cc16da227128973e2

RECRUITING STATION - First Democrat announces for WI-08 open seat: Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson is planning to announce a run in Wisconsin's 8th District, becoming the first Democrat in the race to fill retiring GOP Rep. Reid Ribble's seat. Nelson is also a former state Assembly majority leader and has previously been discussed as a possible 2018 gubernatorial candidate. President Barack Obama carried the seat in 2008, but Mitt Romney beat him there in 2012. The Republican field is still shaping up, with Mike Gallagher, a Iraq veteran who advised Gov. Scott Walker's presidential campaign, and state Sen. Frank Lasee already in the race.

Q1 ROUNDUP - SENATE - Louisiana: Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy raised more than $800,000 for his Senate bid in the first quarter of 2016 and has about $700,000 on hand, his campaign said. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edbe68812f6ed763cc962a4471d3796fda483c32ec1587cdba2 Kentucky: Democratic Lexington Mayor Jim Gray has $1.5 million on hand for his challenge to Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, his campaign said today, after raising $750,000 and loaning himself another $1 million in the first quarter. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26c5a1c30aff0981a9a825fe0c0cc86ad4361f5694e44b7922e Arkansas: Democrat Conner Eldridge raised $300,000 in the first quarter, Roll Call reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb6ff006afad7a3f9df0bc7e2bec0ca7ae8e0fb69607bcc649

HOUSE - PA-08: Democrat Steve Santarsiero raised over $400,000 for the open-seat race. (Release.) MN-03: Democrat Jon Tollefson raised $86,000 in the first quarter of 2016 for his challenge to GOP Rep. Erik Paulsen. (Release.)

ETHICS PROBLEMS - "Shuster on defense in reelection over lobbyist girlfriend," by POLITICO's Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: "Art Halvorson's campaign message is unambiguous. He says his Republican primary opponent, Rep. Bill Shuster, is part of the D.C. 'cartel' - an unholy axis of longtime Washington politicians and lobbyists who do the bidding of Big Business instead of representing their constituents. ... Shuster has long brushed off those charges, saying his romantic relationship with Shelley Rubino, one of the top lobbyists for Airlines for America, is completely above board. Despite his girlfriend representing an industry with billions of dollars on the line in front of his committee,
Shuster has refused to recuse himself from legislation dealing with the airline industry. ... But as Shuster fights to fend off Halvorson and win a ninth term in Congress, his relationship with Rubino has become an issue ahead of the April 26 primary." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=89ccf9ddfab96edb7174afb364ff99ef0c6ec3ae3b4531a4b2a4a7ebe72f56a6

- In Case You Missed It: Glenn Thrush podcast, "Hillary Clinton has had enough of Bernie Sanders": In an exclusive interview for POLITICO's 'Off Message' podcast, the former secretary of state compares Donald Trump to foreign demagogues and says she's not even sure her primary opponent is a Democrat. Listen to the full interview and get every episode by subscribing to the podcast on iTunes http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26cfa0d61928b2a019055b9dd9953c7d147edac2dbb7529d57d

PRESIDENTIAL SPEED READ - "How 'Citizens United' is helping Hillary Clinton win the White House," by the Center for Public Integrity's Dave Levinthal: "Hillary Clinton fashions herself as the ultimate general in a war against big-money politics. ... But the Democratic presidential front-runner stands poised to bludgeon her general election opponent with Republicans' favorite political superweapon: the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which earlier this decade launched a new era of unbridled fundraising." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26cabc84d7d6fbae2559cf29b737015e779f2f0e08167140599

- "Bernie's big breakthrough," by POLITICO's Steven Shepard: "As he pursues his uphill climb to defeat Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders appears to be making considerable progress in winning over key segments of the Democratic electorate that had been cool to his candidacy in the past, according to a POLITICO analysis of polling data. In Wisconsin Tuesday, one of his most consequential victories to date, the Vermont senator found a favorable electorate: Whites made up a higher percentage of the vote there than in all but four of the 20 states where entrance and exit polls have been conducted thus far. He beat his previous performance - as measured by an aggregation of exit and entrance polls
in 20 of the 32 states - among a wide array of demographic and ideological groups by at least 10 percentage points, including among older voters and racial minorities who've been more resistant to his campaign." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26c72edf5fa9078bbb8fb3a797d702b1d00b2839036149e27fd

- "Hillary Clinton's union problem," by POLITICO's Maggie Severns: "Teachers unions were among the earliest and most enthusiastic supporters of Hillary Clinton, with the American Federation of Teachers calling her "the champion working families need" and powerful AFT President Randi Weingarten hugging her on stage. The only hitch in Clinton's plans to rally this vital Democratic constituency: Teachers aren't fully on board. Bernie Sanders netted more money from people who listed themselves as teachers and educators than Clinton in February, according to a POLITICO analysis of FEC records. ... The division between leaders and rank-and-file members of teachers unions reflects a campaign in
which Clinton has won overwhelming support from leaders of Democratic constituencies but struggled to beat back the Sanders challenge among average voters." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26c58377b72a530e13630b87bcb6d379ad4fb9622a3c247f64e

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "So, folks, I think you can forget about him," Trump on Cruz and his New York values, POLITICO reported. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d60dc604241ac26c19a5172fbd9f70e15eb20de9a90ada8ac7ce72be734220a5

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