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By Elena Schneider | 01/23/2017 10:00 AM EDT


With 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)

WHAT'S NEXT? - "Democratic women's groups use weekend march as organizing opportunity," by Campaign Pro's Elena Schneider: "EMILY's List, Planned Parenthood and other partner organizations held candidate-training sessions Sunday for hundreds of women who attended this weekend's march in Washington, hoping to bottle and focus the enthusiasm generated by protesting President Donald Trump's inauguration and unleash it in future elections. 'These leaders, who took it upon themselves to organize these local marches or to organize a bus for their community to go to a march, those are the candidates we're looking for,' said EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock. 'This is just the beginning.
Some will run [for office], some will support candidates who are running. All will make sure their voices are heard by elected officials, both locally and nationally. I have no doubts.'" Full story.

HOW THEY VOTED - Vulnerable Democrats back Mattis, Kelly: The Senate confirmed the first two of President Donald Trump's cabinet nominees on Friday: Defense Secretary James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. The two were two of the least controversial of Trump's cabinet picks, and both attracted widespread Democratic support. All of the 10 Democratic senators up for reelection in states Trump carried voted for Mattis and Kelly. Just one Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, voted against Mattis, who was confirmed 98-1. (Gillibrand is up for reelection in 2018 but is expected to win easily.) Eleven Democrats voted against Kelly, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of
Massachusetts and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who are up in 2018 but aren't considered especially endangered. Gillibrand also voted against Kelly.

- "Will Marco Rubio defy President Trump on his pick for secretary of state?" by The Washington Post's Karoun Demirjian and Sean Sullivan: "Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey O. Graham said Sunday that they will back the nomination of Rex Tillerson, clearing the way for the oil executive to become secretary of state and leaving just one drama unresolved: What will Marco Rubio do? The Republican senator from Florida made clear during Tillerson's confirmation hearing earlier this month that he had significant reservations, chastising the ExxonMobil chief executive for refusing to call Russia's bombing campaign in Aleppo a war crime and declining to condemn Saudi Arabia and China as
human rights violators. ... Since then, Rubio has come under significant pressure from Republican party leaders to back Tillerson and avoid a split within the GOP on one of President Trump's most high-profile picks, according to those close to him." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 288.

Days until the 2018 election: 652.

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.

IT'S 2020 ALREADY - "Booker walks 2020 tightrope," by POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Gabriel Debenedetti: Leave it to Cory Booker to find a way to anger both liberals and conservatives within just a few hours. The New Jersey senator's unprecedented decision to testify against attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions' earlier this month infuriated the right. That evening, it was the left's turn to rip him after he joined mostly Republicans to vote down a symbolic amendment aimed at importing prescription drugs. To Booker's critics, the high-wire moves are all part of his positioning for 2020, when there's likely to be a crowded Democratic primary." Full story.

SCORE INTERVIEW - "Q&A: Connecticut gubernatorial hopeful Tim Herbst," by Campaign Pro's Theodoric Meyer: "Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut faces a $1.4 billion state budget deficit and approval ratings that have dipped into the 20s over the last year, according to one poll. While he hasn't decided whether he'll seek a third term in 2018, Malloy has already drawn a potential primary challenger in Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, and several Republicans are circling the governor, too. Danbury First Selectman Mark Boughton and Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst are both considering runs. Herbst, 36, was in town for the U.S. Conference of Mayors' winter meeting last week. He sat down
with POLITICO to talk about when he'll make a decision, why he can win and the Republican governors he admires."

- You're the first selectman of a relatively small community. What makes you think you can win the GOP primary? In 2014, I ran for state treasurer. I ran against [Denise Nappier], a 16-year-incumbent who four years earlier received the most votes of any statewide candidate. She outpolled Gov. Malloy; George Jepsen, the attorney general; Kevin Lembo, the comptroller; Denise Merrill, the secretary of state. With less than a million dollars, we came within less than 1 percentage point of defeating a 16-year incumbent. We ran the most competitive race of any statewide candidate, including our candidate for governor. And I think that that race taught me what it takes to run an effective
statewide campaign. Did we come up a little short? We did. But I'm really proud of the fact that we were able to run that competitively with less than a million dollars. Here's the full interview.

