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By Alexander Burns (@aburnspolitico, aburns@politico.com)


SCORE EXCLUSIVE - MARK THE KNIFE: Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk pivots to a hard fiscal conservative message in his Senate campaign's newest television ad, contrasting Kirk's roots in the state and "mainstream Illinois values" with Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias's background as a "Chicago politician." The choice, as the ad presents it: "Mark Kirk, born in Champaign, attended college in Carlinville ... a deficit hawk who's voted to cut taxes 40 times" versus Giannoulias, who "wishes for more spending, bigger government and promises to raise taxes to pay for it." Kirk appears on screen at the end of the ad to make this pledge: "I will spend less, tax less and borrow less to put Illinois back to work." http://bit.ly/dufi2R


GOV RACE EXCLUSIVE - DGA'S MIDNIGHT TRAIN: The Democratic Governors Association is opening up a new offensive front this morning, going up in Connecticut with a blistering statewide saturation buy aimed at Republican Tom Foley. The subject of the ad: Foley's involvement with the Georgia textile manufacturer Bibb Co., which went bankrupt in 1996. The commercial opens with a shifty-looking photo of the self-funding Foley, as a narrator warns: "Tom Foley's got a secret he doesn't talk about much here in Connecticut. Once upon a time, Foley went down to Georgia, where he devastated a community and thousands of lives." This is an issue that Foley's primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele, deployed to powerful effect in the Republican nomination fight, and Democratic former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy has already used it as a line of attack in the general election. Watch the ad here. http://bit.ly/c0jSuc (And don't miss: The Washington Post's Dan Balz reported overnight that the DGA is going up in Dallas, with ads hitting Gov. Rick Perry. http://bit.ly/d2S6un)


HOUSE RACE SIREN - THE ONE WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: North Carolina Rep. Bobby Etheridge is the latest Democrat to take a punishing hit from Americans for Job Security, the pro-business group profiled in the New York Times last week as one of the key independent actors in the 2010 campaign. The ad makes damaging use of Etheridge's on-camera scuffle with a college-age questioner late last spring, when the Democrat gripped the young man by the shoulder and asked: "Who are you? Who are you?" The AJS ad opens with that clip, then cuts to a series of voters answering: "I'm Abby ... Richard ... Sam." Then it's back to Etheridge, demanding: "Tell me who you are." The montage of voters responds: "We're Bobby Etheridge's constituents ... The people he's supposed to represent ... But Etheridge ignored us ... He voted for Nancy Pelosi's health care plan. ... So to answer Bob's question" -Etheridge appears in another quick clip, asking: "Who are you?" - a constituent finishes: "We're the people who will vote you out." Watch the ad here. http://bit.ly/cAekd9


As Richard Trumka swats Sean Duffy, John Stephen closes the gap and Chet Culver gets a little help from his gun-toting friends, here's POLITICO's Morning Score: your daily cheat sheet for the 2010 midterm elections.


POLITICO SNEAK PEEK - WORKING THE SURGE - EMILY's List has identified an influential slice of the electorate that can be moved to the polls with a pro-health care reform message: Democratic women who voted in 2008 but may or may not turn out for the election this year. The Women's Monitor Poll, taken for the group by Harstad Research Associates, shows that "surge" and "drop-off" women - voters who were newly registered in '08 or who only regularly vote in presidential years - face a serious information deficit about this year's campaign, and 53 percent said they had no impression of their current member of Congress. But a full 81 percent said they were "very or fairly concerned that Republicans want to overturn the health care law that provides mammogram coverage and pregnancy care to women." Three fifths of the women polled - 61 percent - said they'd be more likely to vote if they knew they could "defeat a candidate who does not trust women to make decisions about their own reproductive health care." And like other discontent voters, 70 percent of the women polled said they'd be more interested in voting if they could send a message to "get things done for everyday people and stop posturing and serving the special interests." More details on the poll - and EMILY's List's plans - here. http://politi.co/c9Q9Ok


