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08/26/2016 08:43 AM EDT


By Rachael Bade (rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

MORNING BUZZ: Rumor swirls that Freedom Caucus & Club for Growth are in cahoots. We've been hearing for a while that some lawmakers and political operatives aligned with House GOP leadership are growing increasingly concerned that the powerful conservative outside group Club for Growth is taking marching orders from their arch-nemesis: The House Freedom Caucus. So, yours truly went to track this rumor down.

What we found was that it's pretty obvious why they believed there was some unholy coordination going on: 1.) All Club-backed House contenders this year are members of, or endorsed by, the Freedom Caucus. 2.) The Club's super PAC has spent $3.7 million to boost a half-dozen Republican primary candidates who've pledged publicly or privately to join the Freedom Caucus 3.) Some of the candidates' policy positions are at odds with some of the Club's positions, raising eyebrows among its detractors. 4.) And one operative told us they heard it from the horse's mouth directly. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbc47d822cfcc4cfdbbf25cc3eea5e13819a1bdb8cf80e57d8d

For the record: The Club says it's bogus and all their candidates align with their pro-growth values. Spokesman Doug Sachtleben said their conservative views simply happen to align with the Freedom Caucus, he said, so it naturally backs candidates who are likely to join the group. He didn't dispute, however, that the Club wants the Freedom Caucus to grow, and (watch out leadership) they're seeking to send more of those kinds of rebel lawmakers to Washington.

Don't miss Rep. Lynn Westmoreland's (R-Ga.) pretty scathing quote: "I was a Club-endorsed candidate when I first ran for Congress. I had to go through a very thorough interview by a committee of Club members at their office ... to make sure I agreed with their issues. Now I'm told that the Club is taking a different approach. Now all a candidate has to do is be endorsed by the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan. The Club is spending their members' money on candidates that don't necessarily line up with their core principles on immigration or free trade. I don't understand the coordination and I would think it would be a surprise to Club members."

FRIDAY!!! It's August 26, 2016, and this is Huddle, where we're racing out the door to catch a quick morning Bikram class (in theory...). Work hard, play hard - but definitely exercise hard. Lucky, you all: Heather is back on Huddle next week. Flood her inbox here: HCaygle@politico.com or @HeatherScope

TODAY IN CONGRESS. Zip.

AROUND THE HILL. Staffers realizing it's time to start working again. September will be nutzo.

OFF THE HILL. This morning, down in Mobile, Ala., House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) will headline the 2016 Women's Forum organized by the University of South Alabama, the Community Foundation of South Alabama and Alabama Rep. Bradley Byrne (R). As the special guest, McMorris Rodgers will be asked about "charting your own course." Website says "the venue is at capacity," and a birdie tells us 350 ladies are expected to attend. Hope you got your tickets early.

DAILY POLICY DOSE: O-CARE STICKER-SHOCK HITS KEY SENATE RACES. Now this is a winning issue for Republicans. Ten bucks we see more ads on this soon. Rachana Pradhan and Paul Demko for POLITICO: "As insurers push large premium increases for 2017 Obamacare plans, some of the steepest hikes have been requested by insurers in crucial swing states that could determine control of the Senate. In nine of 11 states with competitive Senate races, at least one insurer seeks to hike rates for Obamacare customers by at least 30 percent next year... The potential sticker shock... creates a potential political opening for Republican candidates, especially since the next Obamacare enrollment season starts
one week before Election Day." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbcdc6a7f8a7551449d96485ca8cc04176640af27aded220b5c

ABOUT LAST NIGHT- "Trump campaign CEO once charged in domestic violence case." Hill Republicans who fretted about the controversial Stephen Bannon hire need worry no more. Our media reporter Hadas Gold and Bres report that Bannon in 1996 was charged for allegedly battering his wife. And although the charges were later dropped because his then-spouse wouldn't testify, this news cycle could mean another shakeup in Trumpland...