- AND NEWSOM - "Newsom: It will get 'intriguing' if Thiel runs for governor," by POLITICO California's Carla Marinucci: "'I've known him for years,' Newsom said of the founder of PayPal, who has estimated net worth $2.7 billion. But that doesn't mean Newsrom entirely approves of Thiel's actions, especially recently. ... That said, Newsom also pointed to what he sees as Thiel's positives. '(He) cares deeply about criminal justice reform. He's by no means a mainstream conservative. And cannabis legalization is one component of that,' Newsom said. 'Peter was passionate about marriage equality - and did a lot of good work on that behind the scenes (on that issue).' In a wide-ranging interview
with POLITICO, Newsom chose to emphasize the common ground he has shared with Thiel, rather than their sharp differences. It's just one of the mind-bending aspects of the political battles ahead in a state that aims to be in the forefront of resistance to the new president." Full story.

DEMOCRATIC REBUILDING - Inside American Bridge's 2018 plans: The Washington Free Beacon's Lachlan Markay got his hands on two pages of a briefing book compiled by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge and apparently distributed at a donor conference in Florida last week. (Here's a full rundown on what happened at the conference from POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti.) "Bridge has already begun research on known Republican Senate targets like Josh Mandel in Ohio and Dean Heller in Nevada," the book reads. "We have moved 10 trackers into key Senate states and will increase our tracking reach across the country beginning in April 2017. We are also maintaining a presence and beginning research
and tracking in states that may provide greater opportunity for Democrats this cycle than they have in the past, like Arizona where Republican Jeff Flake is on the ballot in 2018." Here's the full document.

MEANWHILE, IN LANSING - Michigan GOP chairman candidate drops out after pressure from White House: President Donald Trump's allies appear to have successfully tipped a state party chairman race for the second time in recent weeks. "Ron Weiser, the influential Republican donor and current University of Michigan regent, is poised to take over as head of the Michigan GOP after the other candidate for the top job dropped out Sunday and endorsed him," The Detroit Free Press' David Jesse reports. "'After meeting with multiple members of the Trump White House, I've decided that the best way I can help make Michigan Great Again is to withdraw from the race for MIGOP Chair," Scott Hagerstrom posted
on Facebook on Sunday afternoon." Two of Trump's top advisers, Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon, wrote a letter to state GOP members last week announcing they were supporting Weiser.

ADMINISTRATION SPEED READ - "U.S. eyes Michael Flynn's links to Russia," by The Wall Street Journal's Carol E. Lee, Devlin Barrett and Shane Harris: "U.S. counterintelligence agents have investigated communications that President Donald Trump's national security adviser had with Russian officials, according to people with the matter. Michael Flynn is the first person inside the White House under Mr. Trump whose communications are known to have faced scrutiny as part of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Treasury Department to determine the extent of Russian government contacts with people close to Mr. Trump. It
isn't clear when the counterintelligence inquiry began, whether it produced any incriminating evidence or if it is continuing." Full story.

- "Hillary Clinton plots her next move," by POLITICO's Gabriel Debenedetti in Little Rock, Ark.: "In a series of private meetings and phone calls at their home in Chappaqua, in New York City and in Washington, Bill and Hillary Clinton are slowly starting to puzzle through their political future, according to over a dozen people who have spoken directly with them, and nearly two dozen other Democrats who have been briefed on their thinking. The recently vanquished candidate has told some associates she's looking at a spring timeline for mapping out some of her next political steps. ... There have been no conversations about starting her own political group but Clinton has spoken with leaders
of emerging Democratic-leaning organizations about their work, and has discussed possible opportunities to work with Organizing For Action, former President Barack Obama's initiative." Full story.

- "Breitbart writer expected to join White House staff," by POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt: "Julia Hahn, a staff writer at Breitbart News, is expected to join the White House - a move that further underscores Breitbart's influence in the new administration. According to two sources briefed on the move, Hahn's title will be special assistant to the president and she is expected to primarily work under White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, himself a former key player at Breitbart. ... Like many other Breitbart writers, she has at times been critical of House Speaker Paul Ryan. Prior to the election, she wrote a lengthy story detailing Ryan's tepid support for Trump during the campaign titled,
'He's With Her: Inside Paul Ryan's Months-Long Campaign to Elect Hillary Clinton President.'" Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I was like - oh, now you're interested?" - Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who told The Washington Post that his niece, whom he'd struggled to get involved in the 2016 campaign, had called him elated after the women's march on Saturday.

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