FIRST IN SCORE - NOT A GOOD CLUB TO JOIN: The League of Conservation Voters will induct three new Republican Senate candidates into its "Dirty Dozen" list of nominees targeted for defeat in 2010. Dubbing them "climate change deniers" and "flat earthers," LCV plans to announce that Nevada's Sharron Angle, Wisconsin's Ron Johnson and Colorado's Ken Buck are joining the group's hit list - a distinction they share with Republicans Roy Blunt of Missouri, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Carly Fiorina of California, and Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Tony Massaro, LCV's senior vice president for political affairs, says in a statement: "Their extremist views on climate change put them far outside the mainstream, while their support for the failed energy polices of the past make them unfit for the U.S. Senate." LCV features all three candidates in a video at the website www.flatearth.tv


2010 MUST-READ - "House, Senate tussle to grab Dem dough" - From POLITICO's Raju & Bresnahan: "House and Senate Democrats are increasingly competing against one another over a small universe of deep-pocketed donors who could make a financial difference in the final stretch before the midterm elections. In some cases, donors report that they are being urged to fund Senate campaigns at the expense of the House, where Democrats are in danger of losing their majority. One House Democratic fundraiser said that some Senate operatives are telling big donors and union officials, 'The House is lost; you have to save the Senate.' While top Senate Democrats insist they don't use that line, some House strategists are playing their own angle. Their money pitch: House Democrats have worked overtime to pass President Barack Obama's sweeping agenda, parts of which have been stymied in the intractable Senate. Read. the. whole. thing. http://politi.co/9PlNrJ and more on the dash for cash from Chris Frates, here: http://politi.co/d69L3p POPPING IN N.M. - PRESSING HER ADVANTAGE: New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez is up with a harsh new attack at that accuses Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish of unfairly helping corporations that paid her husband for lobbying work. "Records prove corporations paid Mr. Denish as a lobbyist and got Richardson-Denish deals," the ad says. "Richardson-Denish gave a solar company millions to locate on land owned by Mr. Denish's client ... That solar company? It left, took our tax money and jobs to China." Martinez was up eight points against Denish in a PPP poll released Monday, leading 50 percent to 42 percent - a margin closer to Martinez's recently shared internal numbers than to either of two Democratic polls released in the last week. See Martinez's ad here http://bit.ly/bz3o3l and the poll here http://bit.ly/bMxYwq


PLUS - HEINRICH MANEUVERS AHEAD: The Kos poll also showed New Mexico Rep. Martin Heinrich, the 1st District Democrat, with a seven-point lead over challenger Jon Barela, leading 50 percent to 43 percent. The governor's race was also effectively tied in the 1st District. http://bit.ly/b5Xe8J


COMING ATTRACTION - TRUMKA HITS GREEN BAY: AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka will go on the attack today against Wisconsin's top Republican candidates, one by one, at the state AFL-CIO's convention. "We've got good reasons to fight," he'll tell the audience in Green Bay. "Steve Kagen votes for jobs and working families ... Julie Lassa - she's a tough legislator for working families. And her opponent Sean Duffy's nothing but a bad MTV joke. ... Put [Ron Johnson] in the Senate, and we'll see him help lead a new push to privatize Social Security. ... Scott Walker's practically a Wall Streeter. He promises tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy, and threatens to privatize and cut state jobs. So listen: It is within our power to put Tom Barrett in the governor's office. Period. We have the votes. We can keep Russ Feingold in the Senate and our champions in the House of Representatives."


BREAKING OVERNIGHT - CHAMBER UNLOADS: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is up with a new ad in the California Senate race, hammering Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer as a career politician who's spent "28 years voting to add trillions to the national debt ... 28 years making America less competitive and driving away California jobs." The spot will run statewide for the next two weeks, leaving an especially deep mark in Los Angeles. This is essential support for Carly Fiorina, who's seen her numbers dip in response to Boxer's well-funded attacks on her record at Hewlett-Packard. http://bit.ly/9Qmb6R


TODAY -- From the White House guidance: "The President will then travel to Madison, Wisconsin. ... In the afternoon, the President will attend a DNC finance reception at the Concourse Hotel in Madison.... The President will then deliver remarks at a DNC rally at the University of Wisconsin at Madison." And the VP: "At 2:00 PM ET, the Vice President will deliver remarks at a DNC rally at Pennsylvania State University. ... Afterwards, the Vice President will travel to New York City. At 5:30 PM ET, the Vice President will attend an event for Senatorial candidate Alexi Giannoulias."