The story: "Stephen K. Bannon, the new CEO of the Donald Trump campaign, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, battery and dissuading a witness following an incident in early January 1996, though the case was ultimately dismissed, according to a police report and court documents. The Santa Monica, Calif., police report says that Bannon's then-wife claimed he pulled at her neck and wrist during an altercation over their finances, and an officer reported witnessing red marks on her neck and wrist to bolster her account. Bannon also reportedly smashed the phone when she tried to call the police." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbc8c199bb989ec8e17d83a017959523e7bfc62908c8c8eafc9

COUNTER-NARRATIVE - "Democrats' Weak Bench Undermines Hope of Taking Back Senate." Jennifer Steinhauer on A1 of today's N.Y. Times: "Senate Democrats, aware of the dead weight that Donald J. Trump has placed on their vulnerable Republican colleagues, can taste a reclaimed majority. But just as Senate Republicans blew their chances in 2010 and 2012 before finally taking control in 2014, Democrats find themselves hobbled by less-than-stellar candidates in races that could make the difference in winning a majority."

"In Pennsylvania, Katie McGinty, a relatively unknown former federal official who has never held elective office, is ahead in polls but lags Hillary Clinton's large lead in the state. In Florida, a nasty primary between two flawed candidates could harm the Democrats' chance to unseat Senator Marco Rubio. Several high-profile Democrats turned down the chance to challenge Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina before they settled on a civil liberties lawyer, Deborah Ross, who is not necessarily a good fit for suburban voters there. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat and former state attorney general now running for an open seat in Nevada, has also failed to catch fire."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbcc88188e44bd8ffefa72a88701c09e20023ce4a0e30c0362b

MCCAIN'S OPPONENT: HE MIGHT DIE IN OFFICE. This made Huddle laugh so hard yesterday. (When in trouble, just call him old!) Burgess Everett comes to you from Phoenix: "John McCain's underdog opponent in next week's primary election is going there: Should he win, Kelli Ward told POLITICO flatly on Thursday, the soon-to-be 80-year-old senator may not live to finish out his six-year term. 'I'm a doctor. The life expectancy of the American male is not 86. It's less,' Ward said in an interview here." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbc676f8cb45a5dbd7fe18cf4ee904af760b3883b230c8ea8f6

MORE FROM OUR TRAVELING SENATE DUO: "The one big Senate race that Asian-Americans could decide." Seung Min Kim in Vegas: "Days before Democratic Senate hopeful Catherine Cortez Masto appeared at a reception honoring Asian-American labor activists, Donald Trump proposed expanding his controversial immigration ban to natives of the Philippines. Cortez Masto - running against GOP Rep. Joe Heck in one of the nation's most competitive Senate races, and in a rare state where Asian-American voters could tip the election - pounced."

"Both Cortez Masto and Heck are intensely courting Asian-American voters in the battle to replace Harry Reid in Nevada, and for good reason: Asian-American voters, by some estimates, make up as much as 9 percent of the electorate - far more than in other states with close Senate races this year, like Ohio and New Hampshire. Aside from their sheer numbers, Asian-Americans have shown they can vote as a powerful bloc. Nearly 80 percent of the Asian-American electorate backed Reid in his 2010 victory over Sharron Angle, when polls right up until Election Day projected that Reid would narrowly lose. Asian-Americans in Nevada tend to favor Democrats, potentially giving Cortez Masto a boost in a
neck-and-neck race." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbcf3edf2a38a319d5bd0167dd6da54fcdf6507870905803744

GUN TALK. "Gun-Control Groups Reignite Debate by Crossing the Aisle in Senate Races," per WSJ's Kristina Peterson: The political arm of former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords's gun-control group this week endorsed two GOP senators, reigniting a longrunning debate over whether groups focused on liberal issues advance their agenda by backing Republicans willing to cross the aisle. It's a particularly thorny question this year, when the GOP-controlled Senate could lose its slim majority in November's elections. As Democrats grow increasingly optimistic they could take over the chamber next year, few have welcomed steps taken to bolster GOP incumbents. That's at times pitted party strategists
and campaign operatives against those in groups focused on issues like preventing gun violence or expanding gay and lesbian rights." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=72fd414763837dbc3b25e7b55ce1f3b122a9f03956b31bdf74b0d67e4e2a3db2

THURSDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER. Wilson Golden was the first to answer that President Harry S. Truman essentially expanded Grand Teton National Park, ticking off the Congress and leading them to pass a bill barring presidents from doing such without Hill authorization. (And cheers to Nicholas Monck, who tweeted pictures of my favorite national park at me yesterday!)

TODAY'S TRIVIA. Which president averaged nine hours of sleep a night and is said to have taken two- to four-hour afternoon naps each day?

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