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By Theodoric Meyer | 01/10/2017 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)

ON THE HILL - Hearings kick off, with special elections in the balance: The Senate will begin the process of confirming President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet nominees this morning when the Judiciary Committee holds its hearing on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Trump's attorney general pick. Sessions is one of five Trump nominations so far whose confirmations would trigger special elections. The others: Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who's been tapped to head the CIA; Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Trump's nominee for health and human services secretary; Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Trump's choice for interior secretary; and Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), whom Trump tapped as Office of Management and Budget
director. All of the seats are likely to remain in Republican hands, with Zinke's at-large seat seen as Democrats' best shot at making a surprise pickup. (See our previous coverage here.)

- "Inside Sessions' strategy to combat racism allegations," by POLITICO's Nancy Cook and Seung Min Kim: The Trump team and Senate Republicans have a strategy to usher Sen. Jeff Sessions through his attorney general confirmation hearing that will highlight his ties to moderate Republicans and Democrats and efforts on bipartisan legislation, according to interviews with more than a half dozen senators, aides and transition officials leading the effort. As the Senate Judiciary Committee kicks off a two-day marathon hearing on Sessions Tuesday, the goal isn't just to get him confirmed. Trump's team wants him to emerge unscathed, with a clear runway to enact his policy agenda at DOJ despite his
controversial history on voting rights and decades-old allegations of racism." Full story.

POST-ELECTION BLUES - "Why Clinton won't kill the New York mayor rumors," by POLITICO's Edward-Isaac Dovere and Josh Dawsey: "Hillary Clinton is not saying no. She is also not saying yes to pleas to consider running for mayor of New York. There's no shortage of disgust with current Mayor Bill de Blasio among top New York Democrats, accentuated by bitterness among Clintonites toward the man was her 2000 Senate campaign manager and then made a false start against her in his own quest for the national progressive spotlight. But people who have talked with her - both former staffers and notable members of the Clinton orbit - say there's mostly been a lot of coping with her presidential defeat,
rather than planning for another run." Full story.

Days until the 2017 election: 301.

Days until the 2018 election: 665.

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.

MESSAGE MACHINE - "As Trump shakes them up with tweets, Democrats are flummoxed," by The Washington Post's David Weigel: "Days before he takes office, Democrats - and some Republicans - continue to wrestle with the president-elect's ability to command and reshape news cycles to his liking. His use of Twitter and strategic call-ins to reporters and TV shows, which bear no resemblance to past presidents' communication strategy, have hardly changed since the election. ... Democrats are still holding the "press stunts that worked before Trump came to town. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday, for instance, that Democrats would "hold the floor late into the night" to
protest the Obamacare repeal push with cameras rolling. Less clear was whether anyone would be watching." Full story.

- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's "Make America Sick Again" catchphrase, coined to oppose GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, doesn't seem to have connected, either, according to poll conducted for American Action Network, a Republican nonprofit. Just 32 percent of likely voters nationwide agree that "if Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, it will make America sick again," while 59 percent disagree. The poll was conducted Jan. 3-5 by GS Strategy Group and surveyed 1,000 likely voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Full results here.

RULING IT OUT... - Hutchison won't run for Nevada governor: GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison ruled out a run for Nevada governor on Monday. "I've decided not to seek the office of governor at this time," Hutchison wrote in a Facebook post. "I'm blessed with a large and growing family, which is deserving of more of my time and attention as well as a large and growing law firm that I'm not in a position to leave just yet to serve as governor." GOP Sen. Dean Heller also ruled out a run last month, leaving the Republican field wide open. Potential candidates include state Attorney General Adam Laxalt and Rep. Mark Amodei. GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval is term-limited.