ELSEWHERE IN THE EXEC BRANCH - SHOTS FIRED: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius delivered a blunt attack on Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle during a visit to Nevada Monday, slamming the former state legislator for having opposed a state law mandating health insurance coverage for autism. "It is my understanding that Sharron Angle believes that there is a hoax, under the guise of autism, where you would include requests for treatments that may not even be required," Sebelius said, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal, calling Angle's 2009 comments "insulting to the parents and children" and "a real blow to kids who have shown considerable progress." http://bit.ly/9TU6mO (Via Greg Sargent http://bit.ly/ao9Urn )


PLUS - RALSTON'S RESULTS: Angle's campaign acknowledged to Nevada journalist Jon Ralston Monday that both the candidate and her husband receive health care from the federal government. Spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said in a statement: "Mr. Ted Angle receives his pension through the (federal) Civil Service Retirement System. While it is not supplemented by the federal government, current civil servants pay into the program to pay the schedule of those already retired - much like how the Social Security Program works today. Mr. Angle does not qualify - nor does he receive Social Security benefits. His health insurance plan (the Federal Employee Health Program), which also covers Sharron, is a continuation of what he was receiving while he worked for the federal government." http://bit.ly/9utgYn


POLL OF THE DAY - NOT-SO-BLUE HAMPSHIRE - Republicans are strongly positioned to make gains up and down the ballot in New Hampshire, according to the American Research Group: They lead in both the state's House races and the Senate race, and are mounting a strong challenge to incumbent Democratic Gov. John Lynch. Republican Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta is 10 points ahead of Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in the 1st Congressional district, while former Rep. Charlie Bass has a much narrower edge - two points - over Democratic attorney Ann McLane Kuster in the 2nd District. In the governor's race, Lynch is now just two points ahead of former state health commissioner John Stephen, leading 42 percent to 40 percent. RGA Chairman Haley Barbour was in New Hampshire Monday to highlight the state as a rising pickup opportunity for the GOP. http://bit.ly/9gbaDC


IN THE SENATE RACE - WHY D.C. WAS ROOTING FOR HER: Former New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte has taken a solid general election lead over Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes in the state's Senate race, the ARG poll shows. Ayotte starts out with a 46 percent to 32 percent lead among likely voters, though 20 percent of the electorate remains undecided. Both candidates pull about three-fourths support from their respective parties, but Ayotte has a 52 percent to 24 percent advantage among the independent voters who make up 38 percent of the electorate. http://bit.ly/c9eq9s


FIGHT NIGHT IN CALIFORNIA - Details on tonight's Jerry Brown-Meg Whitman showdown at UC Davis: "The first debate between the Democrat and Republican candidates for governor of California will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. PDT in the UC Davis Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. The debate is sponsored by Capital Public Radio, KCRA-TV (NBC) Sacramento, The Sacramento Bee and UC Davis. Southern California partners are Southern California Public Radio and La Opinión." http://bit.ly/cxsfMq


CULVER'S LAST ROUND: Iowa Gov. Chet Culver won the endorsement of the National Rifle Association Monday, touting the NRA's support as a sign of his "record of bipartisan accomplishment, and putting Iowans before politics." The sportsman-friendly credential would have to go a long way to make a difference in the Democrat's campaign: Culver was 19 points behind former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad in the latest Des Moines Register poll taken by Selzer & Co. http://bit.ly/btXjRP and http://bit.ly/aOd2lp


CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "No." - Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, asked if any national Democrats could help his gubernatorial campaign by visiting Utah. http://politi.co/drUYg3

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