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By Theodoric Meyer | 01/09/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With Kevin Robillard

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)

THE PARTIES NEXT TIME - "Party rebuilding, realignment to start in Virginia governor primaries," by Campaign Pro's Kevin Robillard: "When former Rep. Tom Perriello dove into Virginia's governor race on Thursday, he gave the state's Democratic voters the same opportunity that GOP candidates Ed Gillespie and Corey Stewart are handing to Republicans: first dibs on defining their parties in the era of President-elect Donald Trump. ... [T]he coming Democratic primary between Perriello, who became a favorite of progressives and President Barack Obama in his lone term in the House, and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a former military doctor from the state's rural Eastern Shore, will give voters an early
voice in the party's broad discussion about its priorities, ideology, and presentation - and the power of its establishment gatekeepers, virtually all of whom in Virginia have endorsed Northam. ... The GOP fight between Gillespie, a longtime political operative and lobbyist, and Stewart, a local official and anti-immigration hawk, may be more ideologically fraught. But it's an even bigger chance for voters to embrace or toss aside their party's longtime establishment in the Trump era." Full story.

- Northam has the endorsement of every Democrat in the state's congressional delegation except one: Rep. Gerry Connolly. "Tom Perriello and I were colleagues in Congress and remain friends to this day," Connolly said in a statement on Friday to The Washington Post. "While I continue to believe that Ralph Northam is a great leader and fighter for progressive values, I welcome Tom's entrance to the race and believe both candidates have much to gain from a vigorous contest."

- "Trump-backed candidate ousts Ohio GOP chairman," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: A candidate backed by President-elect Donald Trump ousted Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges in state Republican Party leadership elections Friday, in a race defined by Borges' troubled relationship with Trump and his campaign in 2016. Jane Timken, a county vice-chairwoman whom Trump endorsed and called party members to support this week, will be the new party chair. ... The vote was a skin-of-the-teeth victory for Trump, who personally called roughly a dozen central committee members on Thursday, in a highly unusual instance of a president-elect wading into state party politics." Full story.

- "Obama retools his political operation for another run," by POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere: President-elect Donald "Trump's win upended [President Barack Obama's] plans for life after leaving office, and people who've been talking to him say he's been quietly sorting out how to honor the tradition of withholding criticism of his successor as he also considers how best to salvage his legacy and rebuild his party. ... Already, former aides are revamping Organizing for Action, the group formed out of his old campaign structure. No longer about backing up Obama's agenda in the White House, it will be a nexus for training activists and candidate recruitment, reshaped both by Trump's win and
some of the factors that contributed to Hillary Clinton's loss." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 302.

Days until the 2018 election: 666.

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

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

FIRST RETIREMENT - "Texas Rep. Sam Johnson announces he won't run for reelection," by POLITICO's Scott Bland and Kyle Cheney: "Rep. Sam Johnson, a Texas Republican and Vietnam veteran, announced Friday that he will not run for reelection in 2018. Johnson, at 86 the oldest Republican in Congress, made his decision public with a letter posted on his campaign website, weeks after he won his 13th term with 61 percent of the vote.Johnson's 3rd District north of Dallas is heavily Republican (though President-elect Donald Trump underperformed his party's recent presidential nominees there). Johnson's retirement will likely spark a crowded GOP primary to take over the seat." Full story.

- "State Sen. Van Taylor, who ran with only minor-party opposition, has long been considered a potential replacement for Johnson and would be an instant frontrunner," The Dallas Morning News' Katie Leslie reports. "'A lot of people will want to step up and run for that seat,' said conservative radio talk show host Mark Davis, who moderated several events for Johnson. 'If Van Taylor gets in, we'll see that pretty soon the list is going to be short.' Other possible contenders are state Reps. Jeff Leach and Matt Shaheen of Plano and Pat Fallon of Frisco. At the county level, judge Keith Self, District Attorney Greg Willis and County Commissioner Susan Fletcher could consider campaigns. Plano
Mayor Harry LaRosiliere could also be a contender." Full story.

ELSEWHERE IN TEXAS - O'Rourke's potential Cruz challenge leads other Democrats to eye his seat: Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke told The Texas Tribune last week that it was "very likely" that he'd challenge GOP Sen. Ted Cruz next year. He softened that a little on Friday in an interview with The El Paso Times. "I haven't declared or made the decision," O'Rourke said. "But I am considering it." But his comments have triggered specualtion about who might run for his deeply Democratic seat. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser and County Judge Veronica Escobar both told the newspaper they would consider running.

- Cruz, meanwhile, told Hugh Hewitt he doesn't expect a GOP primary challenger.

- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, meanwhile, is expected to make an unspecified election announcement today.

DEMOCRATIC RESISTANCE - "Trump opposition sets up blue-state headquarters," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti: "With the national Democratic Party in disarray, the outline of the Donald Trump resistance is taking shape far from Capitol Hill, with New York and California emerging as the East and West Coast headquarters of opposition to the incoming administration. Officials and advocacy groups in the two Democratic strongholds are plotting how to use the power of state law-enforcement agencies, municipal regulations and regional bully pulpits, and they're assembling a wide-ranging apparatus of political opposition that they hope will slow the Trump agenda." Full story.

