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03/01/2019 10:00 AM EDT

By ZACH MONTELLARO (zmontellaro@politico.com; @ZachMontellaro)


Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Score is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Campaign subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.
QUICK FIX
- America First Action, the leading pro-Trump super PAC, has struggled to recruit a leader, worrying many top Trump advisers.

- The University of New Hampshire released a Democratic primary poll in the key early state. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden lead the pack.

- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) warned House Democrats behind closed doors that siding with Republicans on procedural votes could have electoral consequences.

Happy Friday! Email me at zmontellaro@politico.com or DM me at @ZachMontellaro.

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Days until the 2019 election: 249

Days until the 2020 election: 613
THE TOPLINES
BIG MONEY GAME - In a post Citizens United era, top presidential candidates are typically supported by a super PAC led by an top-tier political operative. But so far, America First Action, the leading super PAC supporting President Donald Trump, has not found a suitable leader, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt and Gabby Orr reports.

"Trump political aides, members of the president's family, and top Republicans have been considering potential candidates to spearhead America First Action's 2020 fundraising efforts. They want someone with deep ties to the president and the clubby world of major GOP donors," Alex and Gabby reported. But so far, no suitable candidate has stepped forward.

"The extensive search has reinforced rising concerns about America First Action. In interviews, nearly a dozen people close to the president described it as the soft underbelly of a three-tiered, rapidly expanding Trump reelection apparatus." Nick Ayers, who many operatives expected to take on a senior role at the super PAC after leaving the White House, has yet to sign on.

JOIN THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOUNDATION and the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues at the State Department on March 6-7 for the 9th annual International Women's Day Forum. As part of the day's programming, Anna Palmer, co-author of POLITICO Playbook, will lead a fireside chat with actress, singer, dancer and activist Keke Palmer, who has dedicated her life to philanthropy and activism for young girls. The full agenda and registration are available HERE.
IN THE TRENCHES
PRESIDENTIAL BIG BOARD - With a presidential bid imminent, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee would base a potential campaign around climate change. "As part of his campaign roll out, Inslee is laying out principles on the environment and climate change that he plans to support," POLITICO's David Siders and Daniel Strauss reported. "He's supportive of the principles of a Green New Deal, and Inslee aides are eager to mix his positions on climate change with his tenure as the only sitting governor running in the Democratic primary." Inslee also hired staffers who used to work for Tom Steyer, Daniel reported.

- Former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) is staffing up, announcing national hires, per Iowa Starting Line.

- Biden went into damage control mode after he said Vice President Mike Pence was "a decent guy." He responded to a tweet from Cynthia Nixon criticizing him, writing "there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights." Biden also has a campaign in waiting, The Hill's Amie Parnes reported.

- Three more endorsements added to the tracker: Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) is backing Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) told HuffPost's Daniel Marans that he's with Delaney, and Rep. Julia Brownley endorsed fellow Californian Sen. Kamala Harris.

POLLS POLLS POLLS - The University of New Hampshire is out with a Democratic primary poll in the Granite State. Sanders leads with 26 percent, followed by Biden at 22 percent. Harris is at 10 percent, Warren is at 7 percent and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke is at 5 percent (240 likely Democratic primary voters, Feb. 18-26). UNH is also one of the pollsters the DNC said qualified for determining who is on the early primary debate stage (a candidate can get on stage by getting 1 percent in three qualifying polls). The other candidates that broke one percent in the poll: Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), South Bend Mayor
Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and Michael Bloomberg. This is the third poll from a qualifying pollster POLITICO has seen; Biden, Booker, Harris, Klobuchar, O'Rourke, Sanders and Warren broke 1 percent in all three.

In a hypothetical GOP primary, Trump leads former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, 68 percent to 17 percent to 3 percent (218 likely GOP primary voters, Feb. 18-26).

- Some interesting head-to-heads in a new Quinnipiac Texas poll. Trump is running close to even with several Democratic hopefuls in the Lone Star State. He has 47 percent to Biden's 46 percent, 47 percent to Sanders' 45 percent and 47 percent to O'Rourke's 46 percent. He has a mid-single digit lead over former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Harris and Warren (1,222 Texas voters, Feb. 20-25).

- An early warning sign for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.): A High Point University poll (that has a split online/live caller methodology) found that a plurality of North Carolinians didn't have an opinion on him, but 23 percent approved of the job he was doing and 33 percent disapproved (881 North Carolina adults, Feb. 18-24).

SCAM PACS - Scam PACs, political action committees that misrepresent what they do to bilk largely unsophisticated small donors out of money, are an increasing problem. CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Nathan McDermott busted one that used a recording of the president's voice to raise money. "The enterprise may also be breaking spending rules policed by three different federal agencies on impersonation and ad disclosure," they wrote. And a shoutout to Rob Pyers, who does a great job highlighting scam PACs on his Twitter feed around filing deadlines.

BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN - Miffed over losing procedural battles to Republicans in the House due to defecting Democrats, Pelosi laid down an ultimatum in a private meeting warning that Democrats who side with Republicans "could lose support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, although her threat may be more bluster than reality, according to Democratic lawmakers and aides," POLITICO's Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan. Ocasio-Cortez, the freshman with rock-star status on the left, also "suggested she would alert progressive activists when Democrats are voting with the GOP on these motions."

PRIMARY PROBLEMS - Gabbard's primary challenger is picking up steam, as she continues to seek the White House. Former Hawaii Govs. Neil Abercrombie and John Waihee are backing state Sen. Kai Kahele's bid to replace her, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Sophie Cocke reported.

CLOSED OUT - Missouri's secretary of state closed the investigation into whether GOP Sen. Josh Hawley illegally used public resources for his Senate campaign when he was state attorney general, saying he did not find evidence to back up any allegations, The Kansas City Star's Jason Hancock reported. "Hawley told The Star that Ashcroft's findings were a 'complete and total vindication.'"

ALABAMA REDO? - Could Republican Roy Moore be considering another go at a Senate race in Alabama? Moore "made the rounds at last Friday's Alabama Republican Party dinner gala, the Washington Examiner's David Drucker reported. "A few days later, a new political action committee run by Moore's son, Caleb Moore, issued an email fundraising appeal." But if he does get in, expect Republicans to try to stop him. "The NRSC's official stance is ABRM: anyone but Roy Moore," Kevin McLaughlin, the committee's executive director, told Drucker.

THE SENATE MAP - Julián Castro said his brother, Rep. Joaquín Castro, is considering a run for the Senate. "He's considering that, but he really has not made a decision about whether he's going to do that. I would imagine he would make a decision at some point soon," he told the AP's Michelle Price and Paul Weber.

- Kris Kobach is considering running for Senate in Kansas. "I'm seriously considering the race and I'll be making the decision hopefully in the six months," he told U.S. News' Lisa Hagen.

- Former New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O'Brien, a Republican, is considering challenging Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). "O'Brien said he will soon to go Washington to 'see what the sentiment is there, and if there will be support for a Republican in a general election,'" WMUR's John DiStaso reported.

CODA - QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm waiting for some kind of Emmy or whatever for passing that along." - Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), talking about a debriefing he gave to the writers of "Veep" about running for president to TIME.

CORRECTION: The Feb. 28 edition of Morning Score misstated the threshold to clinch a party's nomination in a primary election in North Carolina without a runoff. It's greater than 30 percent of the vote.

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