... AND GETTING IN - Otto jumps into Minnesota governor's race: State Auditor Rebecca Otto has become the third Democrat to announce she's running for governor, The Pioneer Press reports, with more in the wings. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and state Rep. Erin Murphy are running, and other potential Democratic candidates include Rep. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith and state Attorney General Lori Swanson. (Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton isn't running for reelection.) The strong early interest is a signal the party is still bullish about winning in Minnesota in 2018, even though Hillary Clinton won the reliably Democratic state by only 1.5 percentage points and three House Democrats, including
Walz, barely hung on in close races.

IT'S 2020 ALREADY - "Andrew Cuomo raises his profile, stirring talk of a 2020 run," by The New York Times' Jesse McKinley: "As Democratic leaders reassess their party's mission and long-term strategy after the election of Donald J. Trump to the White House, [Democratic Gov. Andrew] Cuomo [of New York] seems eager to quickly position himself as a different sort of Northeast liberal, one capable of building things beyond a social agenda - and remaking a persona that has long rubbed some of his colleagues and voters the wrong way. ... Of those who have prompted presidential speculation, Mr. Cuomo seems the keenest to quickly broaden his appeal since the election, and is perhaps the most
road-tested in political warfare and theatrics. His appearance with the still-popular [Bernie] Sanders last week, whom Mr. Cuomo did not support in last year's primary campaign, illustrated the governor's instincts; although the event was Mr. Cuomo's, he allowed Mr. Sanders to speak last." Full story.

PERSONNEL MOVES - Justin Barasky to manage Brown campaign: Justin Barasky, a former spokesman for Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the DSCC and Priorities USA, will manage Brown's 2018 reelection bid. The Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported the hire. Barasky is an Ohio native who served as Brown's communications director in 2012, when the senator defeated state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is making a repeat run for the seat this cycle. He's also worked for former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland for former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

- Eichenbaum and Skinner launch new firm: The veteran Democratic media strategists Delacey Skinner and David Eichenbaum are teaming up to launch a new firm, Eichenbaum Skinner Strategies. Delacey was previously a managing partner at GMMB, while Eichenbaum has his own firm.

KERFUFFLES - Blum's hacking comments upset Democrats: "Walked to work past DNC HQ this afternoon," GOP Rep. Rod Blum of Iowa wrote on Facebook on Sunday night. "Nobody there - I guess they couldn't 'hack' this cold weather!" Democrats were not amused. "Congressman Rod Blum clearly and naively believes that Russia's meddling in our election and the threat they pose to our national security and infrastructure are laughing matters," Tyler Law, a spokesman for the DCCC, which is housed in the same building, said in a statement. "Rod Blum's refusal to put America first is both dangerous and unpatriotic. He should immediately apologize."

TRANSITION SPEED READ - "Trump's Cabinet picks' ethics disclosures lag behind Obama's," by POLITICO's Elana Schor: "Of the nine Donald Trump Cabinet picks heading to Capitol Hill for confirmation hearings this week, only six have reached agreements with the independent Office of Government Ethics to resolve potential ethical conflicts stemming from their personal finances, according to a POLITICO review of public records. By contrast, all seven of Barack Obama's Cabinet selections facing confirmation hearings at this point in the process in 2009 had already signed ethics agreements. What may sound like arcane comparisons between 2009 and this year are taking on outsize importance as the
Senate barrels toward its first partisan blowup of 2017." Full story.

- "White House win provides a stimulus for the Trump brand," by POLITICO's Darren Samuelsohn: "Donald Trump is already making money from the presidency, a post-election bump to the value of his brand that highlights the inextricable ties between his famous name, his business interests and the powerful public office he is about to assume. Since his surprise November win, the value of Trump's name has risen to all-time highs, coinciding with a surge in demand for everything from his condominiums and hotel rooms to his golf courses and men's suits, according to experts in marketing, real estate and other industries who have been tracking the Trump brand since long before the launch of his
political career." Full story.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Winter is coming." - Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who invoked "Game of Thrones" to warn of the dangers of a Trump presidency as he endorsed Phil Murphy for governor.

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