SURPLUS STAFFERS - "Obama and Clinton loyalists grapple with Trump recession," by POLITICO's Sarah Wheaton: "The job market is about to get even more crowded for Washington Democrats, as thousands of Obama appointees join the hundreds of Clinton campaign staffers looking for employment. There's rarely been less demand for their services. ... It's not just that those 4,000 administration jobs are no longer available to Hillary for America alumni, or that failed Senate candidates like Russ Feingold and Katie McGinty won't be able to hire their staff on the Hill. There are also the lobbying firms, trade associations and corporate government affairs offices that are pitching senior Obama aides'
resumes into the round file while scrambling to hire operatives with Republican connections." Full story.

PERSONNEL MOVES - Johnson campaign staffer launches new firm: Brian Reisinger, who worked on GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's campaign as communications director last year and helped pull off a surprise victory, is launching his own strategic communications firm. The firm, Hilltop Strategies, will be based in Madison, Wis., and work with state as well as national clients. (It's named for Reisinger's family home, Hilltop Farms, in Sauk County, Wis.) Reisinger was previously deputy communications director for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and worked on his 2014 reelection campaign. He also worked as a reporter in Tennessee and Wisconsin before entering politics.

- Donnelly hires Peter Hanscom to manage reelect: Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) has hired Peter Hanscom, a former Indiana staffer for Hillary Clinton, the state party, and several issue campaigns, to manage his campaign for reelection 2018. Hanscom managed the Democratic coordinated campaign in Indiana in 2016 and worked for Clinton during the Democratic primary, which Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders narrowly won. Hanscom previously worked for Freedom Indiana and Indiana Competes, two groups focused on LGBT rights, for the Indiana Democratic Party, and as Donnelly's outreach director.

- The NRSC has hired Logan Dobson as director of data and analytics. Dobson, a prolific tweeter, previously worked on digital strategy for Targeted Victory and as a communications staffer for Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).

VOTING RULES - Cuomo will mount early-voting push in New York: Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York "is mounting a new push for early voting and automatic voter registration this year, he announced Sunday," The Daily News reports. "In his State of the State speech this week, Cuomo will propose letting New Yorkers cast their ballots up to 12 days before an election. Each county would have to offer at least one early voting site, and one for every 50,000 residents, open at least eight hours a day on weekdays and five hours on weekdays. Most states in the country allow early voting, but New York is one of 13 that do not." Full story.

TRANSITION SPEED READ - "Trump to give Cabinet secretaries a long leash," by POLITICO's Josh Dawsey and Andrew Restuccia: "President-elect Donald Trump plans to give his Cabinet secretaries and top aides significant latitude to run their federal agencies, marking a sharp departure from Barack Obama's tightly controlled management style, according to people involved in and close to the transition. ... The approach comes with both upsides and downsides. On the one hand, Trump's top leaders will likely be given plenty of latitude to act quickly and decisively without being constantly micromanaged by the big boss. But on the other, Trump's top leaders will always carry with them the risk of
being blindsided when the incoming president decides on a whim to weigh in on some topic in their portfolio." Full story.

- "McConnell: We won't delay hearings," by POLITICO's Seung Min Kim: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday rebuffed Democratic calls to slow down rapid confirmation of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, even after a nonpartisan federal watchdog raised 'great' concerns about moving ahead with hearings for nominees whose ethics reviews have not been completed. Walter Shaub, director of the independent Office of Government Ethics, laid out his warning in a letter disclosed by Senate Democratic leaders on Saturday. Among Shaub's concerns: Some of Trump's nominees - particularly those with a complex web of financial interests and little background in public service - are left with
'potentially unknown or unresolved ethics issues' before their hearings. Despite those warnings - and calls from Democrats to delay hearings - McConnell wants Democrats to buck up and move on." Full story.

- "Trump's cabinet picks undergo grueling prep for hearings," by POLITICO's Nancy Cook and Andrew Restuccia: They call them "murder boards" for a reason. Seated beneath bright lights that mimic the conditions of a camera-packed hearing room, President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks are being put through hours-long mock confirmation hearings this weekend to prepare for the Senate grillings that may decide their fates. Numerous murder-board sessions are being run in anticipation of one of the most consequential weeks for the Trump transition: Nine of the president-elect's Cabinet picks, many of whom have no federal government experience, will face Senate questioning this week - including
from hostile Democrats eager to score points on everything from the president-elect's admiration of Vladimir Putin to the candidate's wealth and potential conflicts-of-interest." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "With all those flat A's, Hillary has always sounded more Buffalo than Queens. And she has, of course, won statewide before. Twice. Three times, if you count the presidential race." - The Times Union's Chris Churchill, making the case that Hillary Clinton should run against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary instead of running for New York City mayor. (Spoiler: She won't run for either.)

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